Find Auto Insurance in San Antonio TX

Find the Best Rates and Best Insurance Companies Near You

What is the Average Cost of Car Insurance in San Antonio?

San Antonio is the second largest city in Texas with a city population of 1,532,233 and a metropolitan population of 2,550,960. The city itself covers 465 square miles, so San Antonians are used to driving. The US Census Bureau reports the average employee in this city spends just over 24 minutes commuting to work. With nearly an hour on the road each day, most residents must have a licensed vehicle, and to register a vehicle and get license plates you must first have car insurance.

Buying car insurance is complicated, but it doesn’t need to be. If you have a loan on your vehicle your loan company will most likely require you to have full coverage for damages. But, if you own your vehicle outright, you can opt for the minimal legal requirements for a lower premium rate. Many people choose a policy somewhere in the middle, so they’re covered beyond what is required by the minimum with some extras, included to be on the safe side.

By becoming informed on what you must have in order to legally drive, as well as what you should consider for additional coverage, you can quickly get an overview of the process for insuring your vehicle. Here’s a look at car insurance requirements and rates for San Antonio:

What is Required for San Antonio Drivers?

Texas state law requires you to have proof of minimum insurance coverage in the following amounts for you to receive your registration and license plates and legally drive your vehicle:

  • $30,000 bodily injury liability per person
  • $60,000 bodily injury liability per incident
  • $25,000 property damage liability per incident

This is what your insurance company will pay if you are found at fault in a motor vehicle accident. While that sounds simple at first glance, if you look at the amounts, they are quite low compared to the average cost of an emergency room visit and hospital stay or full vehicle replacement. With the average cost of a new truck around $50,000, you could be liable for half that amount out of pocket!

Paying for theft protection may also be a smart decision; according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), in 2018 there were almost 8,000 vehicles stolen in San Antonio, which is a per capita rate of 317.43 out of 100k residents and the 78th highest in the nation.

Most Expensive and Least Expensive Insurance Rates by Zip Code

Cheap Car Insurance in San Antonio by Insurer

Your personal car insurance rate will be calculated on your personal information such as age, number of years driving, driving record, and credit score. Although rates can fluctuate and yours will end up lower or higher, the following chart shows the cheapest overall car insurance companies in San Antonio.

Compare the top auto insurance companies quotes by state.

Low Cost Auto Insurance for Bad Credit in San Antonio

Not everyone boasts a great credit score and insurance companies know that. Certain companies are better than others when it pertains to bad credit scores; here are the San Antonio insurance companies with the best rates for those who have less than stellar credit histories.

Find out how your car insurance rates are impacted with bad credit.

Differences Between the Two Main Coverages

What is Liability Only Coverage?

Liability-only coverage is the cheapest option for automobile insurance. This coverage level only covers vehicles that are not at fault in an accident. Thus, if you carry liability-only coverage and cause an accident, the other driver will be covered by your policy. Any damage done to your car must be covered out of pocket, if at all.

What is Full Coverage?

Liability-only insurance is the least amount of insurance that one can purchase. This satisfies your legal requirement to drive and register your vehicle in Texas. For many people, this is not sufficient coverage because it does not cover their losses if they are at fault and do damage to their own vehicle or if they sustain damages in a hit-and-run or from an uninsured driver.

Collision covers when one is at fault and their own vehicle is damaged. If you have a car that is worth more than a few thousand dollars, it is often a wise investment to buy collision insurance each year. However, collision insurance coverage is pricey and will increase your insurance cost per year quite drastically.

Comprehensive covers those oddball things that happen that you cannot control, like damaged windshields and collision with animals on the road. It also covers your loss when someone purposely damages your vehicle in an act of vandalism. In addition, comprehensive covers theft of your vehicle, fire and weather, or acts of nature. An example of the latter would be if your car was crushed under a tree that fell in a wind storm.

What You Need to Know About the Differences Between the Car Insurance Types

Liability coverage kicks in when you back up and hit a kid on a skateboard you did not see. It will also pay for a gate you run into and damage.

Collision insurance pays out when you back into a large rock at a campground, denting your pickup’s tailgate. It will pay to get the tailgate repaired.

Comprehensive coverage will pay for the repair costs when something flies out of the back of a semi-truck and you end up with a cracked windshield.

Average Annual Car Insurance Rates in Texas by City

Additional cities in Texas you can check out.

Houston

Arlington

Fort Worth

Tips to Get a Cheaper Car Insurance Rate

Save on Your Insurance Policy Rates With These Discounts in San Antonio:

  • Avoid Accidents

    Each time you are at fault in an accident, your insurance company must pay out to cover your liability. Thus, your rates are definitely going to rise any time you cause an accident. The longer you are able to maintain a driving record clean of accidents, the more favorable your policy will be in the eyes of insurance companies.

  • Don’t Speed

    Insurance rates are set relative to the risk you pose as a driver. Since speeding is positively linked to accidents, and thus to insurance claims, your tickets will also result in higher insurance rates.

  • Shop Around

    Insurance is like any other business and so some will charge lower rates in order to gain more customers. Before you purchase a policy from the last company you saw on television, do some homework and determine which policy is the best for you, even if it’s not the least expensive.

  • Comprehensive Insurance Packages

    Typically, insurance companies insure multiple asset types. They write policies for homes, boats, renters, and they can also cover your health. If you package your automobile insurance with your home, boat, and health insurance, you will likely pay a bit less for your car insurance.

  • Multiple Vehicles

    If you have more than one car, combine them on the same policy. The more cars you add, the lower your rates will be on a per-car basis.

Find ways to lower your auto insurance premiums here.

These are the Common Reasons for Insurance Rates in San Antonio TX

As you can see, car insurance rates are influenced by a complex set of factors, all of them are determined by risk data for each insurance agency. How much each agency charges, though, based upon similar risk data, can vary widely. In the case of younger drivers, they can save literally thousands of dollars each year by shopping around. The insurance agencies will charge drivers different rates for their automobile insurance premiums by their age and marital status, driving record, area they live in, and whether they carry liability-only or full coverage insurance. If the customer opts for collision insurance, the carriers will charge more for a lower deductible.

Since there are so many factors to take into consideration in how much an insurance agency charges you for automobile insurance, it quite literally pays to thoroughly educate yourself about automobile insurance and to shop around for the best quote.

Use this guide to compare top insurance company rates if you have a bad driving record.

Check Out Car Insurance Companies in San Antonio and Reviews

Helpful San Antonio, Texas Vehicle Resources:

Live Traffic Accidents by City
https://www.sanantonio.gov/SAPD/Real-Time-Crash

DMV (Find Locations, Vehicle Registration, Titles and Insurance Info)
https://www.txdmv.gov/regional-service-centers/sanantonio

Rideshare
Uber in San Antonio TX
Lyft in San Antonio

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