Car insurance can take a bite out of your wallet, but it doesn’t need to be as big of a bite as you may think. Before taking the time to read the following tips, make sure to educate yourself about car insurance and what comes with it! Understanding the basics is a huge step in the right direction!
So here are 5 tips to save money with car insurance:
The Best Way To Save On Car Insurance Is To Compare
What do you need in your insurance? For example, as the car ages (or is paid off) people often choose to drop the collision part of the insurance. Usually, this is recommended when the premium you pay is approximately 10% of the re-sell value of the car. Everyone should maintain liability and injury coverage though! All cars in the State of Delaware must have a minimum liability insurance coverage of $15,000/$30,000 bodily injury protection; $10,000 property damage coverage; and $15,000/$30,000 personal injury protection., so be sure to keep that in mind.
Raise Your Deductible
Wait, what? Yes, that’s right. Sometimes you need to risk spending a little money in the interest of saving yourself more money. The deductible is what you are expected to contribute in the event of an accident. By having a higher deductible, your rate will drop. Keep in mind that you will need to be able to pay this if you get into an accident, so don’t raise your deductible if you can’t afford it.
Keep A Good Credit Rating and Driving Record
Did you know that your credit score provides the most significant impact on your car insurance premium amount? The better your credit score, the ‘safer’ of an investment you seem. Do you know what your score is? Experian recommends this site. Be sure to keep that score as high as you can! Keeping you driving record clean seems pretty self-explanatory. The more accidents, moving violations, tickets, and the like does not give you the impression of being a safe and reliable driver.
Save On Car Insurance With Discounts
Sometimes insurance companies offer discounts to their customers. They don’t always advertise them though! Don’t be afraid to ask about discounts. Usually, there are discounts for safe drivers (long time with no issues), driving a newer or safer vehicle, college graduate, good grades, military service, or more. Sometimes the insurance company will award discounts to drivers that fit their mold for safe drivers. Below outlines some of those characteristics.
- Be a safe driver Historically
- If you’re a student, keep your grades up.
- Drive a safer car. Volvo?
- Make sure your car is equipped with ABS.
- Install an anti-theft device.
These factors are just the start. There are many more. Allstate provides a comprehensive list of driving factors that will allow you to save on car insurance. This information is very telling because it clearly outlines the characteristics of a low risk driver.
Not All Car Insurance Policies Are Created Equal Shop Around
A lot of companies rely on customer loyalty. Customers tend to stick with their current company and assume that no one can offer them as good of service or as good of a deal. Don’t be afraid to approach other companies to ensure you are not overpaying. It doesn’t take long to comparison shop and could end up saving you money!
Did you know the Insurance Commissioner at the state of Delaware provides a non biased car insurance policy comparison? It’s fantastic. It asks you a few simply questions and then returns a list of insurance companies that fit your needs.
Saving On Car Insurance Is Easy
The best part of these tips are how easy they are. None of them take a great deal of time or work to investigate. Never be afraid to ask questions in order to make the best choice for you and your family!
How did you save on car insurance? Let us know what you learned below. We’d love to know. Enter your tips below. I’m sure our readers (we have many) would love to learn from you experience.
I’m going to have to start comparing different insurance companies. I’ve been looking for a new car insurance for a few weeks now, I haven’t been keeping good track of the different policies and prices, so I’m going to have to start writing that down.
Like you said in the article, the best way to save on car insurance is to compare the rates from different companies. By doing this, you are laying out all of the possible outcomes and comparing them by price and coverage. Some people pay too much and get too little coverage, or they pay too much and get too much coverage. It’s up to you to talk to the insurance company to find out how much you need for the car you drive.
These seem like great tips to save money on car insurance. There seems to be a lot of discounts that drivers are eligible for, but they don’t know about. It’s important to ask about any discounts that will help you save money on car insurance.
As the article explains, not every car insurance plan is created equal and it’s important to do some research. I think too many people choose a plan without having researched others, because they assume others will be similar. Most who actually do their research, however, are surprised at how much plans can differ one from another.
Gaston Parizeau |
I agree that being a safe driver and having a clean driving record helps you out so much. They base insurance rates on a lot of statistics.
I had no idea that your credit score could actually impact your insurance rates. My sister has been looking for a new insurance policy but has really bad credit. It seems like she should work on improving her credit so that insurance companies will think she is a more responsible driver. http://www.dainsurance.com/autoinsurance.nxg
These are great tips Scott, thank you for sharing. It is a good thing that I have a good credit score, because I need the best and cheapest insurance available. I have been looking into getting better insurance now that I have a nicer car. I need something that is better, but I can’t afford much higher rates. Hopefully I will be able to find one that works for me.
http://www.sldins.com/autoins.php
Our son has recently turned 16 and we need to get auto insurance for him. He’ll probably be added to our plan, but with a teenage driver is raising the deductible still a good idea? I like the tip to install an anti theft system. He has an older car so it will probably be something to do any way.
Great post
These look like very helpful auto insurance tips. I’ll be sure to use this advice by looking into raising the deductible, keeping a good driving record (no accidents that are my fault, I assume), and looking for discounts. Thanks for the insurance help.
I never knew that students could get discounts on auto insurance! That is good to know because I have pretty good grades. I also think it would be great for others to know as well. That way it gives them even more of an incentive to get better grades!
I need to save on car insurance. Especially, since I was in a car crash not long ago. I’m going to try to get my deductible up as you said. It would be nice to know what the best way is to do that! However, do you think my driving record will knock that down?
I agree that the best way to save money on car insurance is to compare companies. You also said that if you opt to raise your deductible, you can often save on your monthly costs. I think it’s good to go with an insurance company that you already have another plan through so that you can save money through bundling.