Editor’s Note: My friend Mike just told me about how his car insurance premiums were creeping up every year until finally he decided to shop around a bit. When he told his insurance agent he was shopping around “amazingly” the agent was able to significantly reduce his premiums. Shopping around pays, even if you don’t end up changing companies. Tim McMahon~editor
Car Insurance Savings
If you’ve looked at your car insurance bill lately, you’re probably looking for ways to save money on it. No one enjoys paying a fortune for insurance. Here are some tips to allow you to find the savings to put into more important areas of your life.
Get Rid of Unnecessary Car Insurance Coverage
There are several components to car insurance including Liability, which is necessary to protect you against lawsuits and is required by most states. There is also Medical Coverage and Personal Injury Protection (PIP) also very important and often manditory. Many states also require Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage which is a very strange form of car insurance that protects against other drivers not having enough insurance.
But when considering car insurance savings there are other kinds of insurance that are not mandatory like Collision which covers damage to your car from an impact with another car and Comprehensive which covers other types of damage to your car such as falling trees, hail, deer and shopping carts. Always consider a vehicle’s potential value before you insure it for these types of coverage. It simply does not make sense to pay for coverage that is going to cost you twice the vehicle’s value (or even half the vehicle’s value). In the case of older cars, it may cost more to insure a vehicle than what it does to replace it, and in these cases, it doesn’t make sense to put that much coverage on a vehicle. On the other hand, in the case of a more expensive car, insurance could potentially save you thousands in the case of an accident, where simple repairs could cost you a lot more money. It all depends on the value of the vehicle that you are driving.
Drive low-target vehicles
What this means is that you do not want to drive cars that will be a target for car thieves. You also do not want to drive a vehicle that is going to be watched closely by police radar guns. Naturally, a high performance car leads to the temptation to use that performance once in a while. Obviously, car insurance companies are aware of this, and will charge you extra for driving these vehicles. The low-target vehicles are a better choice because they will not be charged as much. So even though that hot new ride might look cool, you are better off saving money both when you buy the car and when you pay the insurance premiums.
Your Driving Record Affects Your Insurance Costs
Yes, speeding tickets, car accidents, DUI convictions and other risky behavior makes it harder to save on car insurance! This is because your history has shown that you are a risk to the auto insurance companies, and as a result, they will charge you more money for coverage. The less risky behavior that you are involved in, the less money that you will be charged. So it is important to maintain a clean driving record. On the flip side, good behavior like being a good student and taking driver education classes can help you save money on your car insurance.
Keep a clean credit report score
You may be wondering what your credit score could possibly have to do with saving on car insurance, after all you are not borrowing money from the insurance company! However, statistics have shown that bad credit and speeding tickets and car accidents are linked. As a result of these statistics, car insurance companies charge more if you do not have your finances in order.
Shop around for Car Insurance Savings
Don’t be afraid to check with different companies and shop online. The fact is, you can potentially save a lot of money if you check with different companies. Never go with the first offer you are given. The internet has really revolutionized the way that we can shop. Instead of only receiving a couple of offers, you can check literally five to ten different car insurance deals on the internet. This helps to ensure that you receive the best deal on car insurance for your particular circumstances.
Another useful thing to remember is to shop around frequently for car insurance. The reason for this, is because every few months, car insurance companies change their price. If you want to save money, then you should get insurance quotes every time your renewal comes up, to make sure that you are not overpaying.
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