Grand Prairie Car Insurance
Grand Prairie, which is part of what they call the Metroplex, is only small in comparison to its larger neighbors Fort Worth and Dallas.
With a tight-knit community, a low unemployment rate, and attractions that are close but not too close, Grand Prairie has been rated one of America's Best Cities to Relocate to.
Relocating to Grand Prairie comes with loads of responsibilities.
If you're moving another Texas city, your transition won't be too significant, but out-of-state transplants have a lot to get used to. One change you must prepare for is the mandatory auto insurance legislation.
If you're not familiar with insurance code and your duty as a Texas resident, read on and get up to speed. Then, enter your zip code above for FREE car insurance quotes from top providers in Grand Prairie!
Are there auto insurance laws specific to Grand Prairie?
Texas has a wide range of different environments.
There are metropolitan areas that are highly populated and busy, and there are more slow-paced settings where farmers still have a home on the range. Even though the risks can change from county to county, legislation for auto insurance requirements are set by the state and not city officials.
What are Texas auto insurance requirements?
All vehicle owners with a car, truck, van, moped or motorcycle registered in Texas are required to satisfy the insurance law to legally drive their vehicle or store it on public property.
Under Texas insurance code, insurance is mandatory and must be furnished at all times. Failure to comply with the law is a Class C misdemeanor.
You aren't required to carry full coverage but must have a minimum amount of liability insurance. While liability insurance does protect your assets, it's not designed to pay you when you have damages. Instead, the coverage pays for damages that you cause to others on your behalf.
It's a way of guaranteeing that you're financially responsible enough to drive.
How does liability insurance work and how much do you need to have?
Your auto insurance policy is designed to protect your finances so that an auto accident doesn't financially devastate you.
Without any insurance requirements, you'd be expected to pay for everything out-of-pocket.
Under a basic policy, you'll have strictly third-party coverage that pays up to your limits to cover eligible damages.
Liability coverage consists of Bodily Injury and Property Damage.
Bodily Injury, which is often written BI, will pay for medical and funeral expenses when you or a driver on your policy causes bodily injury to another individual. Property Damage, which is written PD, pays to repair property such as cars and houses. Here are the minimum required limits:
- Bodily Injury: $25,000 per person, up to $50,000 per occurrence
- Property Damage: $25,000 per occurrence (not per vehicle)
- Limits are written as 25/50/25 on your declaration's page
Why is auto insurance liability coverage required under TX law?
Texas has a tort auto insurance system. That means that the system says that anyone who's at fault for causing a wreck is responsible for covering the victim's medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages, and their damages property.
With the average income in Grand Prairie per capita coming in at $22,780, you can see why insurance is mandatory.
It's not reasonable to expect the average person to be able to pay $50,000 or more dollars to a claimant because they didn't have any type of protection.
What coverage will pay for my injuries?
It's nice to know that you'll have at least some financial protection to safeguard yourself against claimants, but you might be more concerned with a policy that's built to help you pay your own bills.
A plan with bare minimum coverage won't do it, but if you add some optional forms of protection you can get benefits that help pay for medical bills.
Insurance policies in Texas must have the option to buy both Uninsured Motorist Protection and Personal Injury Protection.
Both are first-party coverage options that pay for medical bills, but each of them provide coverage for bills in very different situations. Be sure that you can distinguish one from the other before you select an option.
What is Personal Injury Protection?
Personal Injury Protection, which agents often call PIP, is medical payments coverage that covers bills presented by you, your drivers, and other listed household members.
What makes Texas law unique is that it's a state with a tort system that offers optional no-fault coverage.
No-fault coverage means that the insurance company doesn't use fault allocation to determine if they're liable to pay for losses. The PIP benefits will be eligible no matter who swerved or who slammed on their brakes.
What separates PIP from the standard Medical Payments coverage is that you may be able to claim the following expenses:
- Rehabilitation costs
- Lost wages
- Cost for living assistance
- Reimbursement for expenses for essential services needed while you're recovering
What is Uninsured Motorist Protection?
Uninsured Motorist Protection isn't a no-fault coverage. There cases where you'll file an uninsured motorist claim are much more limited.
That's because the coverage only kicks in when an at-fault driver who doesn't have insurance causes injuries to you and your passengers. It will pay you much like the Bodily Injury limits that you carry pay someone else.
In Texas, you must be offered the option to buy Uninsured Motorist Protection as written in Chapter 1952 of the Insurance Code.
If you decide that you don't want to pay for the coverage it's your duty to reject it in writing. Only the named insured can submit the written rejection form or letter.
Do you really need to buy coverage to protect against uninsured drivers?
The time hasn't yet come where it's possible to see whether or not a car driving down the block has insurance.
It might sound silly to buy a coverage that protects you against motorists who don't buy insurance, but it's really necessary when you consider how great the risk is.
Texas ranks 19th on the list of states with the most uninsured drivers.
With about 13.3 percent of drivers having no insurance, it's easy to see why buying UM coverage is important. With Grand Prairie's population of 185,453, around 24,400 drivers on the road are classified as uninsured motorists. This doesn't include drivers in Dallas and Fort Worth.
Do you need full coverage on your car?
Full coverage can be defined in many different ways, but in most cases a full coverage policy includes both comprehensive and collision on the covered autos listed.
The only time you absolutely must have full coverage is when your car isn't yet paid off. Financed vehicles need full coverage so that the collateral on the loan is covered.
If you hold the title to your car, it's entirely your choice when it comes to physical damage protection.
You'll need to consider the market value of the car and how much the premiums are for the coverage. If the cost of collision is too high, dropping it might make the most sense, but only if you can replace the car without help.
When does a comprehensive-only policy make sense?
Just because you drop collision coverage doesn't mean that you need to drop comprehensive.
Comprehensive, which is often called parked car coverage, will pay for losses caused by fire, theft, vandalism, flood and falling objects. All comprehensive claims are subject to a deductible but don't affect your future rates.
Since more than 598 vehicle thefts were reported in Grand Prairie, the theft rate is higher than the national average. This means that carrying comprehensive is recommended, especially on the makes and models that are popular with experienced car thieves.
How much does auto insurance cost in Grand Prairie?
Auto insurance expenditures vary by state. While the Department of Insurance in Texas is responsible for approving rates to prevent predatory tactics, it's the department's job to keep the marketplace competitive.
That's why it's very difficult to tell how much you'll pay for insurance before you really get quotes.
One great thing about the Department of Insurance in Texas is that you can get sample rates through Office of Public Insurance Counsel.
This helps you see if you're getting a fair rate quote based on specific facts. Looking at average expenditures can also help. Based on the latest figures, the average cost for full coverage is $895.44 in Texas.
The only way to get personalized rate quotes on your car insurance coverage is to request a quote. It's your duty as a registered vehicle owner to have auto insurance, but saving money on premiums is definitely desired.
If you want to do a thorough comparison, use our FREE online car insurance rate tool and get instant quotes to find a good deal on coverage.