No one likes to shell out money every month for bills of any type, especially not car insurance. If you’re spending more than you want on car insurance, here are some short-term and long-term tips to help lower your monthly premium.
Buy a low-risk car.
Buying a car that is not a top theft target and does not have expensive replacement parts will help lower costs. Both the likelihood of theft and expensive parts play into an insurer’s risk factor when determining premiums. You can check auto theft losses by make and model through the Highway Loss Data Institute’s web page: www.carsafety.org.
Use an independent insurance agent.
An independent agent sells insurance for an average of eight different companies. Soucy, an independent insurance agent, sells insurance for 24 different companies so they can help you shop around, saving you time and money.
Use higher deductibles to lower premiums.
Choosing a higher deductible of $500 to $1,000 can reduce your premium by 10 percent or more, but may not be feasible for you. How catastrophic a $500 loss is depends largely on your income level or savings. If you can afford to cover a higher cost should your car need repair, it may be worth paying less on your premium each month. You should consider the cost-benefit of a higher deductible.
Drop unnecessary coverages.
These can include rental reimbursement, glass, towing and replacement cost coverages. Towing coverage already may be covered as a benefit of membership in an automobile club or other organization.
Package your car insurance with your home insurance.
Many companies offer multi-line discounts so you’ll be saving money if you allow them to underwrite multiple coverages. Not only will this help you save money, but also having only one monthly bill may help lower bank charges, and make it easier to budget monthly expenses.
