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Auto Insurance Texas

Posted on January 31, 2017January 30, 2017 by agentinsure

The Lone Star state is a big place, and driving ever so popular. Texas mandates registration of auto insurance for all vehicle owners with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Traffic citations for driving without insurance in the state, can receive a fine of up to $350 for a first-time offense. The minimum level of auto insurance coverage is liability, to protect a driver from costs related to harm of another driver as result of an accident.

Required Auto Insurance Coverage

Depending on a driver’s record, and license classification, the minimum auto insurance carriage is liability. Drivers in Texas must have liability insurance to cover bodily injury and property damage at the minimum limits of:

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

Optional Auto Insurance Coverage

Before signing on to auto insurance coverage, drivers in Texas can supplement liability insurance with the following options:

Auto rental
Collision insurance
Comprehensive insurance
Customized parts replacement
Medical expenses
Personal injury protection (PIP)
Uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance (bodily injury)
Uninsured motorist insurance (property damage)
Towing and repair labor

When working with an insurance agent, get more value for money on a policy with a discount for driver affiliation membership, or good student driving record. Combined insurance agreements may also cover auto indemnity at a lower rate. Factors such as age, claim history, model of car, credit score, and prior driving history while insured may impact total insurance premium price. If a driver has been classified as a risk as result of DWIs or traffic citations on their record by the Texas State DMV, auto insurance premiums will be higher.

To find out more about auto insurance in Texas, and to obtain a quote, contact InsureUS in Cypress TX.

Tips for Avoiding Car Accidents This Holiday Season

Posted on December 14, 2016February 19, 2017 by agentinsure

When winter hits in Cypress, TX, more auto accidents occur. This is because roads are slick from rain and ice, it gets dark earlier, affecting visibility, and more people are preoccupied with holiday thoughts in their heads. However, just because accidents are more likely to occur during this timeframe doesn’t mean you can’t do things to prevent them. Here are a few tips for avoiding car accidents this holiday season.

Stick to Routes You Are Familiar With

Believe it or not, but you are more likely to be involved in a car accident if you are driving on roads or routes you are not familiar with. As such, when you are out driving this holiday season, stick to roads that you are familiar with to avoid an accident.

Pull Your Emergency Brake if You Are Sliding on Ice

You can’t always avoid icy roads. But if your car starts to slip on a patch of ice, hitting quickly on the brakes can cause you to slide even more, which can cause an accident. Instead, pull up on the emergency brake to attempt to stop your car faster. Keep this tip in mind, so you don’t panic if this happens to you.

Never Drink and Drive

The last way to avoid car accidents this holiday season is never to drink and drive. While it may be legal to drive after having a drink or two, your reflexes are drastically slowed when you drink even a single drink. This can cause an accident to occur. Simply avoid drinking and driving to reduce the likelihood you will be in an auto accident.

Avoiding car accidents not only helps to keep you and your family safe, but it can help to keep your auto insurance premiums affordable. If you are looking to price out auto insurance policies, contact InsureUS, serving the Cypress, TX area today. We can help you with all of your auto insurance needs, regardless of whether you have accidents or not. Give us a call today to get started.

What to say, and not to say, after a car wreck

Posted on June 17, 2016May 25, 2016 by Victor Varma

Alex Glenn at NerdWallet, a personal finance site, says you should never say these things after being involved in a car crash:

“I’m fine.” Soft tissue injuries take time to show up. Let your doctor decide if you’re fine.

“Whiplash.” Even if you have it, the word throws up scamming red flags with your insurer.

“Sorry.” Writing in USA Today, Glenn recommends keeping quiet instead. Saying the word could imply you think the crash was your fault.

“Sure, record me.” You can refuse to have a statement recorded at the scene. Know exactly what you want to say before agreeing to it.

Answer questions honestly but stick to the facts. In all circumstances, tell the truth. But don’t offer uncalled-for details. After a wreck they’re hard to remember, and you don’t know all the details yourself.

“Many customers can’t recall specifics,” says Jason Lundberg, a San Francisco attorney specializing in vehicle accidents. “Trying to give precise details can lead to a false recount. Instead of specifics, providing estimates is a good way to cooperate.”

Never assume the blame at the accident scene. Fault is rarely cut and dried, and your interpretation is just that, an interpretation.

