10 tips for the cheapest car insurance rates
1. Compare Quotes
This is number one because as obvious as it should be to find the most available options for insurance I don’t think people go through the trouble of compiling quotes from every insurer because of possible laziness or because someone recommended a company to them and so they just went with that. It is just silly not to do your homework on this one, by comparing all of the quotes given to you from a dozen or so companies you have already saved yourself a considerable amount of money. Be sure and tell the individual working with you that indeed you are in contact with 12 insurance companies and that you are going to go with the cheapest one. This will make sure you cut right to the chase and get to the lowest possible rate.
2. Check which vehicles have a cheap rate.
The make and model of your car play a role in how much insurance you will pay. One can imagine that insuring a Ferrari is much more expensive then a Toyota Camry and this is not just because the Ferarri is more expensive then the Camry but statistics play a major role for insurers in locating which cars tend to be in the most collisions and visa versa . As you can imagine this information is important to your insurance agent for a number of reasons.
Check out the cheapest cars to insure.
3. Consolidate All of Your Policies
Most insurance companies not only insure auto but almost all the major players will insure health, house among other things. If you are pleased with your insurance company it might not be a bad idea to consolidate all of your insurance policies with that one company. Insurance companies love this loyalty and will go out of their way to show their appreciation by offering you substantially lower rates.
Link on Nationwide’s bundling offer.
4. Maintain a good driving record.
This one may be a little bit out of your hands at this point but it’s better to start now then later driving safely and accident free. Having a clean driving record is one of the largest components in helping you save on insurance. Unfortunately if you are a teenager or in your twenties you will find no help with this tip, this is because insurance companies are really looking for one or better yet multiple decades of clean driving records to really reward you with substantial savings.
Link to Allstate’s Safe Driver Rewards policy.
5. Secure Your Car
Living in a good neighborhood with low crime and minimal car theft is very advantageous for receiving lower car insurance rates. Whether your fortunate to live in such a neighborhood or not this shouldn’t deter you from adding vehicle security to lower your auto insurance rates. Most modern vehicles are equipped with a functioning alarm system but if that is not the case be sure to install a security function that will save you with your insurer and possibly a car.
Link for alarm systems under $50 at Walmart.
6. Excel Academically and Request Student Discounts
Good new for the youngsters! Did you know that good good grades in school can also help lower your auto insurance premium? As a matter of fact, if you are looking for cheap car insurance one of the best things you can do is show your an upstanding student.
It is important to highlight with all of the tips that you need to make an effort to request these discounts. Most insurers are not going out of their way to save even students an extra dozen or so dollars on their policy unless you put the pressure on them to save.
7. Larger Premium Payments
It’s understandable that most people can’t go around paying off their yearly premiums for all of their insurance, but whether its a 6 month pay off or two month putting out the money now will save you later.
8. Drive Less
Let’s keep in mind that when the insurance company is determining your rate they are taking those statistics into account that allow them to estimate the probability that you will be in an auto collision and thus need funds for repair or payment. So naturally if you drive less you have a decreased chance of being in an auto accident of any type and this means lower rates for you. So if you have a bus or better yet a train that you can use for transportation you might want to consider utilizing that or working from home.
9. Maintain a Good Credit Score
Recently many insurance companies are using credit-based insurance scores to determine risk. There appears to be statistical data that displays bad credit scores with bad driving and although this might not be true for your particular case it is always a good idea to keep your credit score well maintained.
10. Decide How Much Coverage You Want
Being underinsured is never a good thing but having too much insurance is easy to get carried away with and will rack of the bills so be sure to know exactly what you need.
Some State laws may require very little liability coverage, so check with your State jurisdiction to find the minimums. About half of the states require $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident. Half of them require $10,000 in property damage coverage. If you can afford it, buy more than the minimum..
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