Save Money on Cadillac ATS Insurance in Austin

Nobody that owns a car looks forward to paying for insurance, especially when they are aware that they are paying too much.

Unbelievably, almost 70% of drivers kept their coverage with the same insurance company for at least the last four years, and roughly 40% of drivers have never shopped around. Consumers in Texas can save roughly 70% each year just by shopping around, but they just don’t want to compare rates.

Popular companies such as State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive constantly bombard you with TV and radio ads and consumers find it hard to sift through the bull and find the best price available.

If you currently have insurance, you will most likely be able to save money using the techniques presented in this article. Choosing the best rates in Austin is quite easy if you know the best way to do it. But Texas drivers do need to learn the way companies determine what you pay because rates fluctuate considerably.

Do you qualify for these seven discounts?

Companies that sell car insurance don’t always publicize the complete list of policy discounts very well, so below is a list some of the best known and also the lesser-known auto insurance savings.

• Auto/Life Discount – Not all auto insurance companies offer life insurance, but some may give you better prices if you take out a life policy as well.
• Accident Waiver – Not really a discount, but a handful of insurance companies will allow you to have one accident without raising rates if you are claim-free for a set time period.
• Discounts for Responsible Drivers – Insureds who avoid accidents can save as much as half off their rates than their less cautious counterparts.
• Lower Rates for Military – Being deployed in the military could mean lower prices.
• Distant College Student Discount – Kids who are enrolled in a college that is more than 100 miles from Austin and don’t have a car may be insured at a cheaper rate.
• Discount for Home Ownership – Owning a house in Austin can help you save on auto insurance since home ownership shows financial diligence.
• Good Grades Discount – Performing well in school can get you a discount of up to 25%. The discount lasts until age 25.

As a footnote on discounts, some of the credits will not apply to the entire cost. Most only cut individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So even though it sounds like all those discounts means the company will pay you, you won’t be that lucky.

Companies and a partial list of their discounts can be found below.

• Travelers offers discounts for hybrid/electric vehicle, early quote, continuous insurance, home ownership, multi-car, and save driver.
• 21st Century offers premium reductions for defensive driver, anti-lock brakes, automatic seat belts, good student, early bird, teen driver, and driver training.
• State Farm includes discounts for multiple autos, Steer Clear safe driver discount, Drive Safe & Save, defensive driving training, student away at school, accident-free, and multiple policy.
• GEICO offers discounts including good student, anti-theft, emergency military deployment, seat belt use, and defensive driver.
• SAFECO policyholders can earn discounts including multi-car, safe driver, drive less, teen safety rewards, homeowner, and teen safe driver.
• AAA has discounts for multi-car, pay-in-full, good student, good driver, and anti-theft.

When quoting, ask each company which discounts you may be entitled to. Depending on the company, some discounts may not be offered in Austin. If you would like to see a list of auto insurance companies that offer the discounts shown above in Texas, click here.

There are several ways to compare prices from auto insurance companies in your area. The recommended way to do a complete rate comparison consists of shopping online.

Comparing quotes online is fast and free, and it makes it obsolete to drive to insurance agents’ offices. The fact that you can get quotes online eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless you’re the type of person who wants the guidance that you can only get from talking to an agent. Some companies do allow you to price shop online but still have the advice of a local agent. It’s important to know that comparing more quotes provides better odds of finding more affordable insurance. Some companies don’t provide Austin ATS insurance quotes over the internet, so it’s important to compare prices on coverage from those companies, too.

The providers in the list below provide price comparisons in Austin, TX. If multiple providers are shown, it’s a good idea that you visit two to three different companies in order to find the lowest rates.

Car insurance agents can give valuable advice

A small number of people just prefer to get advice from a local agent and there is nothing wrong with that. A nice benefit of comparing insurance prices online is the fact that drivers can get lower rates and still have a local agent. Buying from and supporting local insurance agencies is especially important in Austin.

To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this quick form, the quote information gets sent to participating agents in Austin who will give competitive quotes for your coverage. It’s much easier because you don’t need to search for any insurance agencies since price quotes are sent immediately to your email address. You’ll get the best rates AND an agent nearby. In the event you want to get a comparison quote from a specific insurance provider, feel free to navigate to their website to submit a rate quote request.

What types of car insurance agents are in Austin?

If you want a good Austin insurance agent, you should know the different types of agents to choose from. Insurance agents can be categorized as either exclusive or independent agents depending on their company appointments.

Independent Insurance Agents

Independent agencies are not locked into one company so they can write business through many companies and get the cheapest rates. If your premiums go up, they simply move the coverage in-house without you having to go to a different agency.

When comparing rate quotes, you will want to compare prices from several independent agencies to have the most options to choose from.

Listed below is a list of independent insurance agents in Austin who can help you get cheap rate quotes.

