For bad drivers, one of the more important criteria that are looked at to help calculate insurance cost is your zip code in Dallas. Areas with more people or more claims tend to pay slightly more, whereas more rural areas benefit from having to pay less for coverage.
The next table shows the highest-priced areas in Texas for drivers with a bad driving record to purchase car insurance in. Dallas comes in at #6 with an annual cost of $1,837 for coverage, which is about $153 monthly.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | McAllen | $1,936 |
| 2 | Houston | $1,909 |
| 3 | Amarillo | $1,858 |
| 4 | Brownsville | $1,851 |
| 5 | Laredo | $1,851 |
| 6 | Dallas | $1,837 |
| 7 | Garland | $1,832 |
| 8 | Mesquite | $1,825 |
| 9 | Grand Prairie | $1,811 |
| 10 | Irving | $1,772 |
| 11 | Pasadena | $1,758 |
| 12 | San Antonio | $1,722 |
| 13 | Arlington | $1,709 |
| 14 | Beaumont | $1,702 |
| 15 | Lubbock | $1,682 |
| 16 | Austin | $1,676 |
| 17 | Fort Worth | $1,653 |
| 18 | Corpus Christi | $1,636 |
| 19 | Carrollton | $1,615 |
| 20 | El Paso | $1,568 |
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Price information shown is approximated as the specific Dallas residence address can affect price quotes noticeably.
The vehicle to be insured is probably the most important factor when trying to find low-priced car insurance for drivers with a bad driving record. Vehicles with lots of horsepower, poor crash test ratings, or a history of substantial liability claims will cost more to insure than safer models. The list below estimates coverage rates for some of the more affordable vehicles to buy insurance for.
| Vehicle Make and Model | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Hyundai Elantra GLS Touring Station Wagon | $4,191 |
| Honda Accord EX 4-Dr Sedan | $4,387 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD | $4,439 |
| Ford Escape Limited 4WD | $4,466 |
| Volkswagen Jetta S 2.5 Station Wagon | $4,476 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4WD 2-Dr | $4,743 |
| Toyota Prius | $4,853 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SE | $4,961 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LS | $4,968 |
| Toyota Tacoma 4WD | $5,081 |
| GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE Extended Cab 4WD | $5,238 |
| Toyota RAV4 Limited 4WD | $5,326 |
| Chevrolet Impala LT | $5,336 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4WD | $5,382 |
| Ford F-150 FX4 4WD | $5,387 |
| Nissan Rogue S AWD | $5,399 |
| Hyundai Sonata GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $5,404 |
| Dodge Ram Quad Cab ST 2WD | $5,412 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 S 4-Dr Sedan | $5,434 |
| Honda Odyssey Touring | $5,483 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LTZ 2WD | $5,488 |
| Ford Fusion Sport 4-Dr Sedan | $5,483 |
| Ford Focus SES 4-Dr Sedan | $5,512 |
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Prices based on single female driver age 40, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Texas minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, multi-policy, and multi-vehicle. Price information does not factor in specific location information which can increase or decrease prices considerably.
Looking at the data, you can figure that makes and models like the Hyundai Elantra, Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Volkswagen Jetta are the cheapest vehicles to insure for bad drivers. The price for car insurance will be more expensive because there is more inherent risk for drivers with a bad driving record, but generally speaking those particular vehicles will probably have the cheapest rates available.
Establishing which company quotes the lowest-priced auto insurance rates for drivers with a bad driving record will take a little more effort in order to find the lowest price. Each auto insurance company uses their own calculation for determining rates in each state, so let’s rank the auto insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in Texas.
Keep in mind that Texas auto insurance rates are determined by lots of factors which can substantially change the price you have to pay. Simply getting older, marrying your spouse, or getting a driving violation may cause policy rate changes that can now make some companies more affordable than competitors.
Cheapest Insurance Rates for Imperfect Drivers
Travelers offers some of the lowest car insurance rates in Dallas at around $1,041 a year. USAA, Germania Mutual, Texas Farm Bureau, and Esurance would also make the list of some of the best Dallas, TX insurance companies.
