How to save money on car insurance
As written for The Safe Driver.
There are some expenses that cannot be avoided. One of these for people like myself is car insurance. There are some things I can sacrifice when it comes to money but being able to have my independence when traveling is not one of them. This means in the State I live in it is mandatory to have vehicle insurance. Each state is different when it comes to the rules regarding car insurance. However, there are a lot of ways that you may be able to cut the cost of this insurance down.
Getting Your Car First
Cutting my costs on vehicle insurance was something that I took on as a challenge. I did this even before I bought my vehicle. Which turned out to be a smart move on my part.
Before buying my insurance I took some time to learn about the basics of it. This is where I discovered where I could capitalize on some real savings. I learned that most insurance companies have a set of metrics they use for determining premiums, such as Roadside assistance options and other packages involved to name an example. Knowing what these were helped me to cut some costs. Here are some examples:
- Cheapest Cars to Insure. Insurance companies scrutinize the type of cars they are going to insure. Some of the metrics they use for this are looking at the crash ratings and the safety features. They also look at the cost of repairs of a vehicle in case they have to pay out a claim. Those that are cheaper to fix create cheaper premiums. Foreign cars and high-end cars don’t fit into this category. I compiled a list of these by doing some research. This now gave me a starting point as I researched some of the same metrics. It allowed me to create a list of potential cars I wanted to consider.
- Less Risk Of Theft: Something else insurance companies consider is what risk of theft is there to the vehicle. The higher the risk of this then the higher the risk is for the insurance company. Any of the cars on my list that fit into this category I scratched off my list. A metric that is considered here is the address of where the car will be stored when not in use. Some areas experience more car theft than others. I had no intentions of moving, but fortunately, my area was not considered high risk.
- Car Use: Another important metric for insurance companies is what the car is going to be used for and the mileage that will be put on the car on a yearly basis. This is not because they care about the wear and tear that I am putting on my car. The more mileage there is means the car is on the road. The more the car is on the road the more risk for the insurance company. I intended on using my car for commuting. Fortunately, I don’t have much of a distance for round trips. If I did then I would have seriously considered not using the car for commuting.
- Driving Record: I am really thankful that I have maintained a spotless driving record. This is data that the insurance company relies on heavily for determining premiums. Many don’t realize that even an accumulation of speeding tickets can have a big impact on vehicle insurance.
The Discounts
Something else I discovered is that insurance companies apply different discounts. For example, in some cases, they may give a discount for putting extra safety measures on your vehicle. Or they may give a discount for using snow tires. When I started shopping for insurance I paid attention to the discounts that I could take advantage of.
The final thing I learned is that not all insurance companies are the same. This allowed me to focus on doing some insurance shopping and doing some comparisons.