- May 24, 2009
Top 5 Ways to Lower Your Car Insurance Bill
Lower Your Car Insurance Bill
With the ongoing economic hardships affecting every part of our lives, it is wise to reduce our spending to the bare minimum. One of the most expensive bills we incur in life is the car insurance bill. Let’s find out ways of cutting down on the amount of money we spend on this.
Compare Insurance Rates Consistently
The first step towards paying lower rates on your car insurance is by comparing rates. Do not assume that your car insurance provider must have the best deal in town, simply because he offered you the best back in the day when you bought his insurance package. That was then. Always keep in mind the fact that insurance rates keep changing every now and then; and the change is usually an increment on the amount charged in rates.
Review the rates given by your insurance service provider every six months so that you can notice any changes immediately they are affected. Unless you do this, you will find yourself paying more money than you ought to be paying.
Competition in the industry forces insurance companies to take drastic measures in order to remain marketable. One of these measures is reducing insurance rates. Switch to a company which is offering lower rates than your current provider and you will surprised at how a little difference can contribute to your savings at the end of he year.
Take Advantage of Different Discounts on Offer
Surely you must know that insurance companies give discounts to various classes of car owners? If you did not know, then check out any available discounts for careful drivers, anti-lock brakes, multiple vehicles or any other category listed by your service provider. By making a few changes to your motoring skills, you can earn yourself these discounts.
For instance, if you are a reckless driver, try and adopt better driving skills. When your driving record is clean you get more discounts. Install anti-lock brakes in your car if it will earn you a discount. You may even qualify for more than one of these discounts and enjoy a bigger cut off your car insurance expenses.
Go For Higher Deductibles
It is advisable to choose higher deductibles as opposed to lower ones. Deductibles are the amounts of money you pay when you get involved in an accident. Deductibles are paid out of the pocket and do not involve your insurance provider in any way. When your deductibles are higher, your premium is lower. You can consider deductibles of $500 and above because car damages amounting to $500 or less are often paid without the involvement of your insurer.
Avoid Monthly Installments
Given the choice between paying your insurance bill in one seating and paying in monthly installments, many people will opt for the installments, which is how most of us pay our car insurance bills. Unfortunately, these installments amount to a figure much higher than the one we could have paid had we chosen to pay the cumulative amount.
This is because every installment includes charges and administrative fees which apply to every transaction carried out every month. Although the amount paid in installments appears to be manageable, the total sum per annum is quite exorbitant. You should always look at the bigger picture when trying to save some money from your car insurance account.
Embrace Multiple Policies
Get both your car and home insurance cover from the same provider. Insurance companies offer reduced rates to customers who hold several insurance policies with them. If you own more than one car, get the policies for all your cars from the same company. You can make it even better by adding your home insurance policy as well. This will bring the insurance cost down by a large margin. If you own only one car, you can also benefit if you get your home insurance cover from the same company where you get your car insurance.
It is worth noting that there may be other factors affecting the amount of money you pay in insurance, such as the type of car you have, your residential location – those living in crime-prone areas will pay more than those living in low-crime zones; but generally, the above points work well with all insurance policies.