More insurance agents

Exclusive Insurance Agencies

Agents that choose to be exclusive can only provide pricing for a single company like State Farm, AAA, and Liberty Mutual. They are unable to give you multiple price quotes so they have to upsell other benefits. Exclusive agents are usually quite knowledgeable on their company’s products which helps them compete with independent agents.

The following are Austin exclusive insurance agents that can give you price quotes.

More insurance agents

Picking an auto insurance agent should include more criteria than just the quoted price. These are valid questions to ask:

• Are they paid to recommend certain coverages?
• How long has their agency been in business in Austin?
• Will the agent help in case of a claim?
• Where would glass claims be handled in Austin?
• Does the agency have a positive business rating?

Why you need Cadillac vehicle insurance in Texas

Despite the high insurance cost for a Cadillac ATS in Austin, insuring your vehicle is most likely required but also gives you several important benefits.

• Almost all states have minimum mandated liability insurance limits which means state laws require a specific minimum amount of liability protection in order to license the 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 you have a loan on your ATS, almost all lenders will require that you carry insurance to guarantee their interest in the vehicle. If you cancel or allow the policy to lapse, the lender will be forced to insure your Cadillac at an extremely high rate and force you to pay for the much more expensive policy.
• Insurance preserves both your car and your personal assets. It will also pay for most medical and hospital costs for you, your passengers, and anyone else injured in an accident. As part of your policy, liability insurance also pays for attorney fees and expenses if you are sued as the result of your driving. If you receive damage to your vehicle caused by a storm or accident, comprehensive and/or collision insurance will pay to repair the damage.

The benefits of carrying adequate insurance more than offset the price you pay, especially for larger claims. According to a recent study, the average American driver overpays more than $825 a year so compare rate quotes each time the policy renews to save money.

The coverage is in the details

Having a good grasp of auto insurance can be of help when determining appropriate coverage for your vehicles. The coverage terms in a policy can be impossible to understand and even agents have difficulty translating policy wording. Shown next are typical coverage types found on most auto insurance policies.

Coverage for medical payments

Medical payments and Personal Injury Protection insurance provide coverage for immediate expenses like X-ray expenses, ambulance fees, hospital visits and nursing services. They are often used to fill the gap from your health insurance policy or if there is no health insurance coverage. They cover all vehicle occupants and will also cover getting struck while a pedestrian. Personal injury protection coverage is not universally available but it provides additional coverages not offered by medical payments coverage

Auto collision coverage

This coverage pays to fix your vehicle from damage caused by collision with another vehicle or an object, but not an animal. You first must pay a deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision coverage protects against things like crashing into a building, rolling your car, colliding with another moving vehicle and sideswiping another vehicle. This coverage can be expensive, so consider dropping it from lower value vehicles. Another option is to choose a higher deductible on your ATS in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Comprehensive coverages

Comprehensive insurance pays for damage that is not covered by collision coverage. A deductible will apply and then insurance will cover the rest of the damage.

Comprehensive can pay for claims such as fire damage, damage from flooding, falling objects and damage from getting keyed. The most you’ll receive from a claim is the cash value of the vehicle, so if it’s not worth much more than your deductible consider removing comprehensive coverage.

Coverage for liability

Liability insurance protects you from injuries or damage you cause to other people or property in an accident. This insurance protects YOU from legal claims by others, and doesn’t cover your own vehicle damage or injuries.

It consists of three limits, bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see values of 30/60/25 which stand for a limit of $30,000 per injured person, a total of $60,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and property damage coverage for $25,000. Alternatively, you may have a combined limit that pays claims from the same limit and claims can be made without the split limit restrictions.

Liability coverage pays for claims such as attorney fees, medical expenses, loss of income and legal defense fees. How much liability coverage do you need? That is a decision to put some thought into, but consider buying as large an amount as possible. Texas requires minimum liability limits of 30/60/25 but you should consider buying higher limits.

Uninsured and underinsured coverage

Your UM/UIM coverage protects you and your vehicle’s occupants when the “other guys” are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. Covered losses include medical payments for you and your occupants as well as damage to your Cadillac ATS.

Because many people have only the minimum liability required by law (30/60/25 in Texas), their limits can quickly be used up. This is the reason having UM/UIM coverage is important protection for you and your family. Frequently the UM/UIM limits are similar to your liability insurance amounts.

One last thing about your coverage

As you shop your coverage around, it’s a bad idea to buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There have been many cases where drivers have reduced uninsured motorist or liability limits only to regret that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. The ultimate goal is to purchase plenty of coverage at a price you can afford, not the least amount of coverage.

Cheap Cadillac ATS insurance in Austin is attainable from both online companies in addition to local insurance agencies, so you should be comparing quotes from both to have the best rate selection. A few companies do not offer online price quotes and these regional carriers provide coverage only through independent insurance agents.

More information

• Anti-Lock Brake FAQ (iihs.org)
• Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance for a Ford F-150 in Austin? (FAQ)
• Airbag FAQ (iihs.org)
• Auto Insurance FAQ (Farmers Insurance)