When it comes to saving money on car insurance, there are plenty of tips and advice out there, not all of them accurate or even a wise decision. To really lower your insurance quotes and rates without giving up coverage or the service you want from your insurance company, follow these insider tips. They are the top secret and incredibly easy ways to pay less for auto insurance.
How You Pay Your Bill Matters.
A lot of people pay their car insurance in monthly installments to take some of the immediate pressure of paying a large sum up front off the budget. But what they may not realize is that paying in full can actually save you money. First off, there are the monthly fees that most companies charge you for paying in installments. But there could be even more savings than that when you pay in full.
Many insurance companies will actually offer a discount to people who choose to pay the entire term up front. Because it saves them the billing process and ensures they have the full premium, they will often reduce the rate as an incentive. Ask your insurance company if they will take a percentage off your bill if you pay in full.
Don’t Reduce – Raise.
Reducing your coverage seems like an easy way to save money, and certainly it is a means to an end. Unfortunately it is also a big risk to take. If you don’t have enough coverage – or the right coverage – when there is an accident or other incident requiring a claim, you will find it could cost you a lot more than you ever saved on your insurance.
On the other hand, there is something you can actually raise on your insurance policy and save money – the deductible. The deductible applies to collision and comprehensive coverage, and is the portion that you are expected to pay out of pocket when you make a claim against either of those coverages on your policy. While many people balk at increasing that amount, the important thing to remember is that the odds of needing to pay that amount are in your favour – if you are a good driver. You only pay the collision deductible if you are at fault in the accident, and comprehensive is for anything other than an accident. You may save enough to make up the difference very quickly if you carry a higher deductible.
Discounts, Discounts, Discounts.
The existence of discounts on car insurance is no secret, but the fact is that there are a great number of discounts available that most people aren’t even aware of. Ask your insurance company for a list of their available discounts, and you are likely to be surprised by how long it is. A few of the discounts you could be getting if you only know they exist include the good student discount (which at many insurance companies applies to university students as well as high school students, a lesser known fact), discounts for installing winter tires, and discounts for adding certain anti-theft devices.
Some of these discounts you won’t get unless you provide documentation to your insurance company showing that you qualify for them. That means they won’t be added automatically, so many people don’t even know they exist.
Shop Around.
Shopping around for better car insurance quotes is not a secret, but many people don’t really believe it can make a difference. It’s not just a ploy to get you to move to another insurance company; shopping around really can save you a lot of money on your insurance premiums. Insurance rates are determined by each company individually, and they can decide what will affect those rates. That means that even if you have problems on your driving record, you can still find a better rate. It may be the biggest secret of all that tickets and accidents don’t mean high rates everywhere you go. You really can lower your rates if you make the effort.
Car insurance experts know that shopping around isn’t just one of the ways you can save, but in fact the best way.
Lower car insurance rates are possible without giving anything up on your coverage. Not only can you use any of these tips, but you can actually use all of them together to get the best rates possible on your auto insurance. That means that when you shop around, ask about the other items that can save you money on the new quote as well, and get the lowest rate.
