Are you on a mission to spend less money in 2020? You’re not alone, more than 60% of Americans set New Year’s resolutions each year and saving money is typically in the top 5 resolutions across the board. If you haven’t revisited your car insurance lately, now might be the time to make sure you have the best policy for the price and see if you can save some money. Here are the top ways to save on car insurance in 2020.
Car Insurance Rates Start With The Car Itself
The type of car you drive is one of the biggest factors in setting your car insurance premiums. Brand new cars in high theft areas could cost you a lot of money, sensible cars with safety features will always get better rates. Keep this in mind if you’re buying a new car in 2020. If your high-end car is costing you a ton of money in taxes and insurance that you can’t afford then it might be time to make a change.
Shop For The Best Car Insurance Deals Near Your
Although all car insurance companies use the same table of statistics to calculate risk, they don’t’ all have the same premiums and coverage. Each company decides how they want to balance their risk with the types of coverage plans they offer and what discounts they place the most value on. The car insurance company you signed up with 10 years ago might not be the best deal for you today.
Save Money On Car Insurance By Being A Better Driver
Get better rates by driving a safe, reliable car and taking defensive driving courses offered by your insurance company. Keep a clean driving record that is free of accidents and moving violation tickets (such as speeding tickets). Being a risky driver will cost you a lot of money.
Reduce Your Monthly Car Insurance Premiums With Discounts
Are you taking full advantage of all the discounts offered by your auto insurance company? You can get discounts based on your age, driving record, your profession, and other affiliations. Your insurance company won’t know to apply your discounts unless you ask for them, so speak up.
Cash In On Payment Discounts For Car Insurance
Finally, one of the best ways to get a great discount is to pre-pay or pay upfront for an entire year. If you can’t pay all at once there might also be discounts for quarterly payments or from monthly payments on auto-draft from your bank.
How to Keep Your Premiums Lower
Many people wonder if they are paying too much for their car insurance premiums and are looking for ways to cut costs. There are several factors to explore that could lower your monthly costs significantly and keep them lowered. This same advice works for single drivers and people who carry a family plan.
Take Your Time And Shop Around
There are many auto insurance companies to choose from and each will have their own premiums and policy options. Compare based on price, service and consumer ratings. You can shop many companies at once by using a trusted insurance broker who has access to many plans at once.
Don’t Carry More Insurance Than You Need
If you have an older car, it might be time to drop the full or collision coverage. Check your policy for other extras you might not be using as well, especially if you are a low mileage driver. Your insurance needs can change over time so periodically meet with your insurance broker for a review.
Consider The Insurance Cost Of Your Next Car Purchase
The type of car you drive plays a big roll in what your monthly premiums may be. Car insurance premiums are based partially on the car’s price, the cost to have it repaired, the safety record and the likelihood of theft. Check with your agent or broker before buying any new or used car to see how it will affect your payments.
Consider Higher Deductibles
The deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket before your insurance kicks in. The higher the deductible, the less risk the insurance company is taking and your premium is therefor lowered. With a higher deductible you carry more risk but you pay only in the event of an actual accident.
Ask About Discounts
Each company has their own set of reward based discounts you might qualify for. You can get a discount for having good credit, a clean driving record, owning an anti-theft device, being a low mileage or seasonal driver, being a student with good grades, and the list goes on. Your qualification for discounts can change overtime so it’s good to review this each year to make sure you are paying the lowest premiums possible.
Additional Discounts
Liability auto insurance is legally required in most states and lenders who make car loans generally require you bump that up to full coverage. That means that no one has to convince you that you need to have it, but there are multiple carriers out there trying to earn your business. They do that through a variety of discounts, hoping that they will become the least expensive and most attractive option for you. Discount will affect people differently though so it’s good to know what types of discounts are out there and how to qualify for them. There are three main clarifications of discounts.
