Like anything else that is added to your insurance policy, the cost of adding a teen depends what is already on your policy.

For parents of teen drivers, being able to know how much your teen is going to increase your insurance premium would be a dream come true.  Unfortunately, we don’t live in that type of world and the expense of adding a teenager to an insurance policy is not only painful, it is really unknown.

First and foremost, you can’t predict how much a teen will add to your auto insurance premium because all premiums differ from policy to policy.  There is no way to even figure out an average across the board of how much auto insurance premiums have increased for other parents.

This is due to insurance policies being rated on information such as the personal information of the drivers already on the policy, the driving records of the drivers on the policy and also the teen being added, the details of the vehicles on the policy, where you live, if you have any specific discounts, if your teen driver qualifies for a good student discount and finally, what vehicle will your teen be driving.

To add to all of those variables is that the insurance premiums vary from state to state and also from company to company.  The only thing that you can do is call your insurance company and ask them for a quote to add a teen driver so that you can get prepared for adding them in the future.

Hitting a dead deer or an alive deer is all covered under the same coverage.

Any time you have a run in with an animal, whether they run into you or you run into them, it is covered under your comprehensive coverage on your insurance policy. This includes if the animal that you hit is dead.

So if you are driving and you hit a dead deer that was laying in the road from someone hitting it earlier, your insurance company is going to repair the damages under your comprehensive coverage. This also means that your comprehensive deductible applies, not your collision deductible.

Unless an insurance company has thrown in a cancellation clause, any unearned premium has to be refunded to you.

In most cases, if you have paid in full for your insurance term you are owed a refund if you cancel your policy at any time before the renewal date. Insurance companies cannot keep the money that you paid to them if they do not provide you with insurance.

For example, if you pay for insurance for January 1^st though June 30^th and cancel March 31^st; you are owed a refund for April 1^st through June 30^th. The insurance company is not extending you coverage for this time period so you owe them no money for this period.

The only exception to this is if your insurance company has put in a cancellation clause on your policy. Most of these clauses state that if you cancel your policy within the first 60 days you still owe them a minimum of the 60 days of insurance. If your insurance company has something like this they will (or at least should) tell you when you first purchase your policy.

Infinity Insurance tries to make themselves out to be the insurance company that understands the needs of unique drivers, but falls short explaining why.

Summary

Commercial opens with a little, masked wrestler bobbling around in the back window of a vehicle. The picture switches to a diva doll in a rotating gold shoe in the next rear vehicle window and packages in the backseat of the cat. The next scene is flashing lights disco lights in another car and a little disco dancer in the rear window of this one. Each scene has background music and noise that fits the scene in the rear of the vehicle.

Spokesman: At Infinity we know that each driver is unique.

Scene changes to show the spokesman that is talking to us.

Spokesman: So call us today and switch to the auto insurance that’s right for you. For 60 years we’ve been serving our clients’ diverse needs with thousands of agents and local claims offices. It’s easy, call now and get the special attention that you deserve.

Scene changes from spokesman to an Infinity Insurance company vehicle. On bottom of the screen are the phone number, website address and the Infinity logo.

Spokesman: Infinity, always with you.

Point of the Commercial

Infinity is making the point that they can tailor your insurance to fit your specific needs; that they are not a “one-size-fits-all” insurance company. As they do not go into specifics on how they are different in fitting the “diverse needs” of clients in their commercial, I am not sure how they are any different than any other insurance company.

What They Want you to Do

Infinity makes no mistake that they want you to call them at their toll free number as this pops up only 7 seconds into the commercial. In fact, in the span of the 32 second commercial, they show us their phone number 5 different times in different locations on the screen. Their website address shows up 3 different times during commercial.

So even though they are telling you about their local agents and claim service, they are encouraging you to contact them directly and apparently preferably by phone as this form of contact gets the most screen time.

My Opinion

I like the beginning of the commercial with the three different cars and how they are decorated. It’s fun and does help Infinity prove the point of drivers all being different. However, the majority of the commercial is a spokesman talking sales pitch and they never say why they are different from other insurance companies.

I would have to give this a thumbs up for the beginning of the commercial and a thumbs down for the 2^nd half of the commercial.

Texas car insurance is required just like in every other state, but in Texas the government keeps track of your insurance.

Texas car insurance is tracked electronically in the state of Texas to make sure that every registered vehicle is covered by insurance. If your insurance coverage does not meet minimum state requirements you will not be allowed to complete any required actions for your vehicle or your driver’s license.

For drivers living near the Mexican border, they will also find that their Texas car insurance doesn’t meet legal insurance requirements of the Mexican government.

Texas Car Insurance Requirements

Texas car insurance requires a driver to carry a minimum of $30,000 per person and $60,000 in liability coverage for injuries to others. Drivers are also required to carry a minimum liability limit of $25,000 for property damage done to others.

You have to be able to show proof of this insurance if you have an inspection on your car, renew or get your driver’s license and renew or register your vehicle in Texas. Just like in other states, you also have to supply proof of insurance if you get into a car accident or are asked by a police officer for it.

Going to Mexico with Texas Car Insurance

If you drive into Mexico the coverage on your basic Texas car insurance policy will not follow you into Mexico. You will need to contact your agent to add a special endorsement to your policy.

The basic policy endorsement on your Texas car insurance policy will generally cover you up to 25 miles past the U.S.-Mexican border and is good for up to 10 days. If you visiting longer or further into Mexico let your agent know. They may be able to find you a tourist type endorsement to add to your Texas car insurance policy that will give you the coverage you need to legally drive in Mexico.

TexasSure

Texas car insurance is verified by the authorities through a program called TexasSure. TexasSure allows the police, vehicle registration offices and any other allowed department to verify if you truly do have current Texas car insurance.

This program was designed to cut down on the number of uninsured motorists in the state of Texas. It works by matching your VIN number with the insurance database information to verify that your vehicle is insured. If your VIN does not match with an insurance record, you will be sent a notification from the system that you need to correct the situation.

The TexasSure system also prevents people from providing false or forged insurance information to the authorities.

Penalties

Your first offense for not carrying Texas car insurance is a fine that can range from $175.00 to $350.00. If you continue to be caught without insurance your fines increase to $350.00 and up to $1000.00, also your vehicle is impounded and your driver’s license is suspended.

While the first and second offense fines and penalties would stop most people, there are those that just don’t learn. If you are one of those and you still drive without insurance even after your license has been suspended, your fines can be up to $2000.00 and/or jail time. An accident that is caused by you that results in a serious injury or death increases your fine up to $4000.00 and/or a year in jail, if you are still driving without insurance.