Auto insurance is one of the rare monthly bills that you actually have some control over. To begin with, you can shop around for insurance to find the best rates. Additionally, there are certain things you can do to lower the cost of your insurance once you have it. You can’t say that about your rent or credit card payments. Where do you begin? Read these five tips for reducing the cost of your auto insurance:
Raise your deductible. If you feel safe in knowing that, in the case of an event that requires you to file a claim, you will be willing and able to meet higher deductible requirements, then have your insurance agent raise your deductible amount. Higher deductibles can improve your car insurance cost significantly.
Consider carrying only liability coverage on older model vehicles. If your car’s value is less than the amount of ten times your insurance premium, then it may not be cost-effective to invest in comp and collision coverage. Check with Kelley Blue Book to find your car’s value, then use that figure to weigh the replacement cost of your car against the amount you pay in car insurance each year and what your deductible is.
Buy your homeowner’s or renter’s insurance from your car insurance provider. Most auto insurance companies offer discounts to customers who use them for their other insurance needs. This is something you should inquire about before you ever purchase auto insurance when you are calling around for quotes.
Keep a clean driving record. This is perhaps the single most important thing you can do to reduce the cost of your car insurance. In addition to maintaining a reasonable rate that you already have locked in, a clean driving record can get you discounts on a year after year basis. This means that every year you go accident and/or claim-free equals an additional discount to your insurance rate.
Ask about discounts. Every insurance company offers a variety of discounts for its carriers. These discounts include safe driver discounts, straight-A discounts for high school students, college student discounts, low mileage discounts, and discounts for groups, clubs, and associations.
As you can see, there are several ways to reduce the cost of your monthly auto insurance bill, and some of those methods are as simple as just asking. Car insurance is truly one of the most flexible monthly expenditures when it comes to pricing, as long as you’re willing to do a little bit of footwork. Avoid wasting your hard-earned money by using these suggestions to cut your auto insurance bill.
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