I can’t think of a single person who likes having to buy auto insurance, especially when the price is too high.
It’s safe to assume that auto insurance companies don’t want you shop around. Consumers who compare rates once a year are very likely to switch to a new company because there is a significant possibility of finding a lower-priced company. A study showed that consumers who routinely compared rates saved an average of $3,450 over four years as compared to drivers who never shopped for cheaper rates.
If finding budget-friendly Pontiac Grand Prix insurance in San Antonio is the reason for your visit, learning how to get rate quotes and compare insurance rates can make it easier for you to save money.
Insurance companies such as State Farm, GEICO and Farmers Insurance all claim big savings, bombarding you with fancy advertisements and it is difficult to avoid their marketing magic and find the best price available.
Just keep in mind that getting more free quotes helps you find the best rates.
The auto insurance companies shown below offer price quotes in San Antonio, TX. If more than one company is shown, it’s highly recommended you get rate quotes from several of them in order to find the lowest rates.
Insurance in Texas serves several purposes
Even though it’s not necessarily cheap to insure a Pontiac in San Antonio, insurance may be required for several reasons.
- Almost all states have minimum liability requirements which means it is punishable by state law to not carry a specific minimum amount of liability insurance if you drive a vehicle. In Texas these limits are 30/60/25 which means you must have $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $60,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of property damage coverage.
- If your Pontiac Grand Prix has a lienholder, it’s guaranteed your bank will require you to have comprehensive coverage to guarantee loan repayment. If you let the policy lapse, the lender may insure your Pontiac at a much higher rate and force you to pay for the expensive policy.
- Insurance safeguards both your car and your assets. It will also reimburse you for many types of medical costs that are the result of an accident. One of the most valuable coverages, liability insurance, will also pay to defend you if you are named as a defendant in an auto accident. If your vehicle suffers damage from an accident or hail, your policy will cover the repair costs.
The benefits of insuring your Grand Prix are without a doubt worth the cost, specifically if you ever have a liability claim. The average driver in America overpays more than $869 every year so compare rates at least once a year to ensure rates are inline.
Earn discounts on San Antonio auto insurance
Some insurers don’t always publicize every possible discount in an easy-to-find place, so the list below contains some of the best known and the harder-to-find discounts that may be available.
- Policy Bundle Discount – If you have multiple policies and insure them both with the same insurance company you could earn a discount of at least 10% off all policies.
- Good Student Discount – Excelling in school may save as much as 25% on a San Antonio auto insurance quote. This discount can apply well after school through age 25.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If you pay your bill all at once rather than paying monthly you can actually save on your bill.
- Cautious Drivers – Drivers who avoid accidents can save as much as half off their rates than drivers with accidents.
- Air Bags and Passive Restraints – Vehicles equipped with air bags or automatic seat belts may get savings of 20 to 30 percent.
- Early Switch Discount – Select insurance companies give a discount for switching to them before your current expiration date. Ten percent is about the average savings.
- Low Mileage – Keeping the miles down on your Pontiac could qualify for substantially lower premium rates.
- ABS Brakes – Cars and trucks with anti-lock braking systems are safer to drive and earn discounts up to 10%.
- One Accident Forgiven – This one is not really a discount per se, but certain companies allow you one accident before raising your premiums so long as you haven’t had any claims for a specific time period.
- Multiple Vehicles – Insuring multiple vehicles on one policy can get a discount for every vehicle.
Remember that some of the credits will not apply to the entire policy premium. The majority will only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though they make it sound like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, companies wouldn’t make money that way.
Auto insurance companies who might offer many of the previously listed discounts include:
Double check with every company which discounts they offer. Some discounts listed above might not be offered on policies in your area. To see auto insurance companies that have a full spectrum of discounts in Texas, click here to view.
When to get advice from an agent
Some people just want to sit down with an agent and that is a personal choice. A nice benefit of price shopping on the web is you may find lower rates and still choose a local agent. And supporting local agents is especially important in San Antonio.
After filling out this short form, your information is transmitted to companies in San Antonio who will give you bids and help you find cheaper coverage. You won’t even need to drive around as quotes are delivered immediately to you. You can find better rates and work with a local agent. If you have a need to get a comparison quote for a specific company, you would need to visit that company’s website and give them your coverage information.
If you are wanting to find a reputable insurance agent or broker, you need to know there are two different types of agencies and how they are slightly different. Agents can be categorized as either independent agents or exclusive agents.
Independent Auto Insurance Agents (or Brokers)
These agents are not employed by one company and that gives them the ability to insure with many different companies and find the cheapest rate. If they find a cheaper price, they can switch companies in-house and you won’t have to switch agencies.
If you need cheaper auto insurance rates, you will definitely want to get quotes from a few independent agents so that you can do a thorough price comparison.
Shown below is a list of independent insurance agents in San Antonio that may be able to give you pricing information.
