Naturally, many motorists ask how can I insure my car cheaper? It is one of the larger regular spending items in most people’s budget and you need to keep paying it as long as you own a vehicle. Due to repetitive nature of policies, you will save a lot of money over the long run if you can get lower rates at most renewals. So, let’s have a look at ways of achieving this goal.
Auto Insurance for Less Money
There are a few ways of reducing premium. Some of them may require a bit of work like making sure you don’t have any claim or traffic ticket or improving credit score. However, there are a few quick solutions too and here are some of them.
- Avoid Installments: People commonly use credit to spread the costs. However, interest charges and arrangement fees can add a bit on top of the original price. The same applies when you are buying coverage too. Usually, paying in full eliminates these costs and you may be able to get around 5% discount as well.
- Early Renewal: Some vehicle insurers offer a special discount for customers who don’t wait until the last day to renew their policies. They may not be forthcoming with this but if you ask and be prepared to pay for another six months they will shave a little off premium.
- Calculate Mileage: These days more and more companies use their own method of yearly mileage calculation and most motorists don’t even realize it. For example, they ask how far is the work from home and calculate the mileage based on five day a week commutes. If you are using alternative transportation to get to work you will be assumed driving more than you actually are and charged higher premium. Just check how many miles you have driven last year and perhaps the year before. If your habits remain the same it is safe enough to assume that you will cover the same distance this year too.
- Bluntly Ask for Discounts: Believe it or not you can negotiate for lower auto insurance rates. If you call and tell the agent that you are interested but could they do a better price they will have to look at it harder. Many a time they manage to find a way to give the customer a few dollars saving in order to wrap the business up. You need to be ready to take the opportunity because they usually offer little discount if you are prepared to sign up.
- Regularly Shop Around: You don’t even need to change carriers or reduce coverage to achieve better prices with this trick. However, you need to shop around often if you really want car insurance for less. You may have had a few quotes a few years back before choosing current provider. They may have impressed you with their prices then but the market and circumstances changes fast. That is why you need to keep checking at least once a year.
A study carried out by Progressive shows that people who haven’t gotten any alternative automobile insurance quote for four years or more are probably paying too much premium and can save on average 20% by just comparing the market. This is a pretty compelling work by one of the most reliable names in the industry and you should take notice.
Furthermore, some other studies conclude that being a loyal policyholder doesn’t pay. It only takes few minutes to get a quote and we can help. At most, within an hour you will know if you are paying too much and if you can find a policy cheaper. So, don’t let another renewal go by because that is what happens. By the time you realize, you have been paying a lot more money than you should for years.