The words “affordable” and “insurance” probably shouldn’t be used in the same sentence, especially when searching for the lowest insurance rates for drivers with a bad driving record. Because it’s not cheap, let’s start off by going over a few of the things that help determine auto insurance premiums, and see how we can help you take the sting out of the next policy you buy.
The make and model of vehicle you are trying to insure is probably the biggest factor when shopping around for economical auto insurance for drivers with a bad driving record. Vehicles with more horsepower, poor passenger safety features, or a high likelihood of having liability claims will cost significantly more to insure than safer models.
The table below showcases auto insurance costs for a selection of the more affordable vehicles to insure.
Insured Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
---|---|
Honda CR-V LX 4WD | $3,408 |
Ford Escape XLS 2WD | $3,547 |
Toyota Prius | $3,823 |
Ford Edge SE 2WD | $3,922 |
Ford Explorer XLT 2WD | $3,964 |
Chevrolet Malibu LS | $4,037 |
Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD | $4,047 |
Volkswagen Jetta S 4-Dr Sedan | $4,037 |
Chevrolet Impala LT | $4,158 |
Toyota RAV4 Limited 4WD | $4,167 |
Ford Fusion S 4-Dr Sedan | $4,158 |
Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Sport Package 4WD | $4,200 |
Dodge Grand Caravan Hero | $4,207 |
Nissan Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan | $4,200 |
Toyota Corolla XLE | $4,220 |
Honda Odyssey EX-L W/Rear Entertainment | $4,225 |
Hyundai Elantra Blue 4-Dr Sedan | $4,334 |
Chevrolet Equinox LTZ AWD | $4,392 |
Ford F-150 Lariat Crew Cab Harley 2WD | $4,402 |
GMC Sierra SLE Crew Cab 2WD | $4,427 |
GMC Sierra 3500HD SLE Crew Cab 2WD | $4,433 |
Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD LT Crew Cab 2WD | $4,473 |
Nissan Rogue S 2WD | $4,517 |
Start Your Quote Go |
Price data assumes single male driver age 30, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Texas minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, and multi-vehicle. Rate quotes do not factor in your specific Fort Worth, TX location which can affect insurance rates greatly.
Based upon the rates shown, you can see that cars like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Toyota Prius, and Ford Edge will be some of the most affordable vehicles to insure for bad drivers. The cost of a car insurance policy will trend higher just due to the fact that there is more inherent risk for drivers with a bad driving record, but generally speaking those vehicles will probably have the least expensive rates compared to other vehicles.
For bad drivers, one of the big components that help determine the cost of insurance is your address in Fort Worth. Regions with more people or even just more weather-related claims tend to have more expensive auto insurance rates, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims benefit from lower coverage costs.
The information below ranks the highest-priced places in Texas for drivers with a bad driving record to purchase car insurance in. Fort Worth is ranked at #15 with an annual premium of $1,670 for the average insurance policy, which is around $139 per month.
Rank | City | Average Per Year |
---|---|---|
1 | McAllen | $1,996 |
2 | Dallas | $1,911 |
3 | Brownsville | $1,870 |
4 | Amarillo | $1,858 |
5 | Houston | $1,853 |
6 | Garland | $1,850 |
7 | Laredo | $1,833 |
8 | Mesquite | $1,825 |
9 | Grand Prairie | $1,811 |
10 | Irving | $1,772 |
11 | Beaumont | $1,754 |
12 | Pasadena | $1,740 |
13 | Lubbock | $1,733 |
14 | San Antonio | $1,688 |
15 | Fort Worth | $1,670 |
16 | Carrollton | $1,664 |
17 | Arlington | $1,658 |
18 | Austin | $1,627 |
19 | Corpus Christi | $1,620 |
20 | Waco | $1,584 |
Find the Best Rates Go |
Premium amounts are estimated as the specific zip code location can change auto insurance rates substantially.
Finding good, reasonably-priced car insurance is difficult, and finding out which companies quote the best insurance rates for drivers with a bad driving record will require even more work.
Each insurance company has a unique approach to set premium rates, so to begin we’ll rank the insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in Texas. It’s important to understand that Fort Worth, TX insurance rates are calculated based on many things that control the cost of a policy. Events like a birthday, buying a higher-value vehicle, or getting into an accident can cause premium changes that can make some companies more expensive than before.
Compare Cheap Insurance Quotes for Imperfect Drivers
Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
---|---|---|
1 | Travelers | $1,052 |
2 | USAA | $1,128 |
3 | Texas Farm Bureau | $1,235 |
4 | Germania Mutual | $1,244 |
5 | Esurance | $1,365 |
6 | California Casualty | $1,438 |
7 | State Farm | $1,495 |
8 | Mercury | $1,521 |
9 | Safe Auto | $1,565 |
10 | Nationwide | $1,600 |
11 | Allstate | $1,667 |
12 | Progressive | $1,715 |
13 | Amica | $1,723 |
14 | Home State | $2,092 |
15 | GEICO | $2,156 |
16 | MetLife | $2,183 |
17 | Encompass | $2,324 |
18 | Unitrin | $2,333 |
19 | 21st Century | $2,469 |
20 | Titan | $2,568 |
Compare Rates Now Go |
Travelers normally has some of the most affordable car insurance rates in Fort Worth at around $1,052 each year. USAA, Texas Farm Bureau, Germania Mutual, and Esurance are also some of the most economical Fort Worth, TX car insurance companies.