“Most accidents are caused by both parties,” Lundberg says. “Sometimes 50-50, sometimes 90-10. Investigations may reveal there is something the other driver could have done to avoid the accident.”

Getting compensated for damages, injuries. Any injury claims that aren’t documented by your doctor won’t be considered.

Getting your vehicle repaired is more straightforward. Get three estimates, but beware of the one that is significantly lower than the other two because the estimator probably missed something.

Behind the wheel … CAUTION!

Posted on May 13, 2016April 16, 2016 by Victor Varma

The National Safety Council cites many reasons for the big increase in traffic deaths during 2015.

In spite of all the safety features on today’s cars, the number of traffic deaths in the United States rose l8 percent in 2015 over 2014 figures, the largest year-to-year percentage increase in a half-century, according to preliminary estimates by the National Safety Council.

About 38,000 people were killed on U.S. roads, and 4.4 million people were seriously injured, the council said. That would make 2015 the deadliest driving year since 2008.

Council experts say a stronger economy and lower unemployment rates were among key factors that put more people on the road. Add to that cheaper gas prices, which were down by 28 percent from 2014 and encouraged many drivers to take road trips.

The Transportation Department estimated that there was a 3.5 percent increase in the number of miles driven by motorists in the U.S. in 2015.

They are all legitimate reasons for that deadly year, but as you read them, two factors stand out:

* All of those circumstances still exist this year, and those death and injury causes could be even higher. There are probably more drivers than ever on the road, and each driver could be more involved in road trips.

* In 2016, the only thing that could be much better is you! Armed with these 2015 statistics and progressions, you could decide to be a more attentive and careful driver in the cities and on the Interstates.

Tips for Staying Calm While Driving

Posted on April 29, 2016May 1, 2016 by agentinsure

Driving can be nerve wracking but it does not have to raise your blood pressure. Though dealing with other drivers, road hazards, and anything that may end up getting in your way can stress you out while driving, this does not have to be the case. There are ways that you can calm yourself down while driving to keep yourself and other drivers safe.

For starters, music has the ability to calm down even the most frantic person. Try finding a radio station you love, a cd you like to listen to, or even music that is on your phone. Either playing music all the time while you drive or just when you are feeling a bit overwhelmed can help reduce your stress and can help make your trip that much easier and more relaxed.

Breathe, it helps. It may sound funny but deep breathing while driving can reduce stress and can help you to work through any road rage that may be bubbling up. Try some great deep breathing exercises to help reduce your overall stress levels and to help calm you down while driving. Believe it or not, this can reduce overall stress as well as very particular stress that may be associated with an incident while driving.

Pulling over when you are feeling particularly peeved or irritated while driving can do a few things. First off, it can remove you from the other drivers that are making you feel annoyed or angry. It can also give you time to yourself to reflect, and it can give you time to calm down. Pulling over is a wonderful way to destress and get back in the game to be the safest driver you can be. InsureUS wants you to be the best driver you can be so calm down while driving.

SUV sales are set to pass those of the family sedan

Posted on April 5, 2016March 31, 2016 by Victor Varma

Small sport-utility vehicles are becoming family favorites. Families say the ride is great, it gets good gas mileage and it has plenty of room in the back.

Buyers are willing to pay more for a sport-utility vehicle than they would for a sedan. The family sedan’s decades of dominance are coming to an end, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. They say there has been a shift in taste across the board.

Jessica Caldwell, a senior analyst for Edmunds.com says, “The compact SUV is very similar to a midsize car, only taller with more cargo capacity.”

Safety group to review how it rates cars on safety

Posted on March 18, 2016February 25, 2016 by Victor Varma

U.S. regulators are revising the process of assigning safety ratings to new vehicles. It proposes to require more crash-avoidance technologies to achieve a perfect score. And they will update requirements for crash-test dummies that assess performance.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is proposing revision of current ratings from a single score of 1 to 5 into a multifaceted scorecard that includes the score on crash-avoidance systems and a mark for pedestrian safety.

The move signals a strategic shift for the auto-safety industry from simply measuring what happens to vehicles during collisions to how well vehicles can avoid accidents in the first place.

New ratings will gauge a vehicle’s use of nine advanced technologies, such as forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking and lane-departure warning. It could encourage manufacturers to turn often-optional but highly profitable safety systems into standard technology. It would also increase the average price of a new car.

New test dummies have improved sensors to better predict injuries.

NHSTA will include a new frontal-oblique crash test to address what they describe as a type of angled crash “that continues to result in death and serious injuries despite seat belt use, air bags and crashworthy structures.”

“The 5-Star ratings have set the bar on safety since it began in 1978, and today we are raising that bar,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement to The Wall Street Journal.

SUVs turned 2015 into the best sales year ever

Posted on March 11, 2016February 25, 2016 by Victor Varma

In 2015, automakers sold 17.47 million vehicles, according to Autodata. It bested what Kelly Blue Book reported as the previous record of 17.35 million in 2000.

Low gas prices, cheap credit, low unemployment, high consumer confidence and good weather brought a rush of buyers into showrooms in December.

Consumers continued their flight from less-lucrative cars into crossovers, sport-utility vehicles and pickups amid low gasoline prices.

At 13.9 percent of market share, the small SUV segment is now the largest category of vehicles in the United States. It is followed by small cars and midsize cars at 13.7 percent each, according to Kelly Blue Book.

Quoted in USA Today, AutoTrader.com analyst Michelle Krebs said, “There’s no end in sight to those trends.”

In December, General Motors had a 5.7 percent increase in sales, Ford Motor saw an 8.3 percent boost, and Fiat Chrysler sales rose 12.6 percent, according to Autodata.

Tesla Motors doubled sales during the month and sold 23,650 of its luxury electric cars in the U.S. for the year.

Among Asian makers, Toyota saw a 10.3 percent increase for the month, but it posted only a 5.3 percent increase for the year.

Honda was at 9.9 percent, and Nissan at 8.7 percent.

Car Insurance-Why Have Full Coverage?

Posted on March 4, 2016March 3, 2016 by agentinsure

When it comes to car insurance plans there are many to choose from. Though some states do not require car insurance it is wise to have it. Many times unexpected things occur and being insured helps. Car owners have many options when it comes to choosing plans.

Among the choices of car insurance, one aspect a car owner must consider is whether to be insured for liability alone or to have full coverage car insurance. In Cypress, TX , through InsureUS, you can choose from a variety of plans. Liability is a one choice of insurance car owners have a choice of. However, liability only covers certain situations that are often very specific. On the other hand, having full coverage on the car means that the car is insured for a variety of circumstances. Why is this particular type of coverage a good option to consider? It is a good option because this type of car insurance will most likely cover is the car is in an accident whether it be the driver of the cars’ fault or another driver. It is also far more likely to cover any incidents that may happen to the car. This type of incident would be something along the lines of a tree limb falling on it or some other type of damage that is purely accidental and may have occurred even when the car is stationary.

Having full coverage offers peace of mind to car owners. This way, no matter what may happen the car is insured and the owner will most likely not face large out of pocket costs. Car insurance plans vary and there are many to choose from that fit a variety of budgets for car owners as well. The best way to choose is to look at what each plan includes and then choose the one that best suits all needs.

The Duration of Yellow Lights is Unpredictable

Posted on February 12, 2016February 3, 2016 by Victor Varma

Traffic engineers in the United States have never agreed on how to time yellow lights so the interval between green and red is just right.
If it’s too short, drivers may run the red light by mistake. If it’s too long, they may intentionally risk driving through the intersection.
In the past, the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) has tried to come up with a formula, but they couldn’t get enough support from their 15,000-plus members. That was 30 years ago, but they’re trying to create a standard again. Their findings might come before the board late this year at the earliest.
The current proposal relies on four factors: determining how long the yellow should last; vehicle approach speed; driver perception-reaction time; and the deceleration rate and grade of the road. Because no studies are available on these factors, the information they use will be approximations.
Timothy Gates, an engineering professor at Michigan State University and co-author of an ITE report, says it’s a matter of validating appropriate input values.
“If the formula suggests you need 4.5 seconds, and if you provide drivers with 3 seconds, you’re putting drivers into a case where they either have to stop abruptly or proceed through and run the risk of running the red light,” Gates reported recently in The Wall Street Journal.