How to Lower Your Rate and Save Money
Auto insurance payments always seem to go up each year when you receive your renewal quote. Despite this, people tend to stay with the same auto insurance company since they feel a sense of loyalty. However, given the current economic climate, how loyal will you continue to be in the future as it becomes increasingly important to manage your spending and watch your budget?
How many of you merely ignore the renewal correspondence, file it and forget about it, or perhaps simply do not have the time to do something about it? If you are in the financial position of not having to worry that the cost has increased, then this may not be an issue for you. Read on if you would appreciate a few tips on ways to save money on your auto insurance.
Shop around
It may come as a surprise to you, but there are numerous auto insurance providers out there all keen to take on your business. Therefore, it is worth shopping around — but how do you do this?
When you took out your first auto insurance coverage, the Internet may not have been as commonly used, so it may have been difficult to get a quote from another auto insurer. You will be pleased to hear that this is no longer the case.
Now, from the comfort of your own home, at any time of the day or night, you can go on the Internet and type “auto insurance quotes” into your browser’s search box. You will immediately be presented with numerous companies offering to provide you with quotes.
This is where “comparison shopping” websites come into play. These websites enable you to key in the requested information only once and to then be instantly presented with quotes from a variety of different auto insurance companies along with more detailed information about each company’s coverage. If you wish to proceed with a new auto insurance provider, this can all be done simply and easily via the web.
Do keep in mind that when you are comparing quotes, it is important that you compare “like with like.” Also remember that the cheapest quote is not always the most suitable. You must make sure that the coverage you arrange meets your unique requirements.
The other thing to be mindful of is that not all auto insurance companies provide their information to comparison sites; it may also be worth providing your information to a number of companies on an individual basis over the web to compare quotes.
Discounts
Check with your auto insurance provider to see whether they offer discounts based on things like your age, driving record and behavior, vehicle safety amenities, or other considerations. If you have vehicle enhancements and amenities like air bags, car alarms, or other anti-theft devices, for instance, you may qualify for a discounted rate.
Based on your lifestyle, you may also qualify for discounts. For instance, the fewer miles you travel each year, the less you may be able to pay for your auto insurance. If you park your vehicle overnight in your garage, you may also benefit from a discount. If you are a student with good grades, you may be able to receive a discount because the perception is that if you have done well academically, you are more likely to be a careful driver. Similarly, if you have undertaken and passed a defensive driver’s course, you may receive a discount for a period of time.
Your auto insurance rates could be affected by your credit score. You can check your credit score and read your credit report for free within minutes using Credit Manager.
Only purchase the coverage you need
There are often a number of add-ons you can elect to sign up for when you purchase auto insurance. Therefore, it is essential to make sure that you have only included the ones that you feel you need. For instance, some auto insurance providers offer the option to include towing and car rental coverage. While these are nice options to have and may prove beneficial, the question is are these things that you can do without? If you can, then your insurance payments will be lower.
Increase your deductible
The deductible is the amount that you will have to pay towards the cost of a claim if your vehicle is unfortunately involved in an accident with another vehicle — your insurance company should pay the balance of the claim.
If you were agreeable to paying, say, the first $1,000 of any claim rather than the first $250, the cost of your auto insurance coverage would be significantly lower. However, to do this you would have to be confident that you could obtain and pay the higher deductible amount if needed, either from your savings or some other source.
Levels of auto insurance
The main types of auto insurance are liability, collision, and comprehensive. These provide different levels of coverage.
Liability auto insurance is the cheapest, as it only covers damage to the other vehicle/s and other people, not to your own vehicle, if you are the one at fault in an accident. If the accident were the fault of the other driver, however, the other vehicle owner’s insurer would pay for the damage to your vehicle.
With collision and comprehensive auto insurance, you can have either or both levels of coverage. Collision insurance covers damage to your car even if you are at fault in an accident — or should you drive into a tree. Comprehensive insurance covers such things as fires, storms, theft, and vandalism to your vehicle.
You could, for instance, reduce the cost of your auto insurance by only having, say, liability auto insurance or having both liability and collision auto insurance but not taking out comprehensive coverage. Nevertheless, you must understand the implications of your chosen coverage’s limitations.
You should now have a better understanding of a number of options that can help to reduce the cost of your auto insurance.
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