Top 10 ways to reduce your car insurance rates
September 18, 2007 by kellys
Filed under Top 10 lists, automotive
My car insurance comes around every three months. I hate having to fork out that payment. I have looked high and low for the top 10 ways to reduce your car insurance rates. Hands down, the same ways keep coming up so here they are.
- Shop around. Don’t just take the first quote or go with the insurance agent your friend has.
- Before you buy, examine the options. Pick a few different types of cars and then shop around for insurance rates. The same type of car, say a mini van, might have drastic differences in insurance rates between the make and model.
- Ask for higher deductibles. A deductible around $1000 can reduce your insurance rates as much as 40%.
- Drop your coverage to liability only if you have a vehicle 10 years or older. Chances are, your car costs less than what your premium difference is.
- Keep a good driving record. You can probably get a discount for a good driving records.
- Ask for all the discount options you can get. Here is a great list of the most common discounts available.
- Buy your home owners, auto, and life insurance in the same place. You can usually get multiple discounts.
- If you don’t drive often, ask for a low-mileage discount.
- Ask for a group discount. Depending on where you work, you might be eligible for a group discount.
- Know your credit score. Evidently, the auto insurance industry is starting to look at your credit score and pricing your car insurance accordingly.
All the sites give similar advice so ask your local insurance agent the best way to get the best car insurance rate.
Another tip is too only pay for life, car, and home insurance once a year if you can manage it. We have great credit but our insurance company still gave us a huge discount (about 30%) for paying in one chunk in January. Also, even though I work part time, I got a stay at home mom discount too since I was driving in non peak hours.
Our insurance company for auto and homeowner’s insurance is American Family. They allow you to pay your premiums monthly. If you pay in person or by check, then there is a $3 service fee each time, but if you use their online bill paying option, it doesn’t cost a thing.
I really like the convenience of paying monthly; it makes budgeting so much easier. There’s no big chunk of change to come up with quarterly, bi-annually or yearly, and there’s no temptation to dip into the money you’re trying to save for those big payments.
I’m sure other insurance companies must offer this option, too.
We used to pay our car insurance once a year. The trick is to put aside your monthly payment each month ahead of schedule so that when your car insurance comes due, you have the entire year paid for and you don’t have to pay any monthly installation fees.