Grona Boles Martin Bloxsom Insurance Agency
800 Isom Rd # 100 – San Antonio, TX 78216 – (210) 366-5094 – View Map
Legion Insurance Agency
5309 Wurzbach Rd – San Antonio, TX 78230 – (210) 693-1501 – View Map
Bapodra Insurance Agency, Inc
8607 Wurzbach Rd #101 – San Antonio, TX 78240 – (210) 696-1133 – View Map
Exclusive Insurance Agents
These type of agents can only provide one company’s prices like American Family, State Farm, and Allstate. These agents are unable to compare other company’s rates so they really need to provide good service. Exclusive agents are very knowledgeable on what they offer which helps them sell on service rather than price.
Shown below is a short list of exclusive insurance agencies in San Antonio that are able to give comparison quotes.
Mike Smith – State Farm Insurance Agent
14802 Jones Maltsberger Rd #201 – San Antonio, TX 78247 – (210) 251-3657 – View Map
Tom Fladd – State Farm Insurance Agent
9023 Huebner Rd #108 – San Antonio, TX 78240 – (210) 684-5253 – View Map
Roger Haynes – State Farm Insurance Agent
13909 Nacogdoches Rd #103 – San Antonio, TX 78217 – (210) 656-4082 – View Map
Finding the right car insurance agent needs to be determined by more than just a low price. A good agent in San Antonio will have answers to these questions.
- How long have they been in business?
- How experienced are they in personal risk management?
- Is vehicle mileage a factor when determining depreciation for repairs?
- Did they already check your driving record and credit reports?
- Are all drivers listed on the coverage quote?
- Do they have advanced training designations such as CPCU, AAI, AIC, or CIC?
- Are there any discounts that you might be missing?
- If independent agents, which companies do they recommend?
Once you have received positive responses to any questions you may have and a good coverage price, you may have just found an insurance agency that meets the requirements to properly insure your vehicles. It’s important to know that you have the power to terminate coverage whenever you choose to so don’t think you are locked into a specific company for the full term.
Auto insurance policy coverages for a Pontiac Grand Prix
Understanding the coverages of auto insurance can help you determine the best coverages and the correct deductibles and limits. The coverage terms in a policy can be impossible to understand and nobody wants to actually read their policy. Below you’ll find the normal coverages offered by auto insurance companies.
Comprehensive or Other Than Collision
Comprehensive insurance pays for damage caused by mother nature, theft, vandalism and other events. You first must pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.
Comprehensive can pay for things such as damage from a tornado or hurricane, a tree branch falling on your vehicle and hitting a bird. The highest amount you’ll receive from a claim is the ACV or actual cash value, so if the vehicle’s value is low it’s probably time to drop comprehensive insurance.
Medical costs insurance
Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance pay for immediate expenses such as rehabilitation expenses, dental work, prosthetic devices, pain medications and ambulance fees. They are used in conjunction with a health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover you and your occupants and will also cover any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is only offered in select states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage
UM/UIM Coverage
Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when other motorists do not carry enough liability coverage. Covered claims include injuries sustained by your vehicle’s occupants as well as damage to your Pontiac Grand Prix.
Because many people carry very low liability coverage limits (Texas limits are 30/60/25), it only takes a small accident to exceed their coverage. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is a good idea. Most of the time the UM/UIM limits are set the same as your liability limits.
Liability
This protects you from damage that occurs to people or other property. Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person injured, bodily injury for the entire accident and a property damage limit. Your policy might show liability limits of 30/60/25 which stand for a limit of $30,000 per injured person, $60,000 for the entire accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Another option is one number which is a combined single limit which combines the three limits into one amount without having the split limit caps.
Liability can pay for things such as loss of income, emergency aid, repair costs for stationary objects and legal defense fees. How much liability should you purchase? That is up to you, but consider buying as large an amount as possible. Texas requires minimum liability limits of 30/60/25 but you should think about purchasing higher limits.
The chart below shows why buying low liability limits may not provide you with enough coverage.
Collision protection
This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible then your collision coverage will kick in.
Collision coverage pays for things like driving through your garage door, crashing into a ditch, sustaining damage from a pot hole, crashing into a building and damaging your car on a curb. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so you might think about dropping it from vehicles that are 8 years or older. It’s also possible to raise the deductible on your Grand Prix in order to get cheaper collision rates.
One last note
We just covered some good ideas how you can get a better price on Pontiac Grand Prix insurance in San Antonio. The most important thing to understand is the more quotes you get, the better likelihood of getting low cost San Antonio auto insurance quotes. You may even discover the biggest savings come from the least-expected company. They may only write in your state and offer lower auto insurance rates compared to the large companies like Allstate or State Farm.
As you shop your coverage around, it’s a bad idea to buy poor coverage just to save money. There are a lot of situations where an insured cut full coverage only to discover later that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your strategy should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at the best price, but do not skimp to save money.
Cheaper car insurance in San Antonio is definitely available on the web as well as from independent agents in San Antonio, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best rate selection. Some insurance providers may not offer rates over the internet and usually these regional carriers sell through independent agents.
For more information, feel free to browse the resources below:
- Alcohol Impaired Driving FAQ (iihs.org)
- How Much are Auto Insurance Quotes for a Toyota Corolla in San Antonio? (FAQ)
- What Auto Insurance is Cheapest for Seniors in San Antonio? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance for a GMC Sierra in San Antonio? (FAQ)
- Understanding Limits and Deductibles (Allstate)
- Self-driving cars won’t replace humans (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)