Driver Discounts
One of the biggest factors in determining your premiums is “who” you are. How old you are is a pretty big factor and one that’s outside your control, but the fact is that insurance is more expensive for teens and young adults. You could get discounts for affiliations that you have though such as a good student discount, military or other job-related discounts, or even college alumni discounts. You can also earn discounts from being a safe driver. If you haven’t had an accident, moving violations or other claims for a certain amount of time you can get a break. You can also get discounts for being a low-mileage driver if you don’t drive often. There are many driver-related discounts out there.
Vehicle Discounts
Some discounts have to do with your car. Some cars are more expensive to insure so having a used or older car can score you discounts or straight up lower premiums. Safety devices can also get attractive to insurance companies so they incentivize that. Also, having a family plan with more than one driver or more than one car can be another way to get a discounted rate.
Policy Discounts
Many insurance companies don’t just handle cars. If you are able to bundle your car insurance, homeowner’s or renter’s insurance, or personal liability insurance, then you can get a bundle discount. A very common policy discount is auto-pay or pre-payment discounts. If you choose to pay for the year in advance or let the money come out of your bank account automatically each month then you can save a pretty good amount on your premium. Auto-pay lowers the insurance company’s risk and administrative work and they pass some of those savings on to you.
Tips for Insurance in the Summer and Fall
Summer Car Insurance Tips For Covering College Students
When their teens grow up and go off to college, many parents struggle to understand how to make sure their kids have health insurance and car insurance during this transition to adulthood. It can be hard to figure out how long they can stay on your family plan and when they need to get their own policy, and how do you handle situations where the college student is going out of state part of the year but will be home for the summer? Here are some tips on how to handle auto insurance in various summer situations for your students.
How Long Can Your Kids Stay On The Family’s Auto Insurance Plan?
There is no mandated age at which a grown up child has to come off the family plan. Check with your individual auto insurance company for their policy but most of the time your child can stay under your plan as long as they live with you even after they graduate from school. It’s a grey area but typically insurance companies like to see them get their own policy if they move out or own their own car after they are no longer a dependent. Your child that lives out of state part of the year to attend college is still considered a dependent.
College Students Living At Home Or Going To School In-State
If your college student will be living at home or getting their own place but attending school full time they can still be considered a dependent. They can own their own car or drive a relative's car. Always make sure to check in with your insurance broker to update any changes with cars and drivers. A young adult that owns their own car and has moved out on their own will typically need their own plan at that point, even if they are in college but again, it’s a grey area. Sometimes they will be allowed to stay on your plan which can be a considerable savings since young drivers with their own policy pay hefty premiums.
College Students Living Out Of State But Home For The Summer
College students who will be driving their own car or a borrowed car out of state during the academic school year but will be home for the summers are dependents and will have their auto insurance in the state they are a dependent in (where the parents live). Make sure to let your insurance company know that you have an out of state driver in college. If they will only be driving during the summer you can also let the insurance provider know that, you can sometimes get a reduced rate for summer driving only, especially if the car will be garaged during the rest of the year.
Why Full Coverage is important to have in the Fall
Collision coverage is optional for some people but variations in driving conditions can make you glad you have it, especially in the fall and winter. Collision coverage will pay to help repair or replace your car when you’re in an accident where the damages aren’t being paid by the other party. It can even cover you in the event of a single-car collision which happens quite often. Here are some of the driving conditions unique to fall and winter that might have feeling grateful for insurance coverage.
Fall Leaves
Pretty multi-colored leaves are one of the things most people love about fall, but as the leaves pile up they can create hazardous road conditions. First of all, they can be slippery. If the leaves are wet then they can be very slick. Fallen leaves can also hide potholes and other road hazards.
Back To School
As kids go back to school in the fall there is an increase in cars, buses and pedestrians on the roads. Make sure to allow extra drive time so you aren’t in a rush and prone to making hasty driving decisions.
Fall Weather Conditions
Fall is when we see a good deal of rain, fog and even frost. All of these weather conditions carry driving risks, make sure to slow down and stay vigilant of other drivers. Defensive driving is very important when the weather is less than optimal.
Watch For Deer
Fall and Winter can both see an increase in deer migration, swerving to avoid a deer can cause you hit another car or run off the road.
