Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance for Low Credit Scores in Austin?

The make and model of vehicle driven is probably the biggest factor when consumers are trying to find the most affordable car insurance for low credit scores. Vehicles with higher performance, poor safety features, or high incidents of liability claims will cost substantially more to insure than more modest models. The table below outlines coverage costs for a selection of the cheapest automobiles to insure.

Prices above based on married female driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Texas minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, claim-free, and homeowner. Table data does not factor in specific garaging location which can decrease or increase coverage rates greatly.

Based on these rates, we can assume that models like the Hyundai Elantra, Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Toyota RAV4 are likely to be a few of the less-costly vehicles to insure for bad credit.

Comparing rates for low-priced car insurance is not easy, and figuring out which company quotes the cheapest insurance rates for low credit scores requires even more perseverance. Each insurance company uses their own method for filing rates in each state, so let’s begin by taking a look at the most competitive insurance companies in Austin.

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Travelers may have some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Austin at around $1,041 a year. USAA, Texas Farm Bureau, Germania Mutual, and Esurance also make the cut as some of the more affordable Austin, TX car insurance companies.

As the example above demonstrates, if you buy coverage from Germania Mutual and switched to USAA, you might see yearly savings of in the neighborhood of $139. Customers with Esurance might save as much as $248 a year, and California Casualty insureds might cut rates by $307 a year.

Remember that these policy prices are averaged for all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with a specific zip code for low credit scores. So the car insurance company that can offer you the best price may not even be in the list above. That affirms the importance of why you need to compare prices as often as possible using your own specific driver and vehicle information.

One of the many things that determine the amount you pay each year for auto insurance is where you live. Areas with high crime rates or more dense population will most likely have higher rates, whereas areas with less people or fewer weather incidents benefit from having to pay less for coverage.

The next table ranks the most costly cities in Texas for low credit scores to purchase a policy in. Austin comes in at #16 costing $1,627 for the average policy, which is approximately $136 each month.

Rates are approximated as specific location information can increase or decrease coverage rates considerably.

Do you need full coverage?

Saving money when shopping for insurance is important to the majority of people, and one common way to lower the cost of insurance for low credit scores is to only pay for liability coverage. The information below shows the comparison of insurance prices when comparing full coverage to liability only. The premiums are based on no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no policy discounts are applied.

If the expense is averaged for all age categories, comp and collision coverage costs $1,598 per year over and above liability coverage. That is a significant amount which raises the question when is the right time to remove full coverage. There is no exact rule to drop physical damage coverage, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the annual cost of having full coverage is more than about 10% of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then it’s probably a good time to buy liability coverage only.

For example, let’s assume your vehicle’s replacement value is $6,000 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, the most you would receive is $5,000 after the policy deductible has been paid. If it’s costing you more than $500 annually for your policy with full coverage, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.

The chart below illustrates how your deductible choice can increase or decrease insurance prices when quoting cheap insurance for low credit scores. The premium estimates are based on a single female driver, full physical damage coverage, and no policy discounts are applied.

As shown above, a 30-year-old driver could save $482 a year by increasing from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $726 by selecting a $1,000 deductible. Younger drivers, like the 20-year-old, could drop their prices up to $1,074 or more just by using higher deductibles.

When insureds make the decision to increase the deductibles on their policy, it will be required to have additional funds in a savings account to enable you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the one inconvenience of using high deductibles.

Get discount Austin car insurance rates

Insurance providers that provide coverage for low credit scores may also offer rate discounts that can lower rates by 35% or more if you qualify. A few of the larger companies and some of the premium reductions they offer can be found below.

• Progressive may include discounts for homeowner, multi-vehicle, good student, continuous coverage, and online signing.
• SAFECO offers discounts including safe driver, anti-theft, bundle discounts, teen safety rewards, homeowner, and drive less.
• American Family offers discounts for air bags, multi-vehicle, good driver, early bird, and Steer into Savings.
• MetLife policyholders can earn discounts including accident-free, multi-policy, good driver, defensive driver, claim-free, good student
• GEICO includes discounts for membership and employees, emergency military deployment, seat belt use, five-year accident-free, and driver training.
• The Hartford may have discounts that include bundle, vehicle fuel type, anti-theft, good student, and air bag.

The illustration below illustrates the difference between auto insurance rates with and without some available policy discounts. The premiums are based on a female driver, no accidents or driving violations, Texas state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $1,000 deductibles.

The first bar for each age group shows the average rate with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with safe-driver, multiple vehicle, anti-theft, marriage, accident-free, and multiple policy discounts applied. When these discounts are applied to the policy premium, the average amount saved each year on insurance for low credit scores is 28% or $571.