As depicted above, if you are currently insured with Texas Farm Bureau and switched to Travelers, you may see savings of in the vicinity of $206. Policyholders with Esurance may save as much as $338 a year, and California Casualty customers might reduce prices by as much as $355 a year.
If you want to see how much you could save, click here to get quotes or visit any of the companies below.
These rates are averages for all drivers and vehicles and and are not calculated with a specific location for drivers with a bad driving record. So the auto insurance company that fits your needs best may not even be in the top 23 companies in the list above. That underscores the importance of why you need to quote rates from as many companies as possible using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
Texas auto insurance companies
Picking the right car insurance provider can be rather challenging considering how many choices there are in Texas. The company ratings displayed below could help you choose which companies you want to consider comparing price quotes from. These ratings are only made up of the largest auto insurers in America, so smaller companies that only insure vehicles in Texas are not included in this list.
| Company | Value | Customer Service | Claims | Customer Satisfaction | A.M Best Rating | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelers | 93 | 98 | 99 | 88% | A++ | 95.1 |
| USAA | 83 | 99 | 100 | 91% | A++ | 94.1 |
| Mercury Insurance | 97 | 96 | 88 | 89% | A+ | 93.4 |
| AAA Insurance | 91 | 95 | 92 | 90% | A | 93.3 |
| Nationwide | 85 | 95 | 97 | 89% | A+ | 92.4 |
| Allstate | 77 | 100 | 97 | 88% | A+ | 90.7 |
| State Farm | 80 | 94 | 96 | 88% | A++ | 90.6 |
| The Hartford | 88 | 93 | 91 | 87% | A+ | 90.4 |
| Safeco Insurance | 91 | 95 | 85 | 88% | A | 90.2 |
| Progressive | 88 | 94 | 83 | 88% | A+ | 90.1 |
| American Family | 91 | 86 | 95 | 83% | A | 89.7 |
| Esurance | 86 | 90 | 94 | 90% | A+ | 89.5 |
| The General | 86 | 93 | 89 | 84% | A- | 88.2 |
| GEICO | 79 | 89 | 95 | 87% | A++ | 87.8 |
| Titan Insurance | 86 | 82 | 92 | 86% | A+ | 86.5 |
| 21st Century | 86 | 82 | 90 | 84% | A | 86.4 |
| Liberty Mutual | 79 | 87 | 95 | 78% | A | 85.3 |
| Farmers Insurance | 77 | 80 | 80 | 84% | A | 80.3 |
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Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
The chart below shows how choosing a deductible can change insurance costs when researching cheap insurance for drivers with a bad driving record. The premium estimates are based on a married female driver, full coverage, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
As shown above, a 40-year-old driver could lower rates by $260 a year by increasing from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $394 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Younger drivers, like the Age 20 category, can save as much as $646 annually just by choosing higher deductibles when buying full coverage. When increasing deductibles, it will be required to have additional savings on hand to be able to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense, which deters some people from using high deductibles.
Get discounts on Dallas car insurance
Car insurance companies that provide coverage for drivers with a bad driving record could also offer price discounts that can reduce rates by 30% or more if you can meet the requirements. Large auto insurance companies and a selection of discounts include:
- GEICO has discounts for five-year accident-free, emergency military deployment, air bags, military active duty, anti-lock brakes, and defensive driver.
- Travelers may include discounts for payment discounts, home ownership, good student, hybrid/electric vehicle, multi-car, and IntelliDrive.
- Farm Bureau discounts include safe driver, renewal discount, driver training, youthful driver, multi-policy, and multi-vehicle.
- Liberty Mutual offers premium reductions for newly married, safety features, new graduate, multi-policy, exclusive group savings, and good student.
- American Family may have discounts that include early bird, defensive driver, air bags, mySafetyValet, and Steer into Savings.
- Progressive has savings for online quote discount, online signing, homeowner, good student, multi-policy, continuous coverage, and multi-vehicle.
The diagram below illustrates the comparison of car insurance rates with and without discounts applied to the policy premium. The costs are based on a female driver, one accident and three citations, Texas state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $500 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows the price with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with continuous coverage, anti-theft, multiple policy, paperless filing, homeowner, and vehicle safety discounts applied. In this example, the average yearly reduction on auto insurance for drivers with a bad driving record is 28% or $1,186.