Wouldn’t it be so easy if we could look into our crystal ball and tell you the one best company that has the cheapest coverage for drivers over age 60? That is not the case, however, as there are a whole bunch of unknown aspects such as the crime level of your neighborhood, if you are a homeowner or renter, and if you have a lapse in coverage, that all factor into the price you pay. We know insurance is not everyone’s favorite topic, but in this article we will cover the best ways to avoid paying too much and will hopefully give the reader a good start in finding the cheapest car insurance.
Buying reasonably-priced car insurance is not easy, and figuring out which insurers offer the best insurance rates for drivers over age 60 involves even more diligence. Every auto insurer has a different process to determine premium rates, so let’s take a look at the insurance companies that tend to have lower prices in San Antonio, TX.
It’s important to know that Texas insurance rates are impacted by many factors which can substantially change your annual premium. Simply getting older, having a teenage driver, or getting caught speeding can cause premium changes resulting in some rates now being cheaper than competitors.
Find the Cheapest Auto Insurance for Age 60+
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travelers | $1,052 |
| 2 | USAA | $1,117 |
| 3 | Texas Farm Bureau | $1,199 |
| 4 | Germania Mutual | $1,282 |
| 5 | Esurance | $1,365 |
| 6 | California Casualty | $1,424 |
| 7 | State Farm | $1,450 |
| 8 | Mercury | $1,461 |
| 9 | Safe Auto | $1,565 |
| 10 | Nationwide | $1,585 |
| 11 | Progressive | $1,647 |
| 12 | Amica | $1,705 |
| 13 | Allstate | $1,718 |
| 14 | Home State | $2,134 |
| 15 | GEICO | $2,135 |
| 16 | Unitrin | $2,241 |
| 17 | MetLife | $2,249 |
| 18 | Encompass | $2,255 |
| 19 | 21st Century | $2,421 |
| 20 | Titan | $2,594 |
| Get a Custom Quote Go | ||
Travelers may offer some of the cheapest car insurance rates in San Antonio at around $1,052 each year. USAA, Texas Farm Bureau, Germania Mutual, and Esurance would also make the list of some of the cheaper San Antonio, TX insurance companies.
As the example above demonstrates, if you are a policyholder with Germania Mutual and switched to Travelers, you could see yearly savings of around $230. Policyholders with Esurance might save as much as $313 a year, and California Casualty customers might realize rate reductions of up to $372 a year.
To get a quick, customized rate comparison, click here to start a quote or visit any of the low-priced companies below.
These premium estimates are averages for all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not figured with a specific location for drivers over age 60. So the company that can offer you the best price may not even be in the top 23 companies in the list above. That point stresses why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own specific driver information and vehicle.
The type of vehicle you are insuring is a large consideration when consumers are trying to find affordable insurance for drivers over age 60. Vehicles with more horsepower, a lack of advanced safety features, or a high likelihood of having liability claims will cost significantly more to insure than safer, lower-performance models.
The next table outlines coverage costs for a handful of the most budget-friendly automobiles to insure in Texas.
| Vehicle Insured | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLS 2WD | $907 |
| Honda Accord LX 4-Dr Sedan | $914 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD | $927 |
| Hyundai Elantra SE Touring Station Wagon | $984 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,004 |
| Ford F-150 STX Regular Cab 4WD | $1,019 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SE | $1,024 |
| Honda Odyssey EX W/Rear Entertainment | $1,057 |
| Ford Focus S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,063 |
| Toyota Tacoma 2WD | $1,057 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LS 2WD | $1,077 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan | $1,086 |
| Toyota RAV4 Limited 2WD | $1,077 |
| Find Cheaper Rates Go | |
Data based on single female driver age 60, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Texas minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, claim-free, multi-vehicle, safe-driver, and homeowner. Rates do not factor in specific location information which can revise prices significantly.
By looking at the data, you can see that makes and models like the Ford Escape, Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Elantra, and Toyota Prius are most likely to be the most affordable vehicles to insure for older drivers.
For older drivers, one of the big considerations that are looked at to help calculate insurance cost is your address in San Antonio. Areas with more people or higher crime rates likely pay more, whereas areas with lower crime rates and fewer weather claims benefit from having to pay less for coverage.
The table below sorts the most expensive places in Texas for drivers over age 60 to purchase a policy in. San Antonio is listed at #12 having an annual price of $1,739 for car insurance, which is about $145 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McAllen | $1,956 |
| 2 | Brownsville | $1,927 |
| 3 | Houston | $1,909 |
| 4 | Dallas | $1,837 |
| 5 | Laredo | $1,833 |
| 6 | Grand Prairie | $1,811 |
| 7 | Mesquite | $1,807 |
| 8 | Amarillo | $1,804 |
| 9 | Irving | $1,789 |
| 10 | Garland | $1,778 |
| 11 | Pasadena | $1,740 |
| 12 | San Antonio | $1,739 |
| 13 | Beaumont | $1,702 |
| 14 | Arlington | $1,692 |
| 15 | Austin | $1,676 |
| 16 | Lubbock | $1,665 |
| 17 | Carrollton | $1,615 |
| 18 | McKinney | $1,609 |
| 19 | Plano | $1,608 |
| 20 | Fort Worth | $1,604 |
| Compare Prices Now Go | ||
Rate quotes are comparative as the specific San Antonio residence address can alter coverage prices greatly.
Difference between liability only and full coverage rates
Reducing premiums for insurance is probably important to most people, and one of the quickest ways to pay less for insurance for drivers over age 60 is to not buy full coverage. The illustration below shows the comparison of insurance prices with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying the minimum liability limits required in Texas. The information is based on no claims or driving citations, $500 deductibles, single marital status, and no policy discounts are applied.
On average, physical damage coverage on your policy costs an extra $2,431 per year over liability only. That is a big expense that brings up the question if paying for full coverage is a waste of money. There is no clear-cut formula of when to phase out physical damage coverage, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is about 10% or more of the vehicle’s replacement cost less your deductible, then it may be the right time to buy liability only.
For example, let’s assume your vehicle’s book value is $3,000 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is destroyed, the most you would get paid by your company is $2,000 after paying your policy deductible. If you are paying more than $200 a year for physical damage coverage, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.
There are some conditions where only buying liability is not advised. If you still have a lienholder on your title, you have to maintain full coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if you can’t afford to buy a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should not remove full coverage.
The illustration below highlights how deductible choice can change insurance costs when quoting cheap insurance for drivers over age 60. The prices are based on a married male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no discounts are factored in.
The data above shows that a 40-year-old driver could save $264 a year by increasing from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $402 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, like the Age 20 chart data, could potentially save up to $884 or even more by choosing a higher deductible. When raising deductibles, it’s a good idea to have enough funds in savings to be able to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense that deters many people from opting for higher deductibles.
Illustration showing the impact of accidents and violations
A great way to receive affordable insurance premiums for older drivers is to be an attentive driver and not get tickets or have accidents. The illustration below shows how violations and accidents can increase car insurance costs for each different age group. The information is based on a single male driver, full coverage, $100 deductibles, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
The data charted above shows the average cost of auto insurance in Texas per year with no accidents or violations is $2,181. Get written up for two speeding tickets and the average cost swells to $2,896, an increase of $715 each year. Now include one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the annual cost of insurance for drivers over age 60 increases to an average of $3,611. That’s an increase of $1,430, or $119 per month, just for not driving carefully!