29. Save $100+ per month – Save money on car insurance
Here is a comprehensive listing of ways for you to save money on car insurance:
You can have your car insurance being covered by the person with the cheapest insurance rates, (like grandfather or parents name insurance), or get joint coverage. Renegotiating with your current insurance company or every 6 months shop for cheaper insurance will save you allot of money. This also applies to healthcare insurance coverage.
One often overlooked place to save some money is your car insurance bill. As an agent, I can tell you that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. We don’t have time to requote every policyholder’s coverage at renewal, but if asked to, we will shop their coverage around. Companies are changing rates and adding discounts all the time, so if you haven’t shopped your coverage around lately, you might be surprised how much you could save!
Insure your home and your car with the same carrier. With a multi-line insurance policy you purchase both your auto and homeowners insurance from the same carrier. According to the Insurance Information Institute, a multi-line policy can save you up to 15% on both premiums. Combine your auto and homeowners insurance with one company = big savings.
Purchase auto and homeowners/renters/condo insurance from the same company. Insurance companies give healthy discounts for having more than one policy with them.
I switched my car insurance to the company that advertises with the little lizard (Geico.com). My insurance premium went down from $404.00 for six months to $287.00 for six months; and, I get better coverage. It really pays to shop around...
I went through my bank (Wells Fargo) for auto insurance and got my rate lowered by over $100 for the same company (progressive). The bank has a bigger pool of people so they can offer a bigger discount.
I discovered the little lizard for my auto insurance too. I also take the safe driving course offered here every 3 years which qualifies me for further discounts on my car insurance.
Pay car insurance semi-annually. At least with my car insurance, they offer quarterly and semi-annual payment options. It costs more to pay quarterly, and twice a year is more convenient anyway.
Think before submitting an insurance claim. My rule of thumb is that I won’t submit a claim on a loss that is less than twice my deductible. So for a $250 deductible on an auto loss, I’ll pay out of pocket any loss up to $500. Why? The $250 I’d receive from my insurance company is not worth the increased premiums I’m likely to pay. You may want to call your insurance agent to find out how a claim will impact your premiums before filing the claim.
Pay less when you drive less. Many auto insurance companies will offer discounts on vehicles that incur low annual mileage. If your commute has recently changed or you have recently retired and no longer drive your car to work, you might save money by getting an updated quote. Ask your insurance agent whether driving your car less often for your daily commute will result in a lower insurance rate.
Get married and get older lowers your car insurance.
If you have more than one car, insure them on the same policy to get a break.
Buy a car with safety features such as antilock brake system, alarm and air bags.
Review your insurance policies for duplications. If you already have health insurance for yourself and your family, don't buy personal injury protection.
If your teen is away at college, change the policy or take him off it.
Make sure your teen stays in school and studies hard. Some insurers offer discounts to good students, or to those who only drive during school vacations.
Sign up your teen for a driver's education course. Many insurers will offer a discount for this kind of investment. Don't let your teenagers get a drivers license without taking a prescribed driver education course. Most auto insurance companies will give a discount for teens that have taken drivers ed.
If your teen will be driving a family car, designate which vehicle he or she will drive. Otherwise, the insurance company will price the premium based on the highest risk vehicle on your policy.
Reward your teen's safe driving. More than anything else, an accident-free and ticket-free driving record will keep your rates at their lowest.
Other ways to save money on car insurance:
1. Always find out how much a car costs to insure before you buy it. Certain makes and models are more costly than others and could increase your premium by hundreds of dollars per month.
2. If your car is more than 10 years old, it's probably not worth very much. If the value of your auto is worth less than 10 times the premium, physical damage coverage may not be cost effective. At the very least, remove collision coverage. Consider dropping collision insurance if you drive an older car. Ask: How much of your premium is collision insurance? Do you have $2,000 if you needed a new car tomorrow?
3. Ask for higher deductibles. Auto insurance policies are not maintenance contracts. The more of the cost you can absorb out of your pocket for small claims, the lower your auto insurance cost will be. Also check out idea nr. 28: $$ Save $100 per month – Increase car insurance deductibles
4. Boost your credit rating. A low credit score can adversely affect your auto insurance rate. The higher the score, the lower the premium.
5. Look for other discounts. Ask about:
- Multi-Car Discounts
- No-Accidents In 3 Years
- Air Bags
- Anti-Theft Devices
- Low Annual Mileage
- Senior Discounts
- Student Drivers With Good Grades
- College Students Away From Home
- Anti-Lock Brakes
6. Never let your auto insurance coverage lapse. It may be difficult to find coverage again even if you have a perfect driving record and perfect credit.
7. Buy only the coverage that you need. For example: If your net worth is less than $50,000, it might not make sense to purchase $500,000 of liability insurance.
8. Shop and compare. Auto insurance rates vary by hundreds of dollars per month from one company to another. Make sure you get apples-to-apples auto insurance quotes so that you can make an accurate comparison.
Normal = Buy insurance and keep renewing without checking rates. However, regardless of who you buy from, you can be abnormal and save money by shopping around every year or so for insurance. I have saved over $530/year for the same coverage by getting car insurance quotes on a regular basis. Now there is something to be said for finding a top-rated insurance company – it may not be worth saving $50/year to switch to a terrible company, so use your own judgement.
Flaunt your good driving record. If you've had no accidents or tickets during the last three years, make sure your rates reflect that. Most insurance companies don't automatically lower your premiums when old citations fall away. You have to call and make them reduce your bill.
Get whats coming to you! Keep the following list of possible discounts available and ask for them all when you get car insurance quotes (many might be applicable to homeowners as well.): Accident-free, multiple cars, short mileage (usually less than 7,500 miles per year), good student, absent student (if your kid is away at school without their car, they might reduce your family rate), over 50, graduate of defensive driving course, nonsmoker, airbags, anti-lock brakes, automatic seat belts and anti-theft devices. Any of these possible discounts could save you money. And when you're done reciting them to the insurance company, be sure and ask, “Did I leave anything out? Do you have any other ways for me to save money?”
Check out insweb.com to compare car insurance prices.
