{The following is a guest post discussing the best ways to save money on car insurance…}
Car insurance is a necessity for pretty much all car owners. Since the cost of car insurance can vary by thousands of dollars each year, it makes sense to look for any way (legally of course 😉 ) to lower those costs. Below you will find a number of suggestions that will help you to save money on car insurance.
Discounts For Students And Safe Drivers
Look up grade discounts if you are a student. Many insurance companies offer rate reductions for students who do well in school, so find out if yours does. Bring your transcript by to show off your grades, and you may be rewarded with a great discount. Good grades show the insurance company that you are responsible.
If you are a teen driver, attend driver’s ed to lower your insurance rates. Drivers, especially new teen drivers, are looked at as less of a risk by insurance companies as they have obtained driving training and are more aware of the rules and laws of the road. For this reason, an insurance provider will lower rates of teen drivers who took driver’s ed either in school or independently.
Have you taken a safety drivers course recently? Some auto insurance companies will offer a discount to drivers who have recently completed a safe drivers course. You should invest a little of your time to complete the course, maybe learn something new and also, save some money on your auto insurance.
If you are a young driver with a high rate, add a responsible older driver to your policy to help get it lowered. Insurance companies look at the age of the drivers, as well as, their driving records, so adding someone over the age of thirty, who has a clean record, will quickly drop your premiums. If possible, try to get your parents or an older (usually over the age of 25 is safe) adult, and that will bring your premiums down much lower.
Be a safe driver! Do not be a high risk driver! Insurance companies view you as high risk if you have a lot of traffic violations, car accidents, or drunken driving violations. Some states have no law to protect drivers who are high risk, and insurers often will not accept high risk drivers in those states. It would be impossible for you to get insurance!
If you are in an accident, report it. Even if there aren’t any injuries that are obvious at the time. It doesn’t mean you are necessarily filing a claim, just letting your insurance company know what happened in case a claim is filed by the other party at a later time.
Before you decide to purchase any auto insurance policy, one of the first things you should do is calculate your total mileage. Some people do not drive their vehicles that often, and they may be privy to certain discounts if they only use their automobiles for work use or other limited uses. Driving less means you are less of a risk.
Credit Score
To save money on your insurance, clean up your credit report. Most auto insurance companies use FICO scores as an aid in determining your premium. It seems almost silly that these two things are related, but many companies will check your credit before issuing coverage. Apparently they believe there is a correlation between low credit scores and traffic violations.
A higher score indicates to the company that you are responsible, and they will often lower your rates because of it. Raising your credit score may not improve your driving skills, but it will put more money into your pockets.
The Type Of Car Matters
Before you buy a new car, check with your auto insurance company to see how costly it will be to insure the car. Some cars are more costly to insure because they are more likely to be stolen or for some other reason.
If this is the case with the car you are thinking of buying, you may want to opt for a different model.
Comprehensive Policy?
Most of the time it is best to choose comprehensive insurance policies. People may choose the bare minimum but this does not cover other types of accidents such as those caused by nature or theft. If you are not covered, you will have to pay straight out of pocket for those repairs or replacements.
Automobile insurance can offer an array of coverages. Mandatory insurance coverages vary by state but other optional coverage areas can include: medical coverage for expenses caused by a wreck, uninsured motorist which covers you if the other driver is uninsured, roadside assistance and many other useful coverages.
Don’t automatically dismiss medical payment coverage (MedPay) when purchasing auto insurance. You may have health insurance, but if you are injured due to an accident another motorist causes, it can be quite some time before their insurer pays your medical expenses. MedPay costs are typically less than twenty dollars per year, and could be a blessing when you need medical expenses paid immediately.
Comparison Shopping
Finding a good auto insurance policy is much easier than it used to be. There are so many great online references to use to learn about the different kinds of coverages that are required in your state.
You can then use the internet to compare multiple companies’ rates on the type of coverage that you need.
What are some of the ways that you save money on car insurance?
How to Create Your Own CD Ladder
