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With inflation out of control, saving money on basic day-to-day needs is becoming impossible. In fact, many of us are struggling just to make ends meet on the same amount of money each month. As such, you may be searching for ways to lower your fixed monthly costs.
If you own a car, one of those costs will be car insurance. Unfortunately, this is an expense that’s here to stay. It is certainly not worth risking driving around without insurance in order to save cash. However, there are ways to save money on car insurance.
This will take a bit of research and admin work on your part. There are ways to personally arrange a lower premium as well as car insurance discounts you should ask about. Here’s what you need to know.
1. Compare Quotes
Sticking with the insurance company you know is enticing. After all, you may have built up a fair amount of trust in them and they may have a great reputation. However, if you want to save money, you need to shop around. You can do this fairly easily by getting quotes from different companies and comparing them.
This will be simpler in some cases than others, as not all insurers will generate a quote for you online. There are also tools that will compare quotes for you depending on the state in which you live.
Always make sure that what the different companies are offering is the same. Sometimes, a low quote means that a certain service or type of coverage is excluded.
2. Ask About Discounts
Many car insurance companies offer discounts, but you need to know to ask for them. While some will market themselves as offering discounts, others will try to get your business without providing the discounts available.
Here are some of the discounts you should ask for:
- Full payment discount
- EFT discount
- Passive restraint discount: this refers to discounts provided for having a car with factory-installed air bags, seat belts, or another passive restraint system
- Low mileage discount
- Good driver discount
- Defensive driver discount
- Good student discount
- Military discount
Not all companies offer these discounts, but it won’t harm to ask about them anyway.
3. Increase Your Deductible
If you have a savings account with a comfortable amount of money, you may consider increasing your deductible. The higher your deductible, the lower your premiums will be. You can save a fair amount of money this way. Of course, that does leave you in the lurch in case of an accident or theft.
When you do need to claim from insurance, you will need to pay that high deductible. However, chances are that you will not have to claim. As such, it is a gamble you may well benefit from. Only consider doing it if you know you’ll be able to pay the deductible. Otherwise, you’re asking for trouble.
4. Get Pay-Per-Mile Insurance
Many people drive a lot less today than they did in 2019. The pandemic led to a much larger work-from-home culture. If you do not drive to the office every day, you may benefit from pay-per-mile insurance. Ultimately, you should not pay for insurance if your car is not at risk, and pay-per-mile insurance takes that into account.
Calculate how much you expect to drive every year. If that amount is less than 10,000 miles, you should consider changing to a pay-per-mile model. Ask your provider if they cap the price, so that you won’t be penalized if you do decide to go on an occasional road trip.
5. Have A Tracking Device Installed
If we advised having a tracking device installed on your car thirty years ago, you would’ve been perplexed. Is it really worth giving up so much privacy for cheaper insurance? However, we think about privacy very differently in 2022.
The reality is that we’ve become accustomed to being trackable, as we have our phones on us at all times. If you trust your insurance company, having a tracking device installed can let them assess your driving. In doing so, they can give you benefits for good driving practices.
Of course, the risks in letting anyone track you are ever present, and it is understandable if this is not a compromise you are willing to make.
6. Don’t Overinsure An Old Car
If you are driving a car that is a good few years old and would only cost a few thousand dollars to replace, it may be worth letting go of your collision or comprehensive insurance. This is especially true if you are confident you could replace your car if push came to shove.
You will need to keep third-party collision insurance, as you will be liable for damages caused to someone else or their expensive vehicle.
Car insurance is a monthly expense that can technically be lowered. Try the above methods to eke some extra money out of your budget in these tough financial times.