In the rate table above, if you are a customer of USAA and switched to Travelers, you might achieve savings of about $76. Policyholders with Texas Farm Bureau could save as much as $183 a year, and Germania Mutual customers might see rate reductions of $192 a year.
Bear in mind that those premiums are averages for all drivers and vehicles and do not take into consideration an exact vehicle garaging location for drivers with a bad driving record. So the auto insurance company that has the cheapest rates for you may not even be in the top 23 companies in the list above. That is why you need to get quotes using your own driver data and vehicle information.
Discount Fort Worth auto insurance rates
Insurance providers that sell policies for drivers with a bad driving record may additionally offer special discounts that could potentially reduce rates by as much as 30% if you qualify. A few of the larger companies and their offered discounts are outlined below.
- Farmers Insurance may include discounts for mature driver, switch companies, multi-car, electronic funds transfer, youthful driver, pay in full, and early shopping.
- Esurance may offer discounts for online quote, DriveSense, defensive driver, good driver, online shopper, and multi-car.
- State Farm offers discounts for driver’s education, safe vehicle, accident-free, passive restraint, student away at school, anti-theft, and good driver.
- GEICO has discounts for multi-policy, five-year accident-free, membership and employees, seat belt use, military active duty, and emergency military deployment.
- Allstate may have discounts that include anti-theft, passive restraint, defensive driver, EZ pay plan discount, and 55 and retired.
The illustration below compares car insurance costs with and without discounts applied to the premium. The rate quotes are based on a male driver, three citations and two at-fault accidents, Texas state minimum liability limits, full physical damage coverage, and $250 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows insurance cost with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with homeowner, marriage, paperless filing, paid-in-full, anti-theft, and vehicle safety discounts applied. When discounts are applied, theamount saved on insurance for drivers with a bad driving record is 29% or $2,249.
The example below illustrates how your choice of deductibles can influence insurance prices when researching cheap insurance for drivers with a bad driving record. The rate quotes are based on a single male driver, full physical damage coverage, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
The data above shows that a 30-year-old driver could save $476 a year by switching their comprehensive and collision coverages from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $716 by selecting a $1,000 deductible. Youthful drivers, like the 20-year-old example, have the ability to save as much as $1,414 each year just by choosing higher deductibles when buying full coverage.
If you do make the decision to raise your deductibles, it will be necessary to have additional funds squirreled away to satisfy the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the one disadvantage of using larger deductibles.
Why you should be shopping around
Fort Worth insurance rates are impacted by many things that can increase the price of coverage. Simply improving your credit, adding a teenager to your policy, or getting a DUI can trigger price changes that can make some companies more affordable than others.
In addition to those changes, auto insurance companies change rates as needed to adjust for gains or losses. Higher than normal claim frequency or severity may result in additional premium costs, while lower claim expenses can produce cheaper Fort Worth car insurance rates.
To illustrate this point, the graph below demonstrates which company has the cheapest car insurance in Fort Worth, TX for a 45-year-old female driver with a clear driving record, no claims, and a high credit rating. When comparing rates based on her current risk profile, Travelers might offer the most affordable car insurance rates in Fort Worth at $1,148 annually. This is $756 less than the average price paid by Texas drivers of $1,904. USAA, Texas Farm Bureau, Germania Mutual, and Esurance round out the rest of the most affordable Fort Worth, TX auto insurance companies.
The next chart shows rates after we give the driver from the first rate comparison a chargeable claim, slightly worse credit, and a few blemishes on her driving record. Since every car insurance company uses a different method for determining rates in each state, getting updated rate quotes most likely will result in a slightly different list of the cheapest companies as shown below.
Mercury now has the cheapest auto insurance in Fort Worth with State Farm, Nationwide, Safe Auto, and USAA also being competitive. This shows why it is crucial to spend some time comparing rates when trying to find affordable auto insurance rates for drivers with a bad driving record. Auto insurance prices are made up of many things and can change substantially, so the cheapest option the last time you shopped around may now be one of the higher cost companies.
How to find the cheapest auto insurance for drivers with a bad driving record
It is possible to find better rates, and here are some of the recommended penny-pinching solutions that can help Texas drivers buy lower-cost coverage.
- Avoid price increases by not filing claims
- Remove physical damage coverage on older vehicles
- Raise deductibles
- Avoid having at-fault accidents
- Violations like speeding or DUI increase rates
- Shop around for cheaper rates regularly
The last item on the list is particularly valuable, as we discussed in the prior article. Rates can be modified anytime, so don’t hesitate to buy from a new company if a cheaper rate is available. Many consumers stick with the same company and that’s fine, but it’s not recommended if that devotion results in you overpaying big bucks every year. If you have a few minutes, compare prices and find cheaper insurance for drivers with a bad driving record in Fort Worth.
If you aren’t clear which coverage you need and would like to have a consultation when shopping around for cheaper insurance for drivers with a bad driving record, the professional agents shown below are willing to help you decide which policy fits your needs best. To find a Fort Worth insurance agent close to where you live, click the link after the list.
Graham Insurance Group, Inc.
2914 SE Loop 820 – Fort Worth, TX 76140 – (817) 293-0388
Bob McCright – State Farm Insurance Agent
6231 Oakmont Blvd – Fort Worth, TX 76132 – (817) 294-9858
Main Street Independent Insurance- Tim Linzy, Agent
6300 Ridglea Pl #1115 – Fort Worth, TX 76116 – (817) 380-5597