The following is a guest post from 21st Century Insurance. “21st Century is dedicated to providing superior coverage and service, while saving you money on your auto insurance.”
So you want to find a way to save on your auto insurance. While the insanely frugal would tell you to just get rid of your car (which would certainly save you a lot of cash), it just isn’t an option for most of us. For those who live in this world where accepting a car insurance quote is as inevitable as taxes and death, I have 5 painless tips that will help you save on your much needed auto insurance.
1. Maintain a good driving record
It may seem like common sense, but driving safe and avoiding accidents is one of the best ways to keep your auto insurance rates down.
2. Don’t be afraid to shop around
Get car insurance quotes from at least 3 to 5 different auto insurance companies it will only take you about 25 minutes and you could save hundreds of dollars by comparing rates.
3. Combine insurance products under one insurer
If you already have homeowner’s insurance with another insurer you may be able to reduce your car insurance rate by combining your car insurance and homeowner’s insurance.
4. Opt to pay your premiums annually rather than monthly
This will save on the continual costs of billing and processing for monthly transactions resulting in lower rates for you.
5. Pay your bill automatically
Using Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) authorizes your bank to credit your auto insurance provider with your premium payments. It reduces late payments and dreaded late fees which can inflate your policy.
Now that you have some helpful tips to save money call your auto insurance provider and negotiate the lower car insurance rate that you deserve and need.
Great little post. Those are some really easy things people can do to save some real money every year. I’m a firm believer in the little steps to building wealth and stuff as easy as trying to not get into car accidents gets overlooked.
Check into student discounts (even if your not a student). I graduated college at 21, but get the good student discount until I’m 25.
@Nunzio, totally! We’ve saved at least 2 thousand in premiums over the past 5 years just by having no accidents! Compared to friends, our $670 policy for 2 cars every 6 months is stellar…
@Jenna, that’s great advice!
Every year when our insurance inches up I go and shop around. Sometimes I can save $30 a year doing this. By far our biggest savings has been avoiding accidents and not getting tickets.
My vote is still to get rid of the car! I live outside the city limits and although it would add time to my commute and all those other inconveniences I could still function without a car. I’d be in great shape too!
I have 21st Century auto ins. (the old AIG). Their rates are great and customer service was great when I totaled the van. They seem to have redeemed themselves, in my opinion.
@Molly on Money, yeah, ours just inched up by $12 for 6 months…so far I haven’t been able to find a better deal (I did find way cheaper auto insurance, but it would have doubled our homeowner’s insurance, so bad deal overall), but I’m going to keep looking.
Not having a car in a Houston suburb would truly suck. The closest bus stop is a few miles away from my house and all of my friends are 10-35 miles away…not to mention my 12 mile commute that includes major freeways…yeah, I think I’ll have a car forever.
Let us know if/when you do go car free – that could be a blog in and of itself!
@Holly, I’m glad 21st Century has a good rep. They will be guest posting once a month for the next year and I’m pretty excited to have them on board.
I took advantage of tip 4 last year when I switched carriers (tip 2). It saved me over $100 a year by paying in full for the year versus paying monthly. I still set aside monthly premiums, they just get put in ING until I need them. Overall, I reduced the cost by about $400 a year. My car insurance is only about $850 a year for 2 cars.
in addition, what has helped us throughout the years are as follows:
1) defensive driving courses. cost = under $200 benefit = several hundreds
2) shop around every year at the least. simply calling around can lower your insurance even if you stick to your current provider.
@MikeS, that is impressive! Progressive gives huge disocunts for paying in advance but Geico “only” charges $1 per month to pay in installments. I almost switched to Progressive, but it would have raised my homeowner’s insurance by more than double. I’m still looking at my options…
@Sunil, defensive driving saves us 10% too! We took online defensive driving one Saturday afternoon last year for $45 a person and have saved a couple of hundred overall by now and it lasts for 3-5 years depending on the company you’re with.
#4 is a good tip. Monthly payment fees can add up quickly so if you can do away with them why not?
@Mike, I thought that tip was really good too when I found out that Progressive was more than $100 more if you didn’t pay up front…
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