Baja Auto Insurance finds coverage for Texas drivers who have been denied elsewhere, but it gets mixed reviews when it comes to customer service.
Texas drivers have dozens of options when it comes to car insurance coverage. We’ve reviewed many auto insurance providers and compiled a list of the ones we consider the best. Baja Auto Insurance is a popular choice among drivers in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. Keep reading to see what we learned in our Baja car insurance review, and fill out the form below to start comparing quotes from car insurance companies available in Texas.
In this article:
Background And Coverage Options
Baja Auto Insurance has been selling policies to Texas drivers since 2006. It operates 59 offices across the Dallas/Fort Worth area and offers bilingual services. Baja Auto Insurance prides itself on offering its customers competitive rates and efficient service. According to its website, an agent can provide a quote and help a customer purchase a policy and print an insurance card in minutes.
The company can find coverage options for drivers with clean driving records and those with blemishes, such as tickets, accidents, and DUIs, that often make it difficult to find coverage. Baja Auto Insurance offers policies that can cover a wide range of vehicles, including:
- Car
- Truck
- SUV
- Motorcycle
- Scooter
- ATV
- Motocross
- Dirt bike
- Moped
- Snowmobile
Types Of Car Insurance Coverage
There are several types of standard auto insurance. Some of them are mandatory in all cases, some are required for certain drivers, and others are optional in some states.
Liability coverage is required in most states. Where it’s mandatory, states set minimum coverage requirements. Bodily injury liability coverage will pay for another person’s medical costs if you cause an accident. Property damage liability will pay for repairs or replacement if you cause an accident that damages someone else’s property.
Texas law requires all drivers to carry liability insurance with a minimum of $30,000 of injury coverage per person, up to a total of $60,000 per accident, and $25,000 of coverage for property damage. You should consider choosing higher coverage limits, however. If you were responsible for an accident that resulted in serious injuries or totaled another driver’s car and you didn’t have enough liability coverage, you would have to pay the difference. If you couldn’t afford that, the other driver could file a lawsuit, and you could lose your home, savings, and other assets.
Uninsured motorist coverage can pay for your medical bills and/or vehicle repairs if you get hit by a driver who doesn’t have car insurance. Underinsured motorist coverage will help if you’re hit by someone who has insurance, but that driver’s liability limit isn’t high enough to cover your bills.
In Texas, insurers are required to offer uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage to all customers. If you want to decline that coverage, you must notify the company in writing.
Comprehensive coverage will pay to repair or replace a vehicle damaged by a covered peril, such as theft, vandalism, fire, or hail, after you pay your deductible. Although comprehensive coverage is generally optional, it may be required if you have an auto loan or lease.
Collision coverage will pay to repair or replace your car if you hit another vehicle or an object. It will cover costs once you have met your deductible. Collision coverage is usually optional, but you will be required to carry it if you have a loan or lease.
Medical Payments coverage will pay for bills associated with injuries to you and any passengers who were in your car at the time of an accident. This coverage is required in some states, while it’s optional in others, including Texas.
Personal Injury Protection (PIP) can pay for your medical expenses stemming from an accident, as well as other related costs. PIP is required in some states and optional in others. In some states, Personal Injury Protection coverage isn’t available at all.
Car insurance policies issued in Texas automatically include PIP coverage. If you don’t want that coverage, you can notify your insurance company in writing.
Other Coverage Options Available Through Baja Auto Insurance
Baja Auto Insurance offers roadside assistance coverage that includes towing, jump starting a dead battery, pulling a vehicle out of snow, changing a flat tire, helping a driver who is locked out of a vehicle, and bringing fuel if the driver has run out. The company sells a variety of policy types, including multi-policy and multi-car.
How Auto Insurers Set Rates
Insurance premiums are based on a multitude of factors. Some are specific to you, and others have nothing to do with you as an individual. Some factors include:
- Age: Young people (in their teens and early 20s) generally pay high premiums. Rates go down through middle age, then rise again starting around the age of 70.
- Relationship status: Married drivers often pay lower rates than single customers. This is because married drivers are statistically less likely to be involved in accidents and because they often have multi-car policies and bundle policies, which helps them qualify for discounts.
- Driving history: An insurance company will examine your driving history to decide how much to charge you. It might forgive an accident, especially a minor one, but a DUI or a citation for reckless driving could lead to high rates.
- Credit score: Your credit score is another factor that can affect how much you pay for car insurance. Studies have found that drivers with lower credit scores tend to file more small claims than drivers with better credit. Customers with lower credit scores are therefore often charged higher premiums.
