There are different reasons why car insurance is expensive, and it depends on different factors, including our driving habits. But most of the time, we ask ourselves how to lower our car insurance because we can save money for other expenses.
Luckily, there are various ways to decrease the price of our car insurance, and they can be applied in a very simple way.
Different ways to save money on our car insurance
If we want to save on our car insurance, we will have to look at some aspects that will allow us to save money:
Increase our deductible
Depending on our insurance provider, paying a high deductible is the fastest and easiest way to make our payments less expensive. This will be the amount we pay before our insurance covers any accident.
We will be able to do this directly online or from the insurance company’s mobile app. We must be aware that we will have to pay the deductible if we are involved in an accident. For this reason, to be safe, we will always need to have enough savings to cover the deductibles.
Discounts for those who qualify
We can inquire about discounts offered by insurance companies to make sure that we get the best price on our vehicle insurance. We often fail to take advantage of many discounts simply because we do not know about them, so it is important to do some research and take advantage of these discounts before they are gone.
Some of the most common car insurance discounts are:
- Discount for buying the policy online.
- Choosing the automatic payment option for our insurance.
- Bundling our vehicle insurance with home insurance or multiple vehicles.
- Participating in a safe driving program.
- Installing advanced security and anti-theft systems in our vehicle.
- Being a member of a military force.
- Being a good student.
Some companies also offer discounts for parking or for the amount of miles we drive.
Keeping a good driving record
Good drivers protect not only their own lives but also the lives of others on the road; for this, we can be rewarded. It is recommended to refrain from speeding, avoid accidents, and make sure we do not run into other incidents while driving.
If we avoid these situations, we will be able to maintain lower insurance costs because we will be low-risk drivers. We can receive additional discounts if we do not have any complaints or violations on our record.
Take an accident prevention course
Driving courses are not just for new drivers. In some states, drivers who complete a traffic accident prevention course may qualify for policy discounts. In addition, some of these courses can be completed online, making them much easier to access.
Flexible payments
Some insurance companies will offer us the option of making flexible payments and thus save on our insurance. If we pay our policy in one or two annual payments, we can save money, because they will give us discounts.
In addition, we can also save money if we link a bank account to make the payments automatically. Another option is to avoid the use of paper for our statements and communications because we will be helping the environment.
Improve our credit score
In some states, the credit score will be checked to examine the risks and will be taken into account by insurance companies. People with high credit scores may have lower insurance costs because it correlates to making responsible driving decisions.
To improve credit scores, we will need to pay our bills on time each month and decrease our credit usage. We will also need to make sure that the information on our credit report is accurate, and if it is not correct, file a dispute.
Review our current policy
If we have had our insurance policy for some years, maybe it is time to review if it offers us the coverage we need or if we should make changes. Something to consider is the age of our vehicle because if it costs less to replace, we may have a lower insurance cost.
However, if we finance a vehicle, we usually need a certain level of coverage during the financing. Once the vehicle is ours, we can decrease our cover to eliminate some coverages we will not need.
Research the costs before deciding on the car you want.
One factor that affects our insurance policy is the vehicle we drive because some are more expensive than others. If we are looking for a new vehicle, we should consider that the more expensive the vehicle, the more it will cost to insure.
However, this does not mean cheaper vehicles always have lower insurance policies. We must consider how expensive repairs can be and research how much it will cost to insure the car. Among the vehicles that tend to have lower insurance rates, you can find:
- Subaru Outback
- Honda CR-V
- Jeep Wrangler
- Ford Escape
- Subaru Forester
- Ford F-150
Bundling policies
If we bundle our auto policy with other policies with one insurance company, the cost will most likely go down. We can bundle policies to save money whenever we own or rent a home.
In addition to the discount, we will be able to save a lot of time, because we will only have one account to manage. This way, it will be much easier to make all our payments and check the status of our policy, keeping the vehicle insured without overpaying.
We must consider that each state has different rules, so vehicle insurance costs may vary. If we are moving, there may be a potential change in our insurance premiums, so we should consider this. Thus, we may relocate in a state where the insurance cost has lower ranges in its policy payments.