Having been in an automobile accident before, I understand how important car insurance can be. Whether you get pulled over or in a minor fender bender, there are some serious consequences for not having auto insurance. We should be all prioritize protecting ourselves with the proper amount of insurance but that doesn’t mean we should have to settle for paying an arm and a leg.
Not all auto insurance rates are equal so it’s important to compare and weigh your options. There are some factors used to determine your auto insurance rate – some which you don’t necessarily have control over like your age and gender perhaps – so you can always look into the possibility of lovering it.
Shop Around for Rates
Shopping around and doing research is one of the first steps you should take when attempting to lower your insurance rate. If you want to find the best coverage for the best price, you can’t be locked into one specific insurance company year after year if there are better rates out there. Some companies compete with one another to offer the best rates to meet your needs so you should take advantage of that. It’s so easy to compare insurance plans online and make the switch. Here are just a few price comparison tools you can use:
Evaluate Costs Before you Purchase your Vehicle
The year, make and model of your vehicle can have a profound impact on your insurance rate. If you prefer newer cars, be prepared to be asked to pay more to insure it. You can also call insurance providers before you go through with purchasing a car to get a quote on what rate they can provide you with. Doing this could ultimately net you a nice amount in savings when the time comes to pay your premium each month.
Drive Safe and Save
A nice promotion that some insurance companies have going on right now is a special program that rewards you with savings and discounts for driving safe. With the help of plugging the In-Drive device underneath your dash your insurance provider can monitor your speed, stopping tendencies, and other driving habits. You can also have Bluetooth, roadside assistance, and emergency personal dispatched to your local with a press of a button as well with some devices.
Some companies go so far as to enable a service that also emails a monthly vehicle report which breaks down miles per gallon, diagnostic report, and any service reminders you may need to be concerned about. While it might sound odd to drive around with a monitoring device in your car all the time, it saves drivers money by lowering their auto insurance to a discounted rate based on how well they drive.
Pay Attention to Your Credit Score
Did you know that insurance carriers look at your credit to help find out the amount for your premium? Maintaining a good credit score is important to your financial success, but it’s also a big factor for auto insurance companies as well. From their perspective, drivers with good credit have fewer accidents. Ways you can improve your credit score is by keeping your utilization below 30% of your credit limit, paying all your bills on time, and minimizing the amount of inquiries your obtain.
You should check your score periodically on sites like CreditKarna.com and AnnualCreditReport.com to track it and make sure there are no discrepancies.
Have you ever used any of these handy strategies to lower your monthly premium?
Chonce is a freelance writer who’s obsessed with frugality and passionate about helping others increase their savings rate, eliminate debt, and work toward financial stability. She chronicles her journey to becoming debt-free on her blog, mydebtepiphany.com.
