The type of vehicle to be insured is a significant factor that determines whether or not you can buy cheaper auto insurance for business use. Vehicles with limited top-end speed, a plethora of safety features, or a positive history of liability claims will cost substantially less to insure than higher performance models.
The data below ranks auto insurance costs for a handful of the most cost-effective vehicles to insure in Texas.
| Vehicle Insured | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD | $1,012 |
| Honda Accord EX 4-Dr Sedan | $1,079 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,097 |
| Ford Explorer XLT 4WD | $1,106 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sport 4WD 2-Dr | $1,110 |
| Ford Escape XLS 2WD | $1,112 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $1,146 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LT Extended Cab 4WD | $1,168 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 2WD | $1,175 |
| Ford Edge SE 2WD | $1,182 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SXT | $1,191 |
| Ford Focus SEL 4-Dr Sedan | $1,208 |
| Volkswagen Jetta SEL 4-Dr Sedan | $1,253 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan | $1,276 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LS | $1,283 |
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Data based on single male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Texas minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, claim-free, multi-vehicle, and safe-driver. Premium amounts do not factor in the specific area where the vehicle is garaged which can modify premium rates considerably.
By looking at the data, we can expect cars like the Honda CR-V, Honda Accord, Toyota Prius, and Ford Explorer are most likely going to be the cheapest vehicles to insure for using your car for business. The cost of auto insurance will be more costly just due to the fact that there is more risk for business use, but generally speaking those models will have the best rates compared to all other vehicles.
One of the more important components that determine auto insurance rates is where you normally keep your vehicle. Areas with high crime rates or more dense population tend to pay more, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims have the gratification of cheaper auto insurance rates.
The next table sorts the priciest cities in Texas for business use to purchase a policy in. Lubbock shows up at #15 with a yearly cost of $1,665 for car insurance, which is about $139 each month.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McAllen | $2,016 |
| 2 | Brownsville | $1,908 |
| 3 | Houston | $1,891 |
| 4 | Dallas | $1,855 |
| 5 | Garland | $1,850 |
| 6 | Laredo | $1,833 |
| 7 | Mesquite | $1,825 |
| 8 | Amarillo | $1,786 |
| 9 | Pasadena | $1,758 |
| 10 | Grand Prairie | $1,757 |
| 11 | Beaumont | $1,754 |
| 12 | Irving | $1,736 |
| 13 | San Antonio | $1,722 |
| 14 | Fort Worth | $1,670 |
| 15 | Lubbock | $1,665 |
| 16 | Carrollton | $1,664 |
| 17 | Arlington | $1,642 |
| 18 | Austin | $1,610 |
| 19 | Plano | $1,608 |
| 20 | El Paso | $1,584 |
| 21 | Corpus Christi | $1,572 |
| 22 | Waco | $1,569 |
| 23 | McKinney | $1,561 |
| 24 | Abilene | $1,545 |
| 25 | Killeen | $1,518 |
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Information shown are estimated as the garaging address in Lubbock can alter premiums noticeably.
Full coverage rates vs. liability-only
Buying cheaper insurance should be important to most people, and one way to lower the cost of insurance for business use is to not buy comprehensive and collision coverage. The chart below illustrates the difference between insurance costs with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying the minimum liability limits required in Texas. The data assumes no accidents, no driving violations, $100 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no additional discounts are factored in.
Averaged out for all age groups, comp and collision coverage costs an extra $2,922 per year more than carrying just liability coverage. A very common question is when is the right time to remove full coverage. There isn’t a steadfast formula to drop physical damage coverage, but there is a general school of thought. If the annual cost of coverage is more than about 10% of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then you may want to consider only buying liability coverage.
For example, let’s pretend your vehicle’s claim settlement value is $7,000 and you have $1,000 deductibles. If your vehicle is severely damaged, the most your company will settle for is $6,000 after you pay the deductible. If premium cost is more than $600 annually for physical damage coverage, then you might consider buying liability only.
Insuring your vehicle with a high-quality company can be challenging considering how many companies there are to choose from in Texas. The ranking data shown below could help you select which companies to look at comparing rates from. The ratings below are for large nationwide companies, so companies without a large exposure are not taken into consideration for these rankings.
Top 10 Major Auto Insurance Providers in Lubbock Ranked by Claims Service
- Travelers
- Nationwide
- Allstate
- State Farm
- Liberty Mutual
- GEICO
- American Family
- Esurance
- Titan Insurance
- AAA Insurance
Top 10 Major Auto Insurance Providers in Lubbock Ranked by Customer Service
- USAA
- Travelers
- Mercury Insurance
- AAA Insurance
- Nationwide
- Safeco Insurance
- Progressive
- State Farm
- The Hartford
- The General
The illustration below shows how choosing a deductible can change yearly insurance costs when researching cheap insurance for business use. The rates are based on a single male driver, full coverage, and no additional discounts are factored in.
In the chart above, a 40-year-old driver could cut expenses by $374 a year by changing their physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $564 by using a $1,000 deductible. Younger drivers, like the Age 20 chart data, have the ability to save $1,236 or more just by choosing higher deductibles. If you do make the decision to raise your deductibles, it is important to have plenty of discretionary funds to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense that comes with higher deductibles.
The importance of comparing Lubbock car insurance rates
Texas insurance rates are determined by lots of factors that control the cost of a policy. Simply having another birthday, increasing liability limits, or getting a DUI may prompt premium changes resulting in some companies being cheaper than before. Also, auto insurance companies modify rates as needed to adjust for unexpected claims or profits. Larger than normal claims may cause more expensive prices, while less frequent claims may cause lower-cost Lubbock car insurance rates.
The graph below shows the companies that have the cheapest car insurance in Lubbock, TX for a 35-year-old male driver with a clean driving record, no accidents, and solid credit. When comparing rates based on his current risk profile, Travelers offers the most affordable car insurance rates in Lubbock at $1,142 per year. This is $762 less than the average policy premium paid by Texas drivers of $1,904. USAA, Texas Farm Bureau, Germania Mutual, and Esurance are the remainder of the cheapest Lubbock, TX auto insurance companies.
In this next rate comparison, we will give the driver from the first rate comparison a claim, less-than-perfect credit, and a few blemishes on his driving record. Because every insurance company uses a different method to determining premium rates, comparing rates may result in a slightly different list of the cheapest car insurance companies in Lubbock as shown below.
Mercury now has the best price on car insurance in Lubbock, TX with State Farm, Nationwide, Safe Auto, and USAA now rounding out the top five. This example illustrates why it is critical to compare many different companies when trying to find affordable car insurance quotes for business use. Car insurance prices can be determined by many things and change dramatically, so the best company the last time you shopped around may now be priced much higher than other options.