Texans Can Save Big on Car Insurance

We know that there are many factors that affect the cost of our car insurance, like, age, type of car, credit history, geographic location, number of previous tickets, etc. But one thing that generally doesn’t go into the equation is how many miles a day that we drive. Very high mileage drivers are sometimes assessed an additional fee, but the number of miles driven per day to qualify can vary greatly with different companies. Oftentimes, customers are only asked to report their daily commute to work, but are not asked about their other driving habits. Someone may only have a three mile round trip to work, but might drive 300 miles every weekend to their cabin. It’s an inexact science, to be sure.

Savings By the Mile
What this amounts to is that a man who drives twenty miles each week would pay the same amount as someone with the same profile who drives five hundred miles a week. This clearly makes no sense, since the more you’re on the road, the more likely you’ll end up in an accident. Luckily Texas is taking steps to rectify this imbalance. Legislation has enabled auto insurance companies to offer by-the-mile insurance, so you’d pay for insurance the same way you pay for gas! You only use what you need.

This new practice will be more equitable, since previously people paid by the same formula whether they are rich or poor. Obviously this is an unfair practice, since someone making minimum wage and someone making $500,000 a year could easily commute the same distance. However, the person with greater means is going to drive much more. Vacations, trips to the golf course, or visiting friends and family are all things that take extra money, even if it’s just buying gas. Our minimum wage earner is more likely to drive just to and from work, and maybe stop at a corner store on the way home. Why should he pay to subsidize accidents that the wealthy person causes on his drives to his vacation home at the beach?


Good for the Environment as Well as the Wallet
It’s hard to turn on the television or open a newspaper without seeing a reference to our dependence on foreign oil. We know that when gas prices rise, we tend to drive less. Even if you earn a nice salary, you’re probably going to think twice about taking that road trip when you think about how much gas will cost. For people who live paycheck to paycheck, they may have a limited gas budget and will even choose which grocery store to frequent based on the distance from their home. Their decision may be purely economic, but they are, if inadvertently, doing their part to reduce the amount of oil that we need to procure from other countries.

Now imagine if your insurance payment weren’t fixed. How would you drive if you paid for your insurance based on the number of miles that you traveled? Would you choose a closer store rather than the mall in the next town over? Would you think about taking the bus to work? How about riding your bicycle to the video store or park? Could you walk to a convenience store to get a loaf of bread instead of driving to a supermarket?

All of those choices become doubly financial when you consider not just the price of gas, but the price of insurance, too. And without intending to do so, you’ll be helping to reduce our oil consumption - and probably making yourself healthier in the process! It’s a win-win situation.

This new practice of by-the-mile is catching on, and not just in Texas! So Texans, call your auto insurance company and ask if they offer by-the-mile payment. No matter where you live, do some comparison shopping. Using websites like carinsurancerates.com, you can find a company that will serve your needs the best, however much you drive!