Snow and Ice
Snow and ice of course are the worst driving conditions for winter. When water freezes on the road it can create “black ice” that is difficult to see and makes it easy to lose control of your car when braking or turning. Snow can be slick to drive in and can also cover up the traffic lines making it hard for you to stay in your lane.
Before the bad weather starts to roll in, make sure your car insurance is up to date and that you have the best type of coverage for your area. Different states experience different weather conditions that could impact the type of coverage you want. If you finance or lease your car then collision insurance might be mandatory for you but even if you car is paid off you might want the added protection of collision insurance.
Additional Insurance Tips
Benefits of using Auto Pay
We all lead busy lives with a packed schedule but taking advantage of some of the digital features offered by your service providers can help you keep things on track. Your car insurance company offers a host of online tools to make life a little easier, such as online payments, filing claims, checking on outstanding claims, or making policy changes.
Choosing to pay your monthly premium using auto-draft from your bank account can benefit you in several ways. First, and probably the most exciting benefit, is a discount in cost. Knowing that you’re always going to pay on time makes the administrative life of your insurance company much easier and they pass the savings on to you. Most people choose to set up autopay for the discount alone, but there are other ways you can benefit as well.
Saying your bills on time is great for boosting your credit score. If you have autopay in place then you never have to worry about the bill being paid late and taking a ding on your credit. When you set autopay up you can control what date the bill will be paid, so you can easily fit the cost into your budget. Stability with exact payment dates will help you manage your budget which can lead to more long term savings and better financial health.
If you care about the environment then switching to online payments and autopay on as many services as possible will help you go paperless and save some trees. More and more companies are striving to be as paperless as possible and paying online or straight from your bank account will eliminate the need for a paper bill to be mailed to your house, also you don’t have to write any more checks.
Autopay is a safe and secure method of payment. You never have to worry about checks getting stolen or lost in the mail again. Payments are easy to track online and if you ever change your mind you can always go back to manual pay. Most people enjoy the ease and peace of mind that comes with auto-draft though and stick with it for the long haul so they can continue to enjoy the discount on their bill. If you’re looking for a way to lower your monthly premium or get the cheapest rates possible to start with, then autopay is something you should consider.
Benefits of adding Rental Reimbursement to your Policy
Having auto insurance will protect you from financial risk while driving but what happens when your car is in the shop for several days and you still need to get to work? Auto insurance doesn’t automatically include rental car coverage in their policies but will often have a rental car reimbursement add-on that you can purchase. Having access to a rental car during repairs can save you a lot of hassle and it’s good peace of mind to have if you live in an area with limited mass transportation or in a household with only one vehicle to rely on.
What Does Car Rental Service Insurance Cover?
The average rental car insurance add-on will cover the daily rental rate for the car, mileage charges, and the related taxes. Often an insurance company will have a partnership with specific rental car places where you can easily get a car with the rates paid upfront. If you choose to go to a rental car place that is not in their network then you might have to pay upfront and get reimbursed later. If you do choose an out of network car rental dealership then the coverage might not be the same.
Sometimes rental car coverage will also come with travel expense reimbursement. Travel expenses are fees related to your car breaking down or needing service when you are 50 miles or more away from home. If you take a weekend trip to another state and get stuck there, the travel reimbursement could pay for your meals and lodging while the car gets fixed.
Do I Need To Purchase Additional Rental Car Insurance At The Desk?
Often times when you rent a car, they will try to get you to purchase additional car insurance for a fee. It’s important for you to know ahead of time if you really need this extra insurance or not. Chances are, if you have full coverage then you are already good to go with no additional insurance needed. If you have liability plus collision or full coverage then you are covered even if you are driving a rented car. If you only have liability, however, you might want to consider the extra coverage so you don’t get stuck paying for a brand new car if this rental gets totaled in an accident you cause.
New to Cheapest Auto Insurance
There are a few ways to save money on your car insurance but one of the best ways is to get a quote with Cheapest Auto Insurance. We make sure that we find you the cheapest option for your and your vehicle. Call us at 918-744-5145 to speak with a live agent or click here to get a quote online!