Getting a Better Car Insurance Quote
For many people car insurance is a large expense, sometimes running into the thousands of dollars a year. Finding ways to get a better car insurance rate is a great way to set aside a bit more each year.
- Look into increasing your deductible. Often times raising your deductible can reduce you rate by several hundred dollars a year. Zero dollar deductibles are especially costly.
- Make sure your comprehensive coverage decreases with the value of your car. If you have $30,000 of insurance for $5,000 of property you may be wasting money.
- Shop around. Different companies have radically different views of the same set of circumstances.
- Make sure the miles on the policy match the miles that you drive. Your insurance is based in part on how much you drive the car. I’ve talked with people that have this number set way too high.
- If you are now or were in the past in the military or are related to some who is see what coverage from USAA will cost you. I’ve personally had very good rates from them.
- Consider were you live. If you are living in a neighborhood with a high crime rate it may cost you more on your car insurance company. Make sure that you factor this added cost in when you decide to live there.
- Ask your insurance company what discounts are offered. I’ve heard of offers for a big discount for getting your car windows etched with the VIN number. Some other discounts that might be available:
- Good driver discounts. No accidents or tickets for a certain amount of time.
- Anti-theft devices (alarms, Lojack, …).
- Keeping your car on the garage instead of on the street.
- Good student discount.
- Multi-car discount.
- Discount for other insurance from the same company (home, life, …)
- Auto-payment discount
- If you get a ticket and traffic school is an option to remove the ticket from your record (called “points” in some places) do it. The number of points you have can radically alter your insurance rates.
I hope these tips will save you some money!