If you own a car, you know how costly it can be to get a good insurance cover. Each year, you’re likely to pay more for insurance than you do for the tires, gas, and maintenance of your car. This is because the cost of your auto insurance is determined by various factors, such as your job, place of residence, and the type and age of the car you drive.
To insure your car, you need to control certain costs. To do this, you can either change your auto policy in order to reduce the price or adjust your behavior in order to appear like you’re at a lower risk to insurers.
If you’re looking for ways to effectively insure your car, here are five tips to significantly help reduce your auto insurance premiums per year:
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Drop What You Don’t Really Need
There’s only one type of auto insurance that the law requires you to have–liability insurance. This coverage caters to injuries and any other damages that you may cause other motorists. Even so, you need to contact your auto injury attorney immediately before admitting liability or if you really need insurance to settle a car accident that doesn’t result in any form of injury.
Despite the law mandating liability insurance, most drivers opt to pay more for other coverage that they really don’t need. These include comprehensive coverage that caters for losses that result from theft and damages like vandalism and storm damage. Some car owners also pay for collision coverage that caters to car damages in the event of an accident.
If you’re considering paying for additional coverage, ensure that the value of your car is more than ten times the price you’re paying. If it’s less, then the coverage may not be a good deal. Consider doing away with the additional coverage and, instead, direct the additional money to a repair account. This way, you’ll have the cash to cater for repairs in case of an accident without having to fill plenty of paperwork. You can also choose to direct this amount towards making a down payment for a new car in case the current one becomes non-functional.
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Buy Policies From The Same Insurer
You can reduce the cost of your auto insurance by buying all your policies from the same insurer. For instance, if you have a homeowner insurance policy, you can bundle that up with your auto insurance policy and buy the two from the same insurer.
However, not all insurers may help you save by bundling the policies. In some instances, an insurer may offer a great price on homeowner insurance and have a costly offer for auto insurance. In this case, buying the policies separately from different companies may be more viable.
Hence, before you decide to bundle your policies, check with different insurers and buy your policies from the insurer that offers you the best value. You can also bundle auto insurance policies by buying coverage from multiple cars. For instance, if you have several drivers in the family, consider buying your car insurance from the same insurer. This way, you’ll be able to get your auto insurance at a lesser cost.
Auto insurance policy signature. Home owners insurance paperwork.
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Buy The Right Car
The cost of car insurance is determined largely by the car you drive; insurers tend to charge more for some cars compared to others based on the price of the car. This is because expensive cars are costly to replace or repair, hence their cover costs more. Safety records of your car will also determine how much you’ll pay for insurance. Insurers consider small cars that are sportier to be riskier because people who buy them tend to drive fast. This significantly pushes their insurance costs up.
On the other hand, minivans are driven at moderate speeds and are likely to withstand a crash with little damage. Insurers also consider the likelihood of a car being stolen when pricing insurance covers. For instance, flashy, expensive cars have a high chance of theft. Thieves tend to target ordinary cars too since their parts can be sold easily. Insurance covers for such cars tend to be higher.
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Research Different Auto Insurance Covers
Before you settle for an insurance policy for your car, consider shopping what different companies are offering. The reality is that insurance rates differ greatly between companies. No single insurer offers rates that would be considered the best by every car owner. As such, you can easily get a car policy that cost’s far much less if you invest the time in checking what different insurance companies have to offer. The easiest way to get a good rate on your car insurance policy is to ask different companies for real quotes.
You can do this by providing them with basic details about yourself, the car, and your preferred cover in their systems. The systems will use this information to give you quick quotes from different insurers, then compare the car insurance quotes.
Once you get a quote that appeals to you, contact the insurance company for a policy. Other than the cost of the insurance cover, ensure that the company is easy to work in the event of an accident or any other problem. To know whether the insurer measures up, take a look at customer reviews and satisfaction ratings.
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Consider Group Car Insurance
Group insurance plans are common in workplaces. People who work in the same office know they can easily get health insurance plans as a group through their employer. But very few people are aware that some insurance companies also offer group insurance for cars. Hence, if you’re looking for an insurance cover for your car, consider looking into group insurance plans. Since insurers find it cheaper to provide cover to a large group, this option tends to be offered at a lower rate.
Aside from being cheaper, auto insurance plans that are offered to groups come with other perks. For example, some plans have discounts on services such as repairs, towing, and parking in some garages. Car rental companies may also get discounts. In some situations, companies that offer group auto insurance allow you to pay premiums directly from your paycheck. The flip side of this is that you won’t be able to select your insurer and you’re likely to lose the policy if you change jobs.
You also need to know that deals like these are likely to be available in big companies. This is because the higher the number of staff, the easier it is to negotiate for group insurance. In addition, some auto insurance firms offer their employees group insurance rates.
To find out whether group car insurance is available and whether you’re eligible for it, you can go to the human resource department in your workplace. You can also leverage group car insurance from alumni associations and professional organizations.
Final Thoughts
Before getting on the road, every driver needs to get an insurance cover for their car. In addition to the five tips discussed above, you can insure your car effectively by improving your credit score and drive safely.