How to Save Money on Car Insurance
Car insurance is required in most states and is certainly a good idea in others. A sort of necessary evil, automobile insurance protects the value of your car should the car be damaged in an accident, an act of God, or vandalism. Insurance also limits your liability should you injure someone in a car accident. Are you planning to buy a new car? Review the insurance rates on various models before your decide on a particular make and model. Automobile insurance is expensive. Consider the following tips to save your money.
Review Your Driving Record
Good drivers get better rates on car insurance. Accidents, speeding tickets, and DUI citations all increase the premium you pay for auto insurance. Most tickets stay on your record for three years. Accidents and DUIs generally stay longer. Check with your state’s DMW (Department of Motor Vehicles) if you aren’t sure of your record. Nothing drives up insurance rates like a poor driving record. If you see that your “points,” or citations, are going to come off of your record in a couple of months, wait until then to shop for insurance. You’ll save a significant amount of money.
Solicit Competitive Quotes
The explosion of information on the Internet makes shopping for car insurance a lot easier than it was just a few years ago. What once took multiple telephone calls can now be achieved by visiting one of two websites. Many auto insurance companies, eager for your business, provide a variety of quotes, both with their company and others, via their websites. Try Progressive.com or Geico.com. Independent sites, such as InsWeb.com and InsureOne.com also offer a variety of quotes. Completing the sites’ questionnaires will take ten to twenty minutes each, but could save you hundreds of dollars on your insurance premiums.
Increase Your Deductible
The deductible on your insurance policy is the amount of every claim that you pay before the insurance company pays anything. Increasing this amount from $200 to $500 can save you between 20 and 50 percent on your car insurance premiums. This is generally a good idea unless you typically have a lot of small claims.
Make Sure You Get All the Discounts
Insurance companies offer a plethora of discounts for everything from good students to low risk occupations like teachers and engineers to professional associations like AAA. Do some research and see what discounts are offered. Ask questions. Many discounts aren’t offered unless you ask. Some more popular discounts include:
• Multi-line discounts – Buying more than one type of policy from the insurance company, such as homeowners, renter’s insurance, or life insurance.
• Discounts for automobile safety features – Such features as antilock brakes, passenger side air bags, and automatic seat belts frequently qualify car owners for insurance discounts. These discounts vary by state, but it never hurts to ask.
• Insure more than one car – Many insurance companies offer a discount for multi-car policies.
• Grow old gracefully – Statistically, older drivers have fewer major accidents. Many insurance companies reward these drivers with a discount.
Drive a “low Profile” Car with safety Features
Auto insurance rates reflect both how safe a car is and how prone to theft that car is. Save money on insurance by driving a safe and less flashy car. Sports cars, especially convertible sports cars, top the list in both the safety and the theft category. Conversely, traditional sedans, particularly those with air bags and anti-lock brakes are less expensive to insure. Subscribing to an in-vehicle assistance and anti-theft program, such as “OnStar,” also often qualifies drivers for an insurance discount. Keep these options in mind when choosing a new car.