Car insurance is an unavoidable expense as we all know, but that doesn’t mean that you have to pay an arm and a leg either. We have come up with some helpful tips on ways to keep your rates down and more money in your pockets.
Please take a look at our suggestions for how to get the cheapest car insurance. Of course, these are only our opinions, and two heads are better than one, so if you’ve got some tips of your own, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment!
Shop Around
Your rates will vary by different companies because one may feel you are an average risk and charge you an average rate while another one may feel you are low or high risk and will charge you accordingly. You may contact an independent agent or use the website to receive a quote depending on your personal preferences. If you use an independent agent they will likely have access to multiple carriers and can guide you to the best company to spare you from having to make a lot of phone calls or visit a lot of sites. For those that are more internet savvy, there are online quoting systems that are quicker and are often the preferred method of obtaining quotes. You can hop from site to site to obtain a quote and then compare them all when you are done.
Bundle Policies
One very important tip for getting the cheapest car insurance is to bundle your policies if possible since some companies offer a discount for holding multiple policies with them. Most insurance companies now offer multiple insurance plans for different things and for the most part there are policies for home owners, boats, motorcycles and renters. If you have any of these other types insurance through other companies then it is a good idea to get quotes for those things at the same time to see if it will lower your car insurance rates. You may get lucky and may end of saving more on each policy type and make out a head by bundling all of your policies.
Watch for Discounts
Many insurance companies like to offer odd discounts for the most random things and these are often overlooked by potential customers when they are first signing up for a new policy. Try to educate yourself about all of the possible discounts available and verify that you are receiving them before you sign on the dotted line. There are many discounts available and to be aware of, but do keep in mind that the final price is the one that matters most and that the discounts still may not grant you the lowest rates. Some discounts to keep in mind are the paid in full discount, good student discount and good driver discounts. There are also discounts for certain car features and for drivers that are over the age of 25.
Keep a Clean Driving Record
Your driving record has a major impact on what your car insurance rate is and safe drivers get the best car insurance rates, bottom line. Keep this in mind when you are driving and remember that your rates are directly impacted by your actions. Car insurance companies take all traffic violations as well as vehicle accidents that were your fault into account and they will cause your rates to sky rocket. Try to keep your driving record clean by paying attention, don’t speed, make sure your lights are all working and put your phone away. These are sure fire ways to keep your chance of an incident from happening low on your end at least.
Credit
Credit is another area that will affect your car insurance rate as most insurance companies perform credit checks before you sign a contract. This check is usually done after you get a quote, so do keep in mind that it may change the price you initially received a little bit. The insurance company will base your rate partially off your insurance credit score that corresponds with your credit score. What we are essentially saying is the higher your credit score is and the lower your rates will likely be. Just as the same can be said for a lower credit score as it can make your rates higher in some cases.
Avoid Fees
Insurance companies like to charge extra fees for random things, so keep an eye out on ways to avoid them and to save yourself a bit of money. There are a number of ways that they try to tack on these extra fees and the only real way to know where they are coming from is to read all of the fine print. We will give you some examples of where these fees may come from in hopes of giving you a leg up and things to look for.
Car insurance companies may charge you to process your payment depending on the payment method and if this is the case try to see if there is a way to avoid the fees. Many companies will give you a break on the payment processing fee if you allow them to automatically debit your bank account on a set day each month, so you may want to go that route if it is an option for you. They may also charge you more depending on how you are billed, which means they sometimes charge more to send you a paper bill than they do for a bill sent to your email. In this case you will obviously want to opt for the email option to save some money. Lastly, you will obviously want to avoid late fees, so be sure to pay on time to avoid them. This is another spot where the automatic debit feature will come in handy if you are like most of us and forget things from time to time.
Get Proper Coverage
Ultimately the coverage you select is up to you and should be based on the value of your vehicle as well as what you feel like you need. Try to determine if you need to get as much coverage as possible, as little as possible or somewhere in the middle before signing on the dotted line. It is important to be smart about the coverage you choose and not be stuck paying for something that you don’t really need. Try to keep in mind how frequently you drive the car you are insuring and insure it accordingly.