- Location: Where you live can affect how much you pay. Highly populated urban areas have more accidents than places with fewer drivers, so customers who live in cities tend to be charged higher premiums. The number of uninsured drivers and the frequency of severe weather can also affect rates.
- Type of car: People who drive fast cars tend to get into more accidents than those who use sedans and SUVs. Drivers of fast cars therefore pay higher insurance premiums. Safety features, such as airbags and anti-lock brakes, can help you qualify for savings on your car insurance premiums.
Auto insurers typically offer discounts that help drivers who meet certain criteria save money. For example, Baja Auto Insurance offers multi-policy, multi-vehicle, good driver, and student discounts, among others.
We recommend using the easy form below, which matches you with the best rates and providers available in your area:
Does Baja Auto Insurance Have Coverage For Travel In Mexico?
All Texas drivers operating a vehicle in Mexico must have liability insurance issued by a company licensed in Mexico. Your U.S. car insurance policy most likely won’t cover you at all if you take a trip south of the border and get into an accident. Driving in Mexico without Mexican insurance could land you in financial hot water, and possibly even in jail.
You will need to purchase a separate policy to cover you for the time you intend to visit Mexico. If you plan to rent a car in the U.S. and drive into Mexico, you can buy collision coverage from the rental company, but you’ll need liability coverage from an insurance company licensed in Mexico. It must be tourist car insurance specifically for vehicles with foreign license plates and separate from your regular U.S. auto insurance policy. If you rent a car after you arrive in Mexico, the rental fee may include liability coverage, and you can choose additional coverage if you wish.
The coverage in a Mexico policy must be similar and must correspond to the coverage in your U.S. policy. For example, to buy physical damage coverage for a Mexico policy, your U.S. policy must include collision and comprehensive coverage. You can choose the length of a policy based on the amount of time you plan to spend in the country.
Rates vary based on the types of coverage included, the time period covered, the insurance company providing coverage, and when the policy was purchased. While it’s possible to buy Mexico car insurance at the border, it’s usually less expensive if purchased in advance. Baja Auto Insurance doesn’t offer Mexico tourist car insurance, but GEICO works with partners that sell policies that cover cars, motorcycles, and RVs.
Bring your car’s registration along for your trip to Mexico. Border officials may request that document to prove the vehicle wasn’t stolen and you aren’t trying to import it illegally.
Baja Car Insurance Reviews
Baja Auto Insurance has received a B- rating from the Better Business Bureau. The BBB cited the reason for the rating as “failure to respond to one complaint filed against business.”
Baja Auto Insurance has received mixed reviews for its customer service. One customer wrote in a review on Yelp:
“Great quote and great customer service from [customer service provider]. She found me a price that I could afford full coverage with everything I need! Thanks again.”
One reviewer on the BBB reported that changes to a policy were not communicated in advance. The customer wrote, in part:
“I was not notified of my policy being canceled or why it was increased. It was also canceled the day after we paid it.”
Here is an excerpt from another review:
“This has got to be one of the most unprofessional businesses I have ever been to. I would recommend any and everybody stay as far away.”
Our Verdict
Baja Auto Insurance lets drivers in Texas compare quotes from several insurers at once to save time and find the best rates. With dozens of offices across the Dallas/Fort Worth area, it’s easy for customers who prefer a face-to-face conversation to speak with a local agent. It also offers several premium payment options.
Baja Auto Insurance finds coverage for customers with all sorts of driving records. Its agents can quickly connect customers with affordable insurance policies. Drivers who plan to visit Mexico will have to look elsewhere for tourist auto insurance, since Baja Auto Insurance doesn’t include that among the types of coverage it offers.
The company has earned mixed reviews when it comes to the quality of its customer service. It may still be a good option, though, for drivers who are looking for inexpensive coverage or who have had trouble finding a car insurance policy elsewhere because of problems in their driving history.
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Other Recommendations
Before purchasing a car insurance policy, it’s always a good idea to request quotes from several companies. We’ve taken an in-depth look at leading auto insurance companies and compiled a list of the ones we consider the best.
We rated GEICO the best overall choice for auto insurance because it offers drivers a range of options and competitive prices. In addition, GEICO has received an A++ rating from AM Best and an A+ from the Better Business Bureau.
Progressive lets customers use the Name Your Price® tool to find coverage that matches their budget. The company also offers several other options to earn discounts and has earned an A+ rating from AM Best.
Use the form below to compare the best options for you:
