In Austin, TX, the minimum requirements for auto insurance are fairly lax. You are required to carry basic liability, meaning property and personal injury coverage, but beyond that, everything is pretty much at your discretion. Some states require you to carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, but Texas is not one of them.

You may be required to buy more than the legal minimum by your lender if you are still paying your car off. Most lenders will at least require that you carry comprehensive and collision so that the car itself is paid for if it is totaled. Some lenders may require additional insurance to be carried, including underinsured motorist insurance, but you are at least going to be buying comprehensive and collision with more lenders than not.

Once the car is paid off, you are free to buy additional insurance or reduce your current coverage at your discretion, but as long as someone else has a stake in your car, they have a say in the insurance that you are carrying.

If you are still paying your car off, you may want to consider not only uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance, but replacement and gap insurance, as well, to make sure that if something happens, you are not only totally covered for the loss but can get into a replacement car right away, as well.

Your lender has a say in how much insurance you should carry in Austin, TX, but not in where you can buy your insurance from. So get in touch with us at The Policy Source if you have any questions or are looking to get covered. You can call us, get in touch online, or drop by the Policy Source office and we’ll see what we can do to get you the protection you need.