Personal auto insurance is mandatory by state law. The reason: You are more likely to damage someone else's property with your vehicle than in any other way. Insurance companies will spend more time processing personal auto claims than they do anything else (medical claims top auto claims sometimes, depends on the company).
We would like the chance to quote your personal auto policy when it comes up for renewal. It takes about 5-10 minutes to take down the info and about 15-30 minutes to run quotes through all of our companies. Auto policies are rated by several things:
| 1. What coverages you want to buy | 4. Your driving record in the last 36 months |
| 2. Where you live | 5. Your rating class |
| 3. What you're driving | 6. Credit Score (this is new) |
Read through the information below and if you have any other questions, be sure to ask when you call. We may not always win your business, but we are always glad you gave us a call.
What Coverages you Buy - Clicking the link will give you a detailed breakdown of the different coverages you can buy and what they will cover. The only coverage that is mandatory, State of Texas law, is Liability. If you are still paying the loan on your vehicle, the bank will probably make you carry comprehensive and collision. If you are leasing a vehicle, your lease agreement will probably tell you how high your liability limits must be to satisfy the leasing company.
| The minimum limits of liability that the State of Texas will let you carry are: |
| $20,000 Bodily injury - per person / $40,000 Bodily Injury - per accident |
| $15,000 Property Damage - per accident |
Where you Live - Insurance companies use different methods to rate where you live. The majority of companies use the county (Territory) that your live in, the others go by zip code. The counties (Territories) are rated from 1 (high risk urban) to 65 (low risk rural), depending on the population, number of vehicles and claims paid.
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These are the 5 counties rated by highest cost of auto insurance as of 06/01/03: |
| 1. Harris | 2. Dallas | 3. Bexar | 4. Tarrant | 5. El Paso |
Corsicana, Tx (Navarro County) comes in as a Territory 63.
What your Driving - Cars / Trucks are rated and given a "symbol" due to it's initial cost, cost of repair and it's performance abilities. Everybody understands it will cost more to insure a 2002 Porsche Carrera Turbo (symbol 27) than it does a 1983 Ford Escort (symbol 6). General rules are:
| 4 wheel drive trucks are rated higher than 2 wheel drive trucks |
| Luxury models are rated higher than base models |
| Sport models are rated higher than base models |
| Foreign models are rated higher than domestic models (this depends on availability/cost of repair parts) |
Your Driving Record for the last 36 months - Tickets and accidents over the last 36 months is one of the things that you personally can control in determining the price. Each accident / ticket add a certain percentage to the cost. According to the Tx Automobile Insurance Plan Association as of 06/01/03:
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60% surcharge for conviction of: |
20% surcharge: |
| DUI | For each at fault accident |
| Involuntary manslaughter | |
| Criminally negligent operation of motor vehicles |
15% surcharge: |
| Failure to stop, render aid, disclose information at accident | Each conviction of a traffic violation not listed above |
| Driving while license is suspended or no valid license |
Your Rating class - Each driver is rated according to age, sex, married/single and driving habits. Most companies use the classes set by the Tx Dept of Insurance. Most "County Mutual" insurance companies use their own class breakdown.
|
PERSONAL USE only |
| under 21 yrs old | 25 and over - less than 65 yrs of age |
| 2C-1 - Male, Single | 1A - Pleasure only |
| 2CF-1 - Male, Single, farm use | 1AF - Farm use |
| 2D - Female, Single | 1B - Drive to and from work (over 50% of time) |
| 2DF - Female, Single, farm use | 1C - Drive to and from work (less than 50% of time) |
| 2A-1 - Male, Married | |
| 2AF-1 - Male, Married, farm use | 65 yrs old and over |
| 1(A, B, C) - Female, Married | 6A - Pleasure only |
| 6AF - Farm use | |
| 21 and over - less than 25 yrs old | 6B - Drive to and from work (over 50% of time) |
| 2C-2 - Male, Single | 6C - Drive to and from work (less than 50% of time) |
| 2CF-2 - Male, Single, farm use | |
| 2A-2 - Male, Married | |
| 2AF-2 - Male, Married, farm use | |
| 1(A, B, C) - Female, Single | |
| 1(A, B, C) - Female, Married |
| BUSINESS USE of Personal autos |
| No male under 25, No female under 21, No operator over 65 |
| 3 - Private passenger |
| 3A - Utility |
| No male under 25, No female under 21, Any operator over 65 |
| 3 - Private passenger |
| 3A - Utility |
Your Credit Score - Your credit score is run, along with several other reports, when the company is trying to decide if they will write your policy or how much to discount your policy. This is something that is being used more and more by companies. They have found, through several studies, that people with lower credit scores are more likely to turn in claims than people with higher credit scores. I have read the study done buy the University of Texas and according to the statistics, they are correct. There are several lawmakers in Austin trying to stop the insurance companies from running and using credit reports.