What are the best car insurance companies in Houston?

The largest car insurance companies in the Houston area mirror the top 40 companies on the Texas state insurance department registry.

At the top of the list, is State Farm, with more agents and offices than any other insurance firm in the Houston area.

The most popular and recognizable insurance firms do well in Texas and certainly have a strong presence in the Houston market.

Including non-public insurance carriers, some of the top ten car insurance companies in Houston also include Farmers, Geico, Old American, USAA, Home State County Mutual and Consumers County Mutual.

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Regional Specialty Car Insurance Companies in Houston

Houston Texas is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in the state of Texas with a population in excess of 2.1 million people. Hispanic or Latino people make up 44 percent of Houston’s expanding population.

It is also estimated that Houston is home to as many as 400,000 illegal Hispanic immigrants, which causes some interesting problems for the local auto insurance industry.

Two newer insurance organizations, Confie Seguros and Fred Loya Insurance, cater specifically to the exploding Hispanic market in cities like Houston, Texas.

Fred Loya began his insurance agency in 1974 in a storefront in El Paso, Texas. Today, Loya is ranked 17th in the state of Texas.

The Loya agency has grown so much in recent years that it is now the 18th largest Hispanic owned and operated business in the entire United States.

In December of 2011, Confie Seguros, a fast-growing national insurance chain, announced that it had acquired Auto Insurance Discounters, Inc; a leading Houston based insurance brokerage.

It was established 20 years ago and now features 13 locations in Houston and the surrounding area. It is one of the largest providers of auto insurance coverage in the State of Texas.

Houston’s High Number of Uninsured Motorists

Compounding the problems of motorists in Houston is the large percentage of drivers in the city who have little or no auto liability coverage.

Motorists can comply with these requirements in a number of ways.

These requirements include:

• Drivers can purchase standard liability insurance coverage through a state licensed agency
• Drivers may also file a surety bond at their county clerk’s office. The bond must include two individuals who are willing to sign and own property in the state
• Drivers with sufficient resources can make a sizeable security deposit of $55,000 in cash or negotiable securities with their county comptroller
• Drivers may also deposit cash or certified bank funds with a county judge
• Fleet automobile operators, may file an affidavit with the Texas DMV certifying that they are self-insured.

In order to help lessen the impact of uninsured motorists, it is now mandatory for residents to provide some sort of proof of financial responsibility before getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle.

New Minimum Car Insurance Requirements Take Effect

Another state-sponsored measure to protect motorists in Texas was the recent increase in mandatory minimum liability coverage.

As of January 2011, new insurance regulations took effect, increasing the amounts of coverage drivers must carry in the state of Texas, to 30/60/25.

The new laws increased minimum liability values to $30,000, covering injury to one person, and $60,000 for two or more persons while maintaining property damage coverage at $25,000. The old coverage values were 25/50/25.

These changes mean that Texans will pay about 3 percent more in premiums for minimum coverage.

Even with these increases, most experts agree that minimum insurance coverage amounts are not enough to adequately protect drivers in case they are involved in an accident.

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