6 Ways to Save Money on Your Car Insurance

Cars are expensive, and when you add in the additional costs of gas and insurance, it might just break the bank for some people. However, there are many ways to lower your insurance costs, making it easier to get to where you need to go.

Avoid Expensive Cars

Owning an expensive new car may seem like fun, and the payments might be within your ability to pay, but you have to remember that monthly insurance costs go up with your car’s worth. If you purchase a cheaper car or one that’s a few years old, not only will you be saving money on the car itself, but you’ll be consistently saving on car insurance. You shouldn’t put your budget in danger just to have a fancier car, and you can still find a nice car that won’t empty your pockets every month and leave you scraping by.

Take a Defensive Driving Course

Along with the obvious cost-reducers like good credit, good driving records, and good grades, many insurance companies will also give you a discount if you’ve been through a defensive driving course. It’ll take some time and may cost a chunk of money up front, but can save you hundreds of dollars by reducing your insurance costs each month. These courses can be found through AAA and besides saving money, could also save you from future accidents.

Reduce Your Driving

The less you drive, the cheaper your insurance costs. If you can find ways to keep your number of yearly miles down, your insurance payment can drop significantly. Just by carpooling a few days a week, doing all your errands at once, and walking or using a bike when possible, you can bring down the number of miles you put on your car a surprising amount. As a bonus, you’ll also pay less in gas, pay less for maintenance, and be able to keep your car longer.

Bundle Your Coverage

Combining several types of coverage, like home insurance, renter’s insurance, or insurance for any other vehicles you own, can lead to big savings. Most insurance companies will be able to give you a large discount on all your policies if you keep them all with a single company. Be sure to research this and talk to the various providers you speak to when shopping around.

Price-Shop Companies

Insurance prices vary widely from company to company, so it’s important to check out several different companies and get estimates. When you do this, though, make sure that each company is giving you an estimate based on the deductible and other policy requirements you need so you’re comparing equal policies and will receive estimates that are accurate.

Self-Insure as Much as You Can

If you have a bit of cash in savings, it could be much better for you to raise your deductible and only get the cheapest bare-bones policy you can. Insurance companies make money because they get more money from monthly payments then they have to put out for actual accidents, meaning that it’s very likely you will give them more money than they will ever need to dole out for you. If you instead save your money by getting a cheaper policy, you’re betting that you will not need to use that much insurance. If you do this, though, it’s important that you have the money available to you if something does happen to go wrong and you need it.

Car ownership can be expensive, but if you put some effort into lowering your insurance costs, you’ll find that it can be much less costly than you expect. Taking your time and researching your different options will lead you to more savings, something everyone could use.

Greg Peters writes for several insurance sites and recommends you compare Vermont auto insurance rates for the best price. If you live in Connecticut be sure to compare cheap Connecticut car insurance quotes to save money.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us

Save