5 Things You can do Today to Lower the Cost of Your Car Insurance

Paying for car insurance is something virtually everyone who drives a car in the United States is forced to do.  While there are certain exceptions, buying automobile insurance is virtually universally required of all drivers. 

That doesn't mean we have to enjoy paying for car insurance and it certainly doesn't mean that we are willing to pay even a penny more for our insurance than is absolutely necessary. 

If your vehicle is being financed then it is probable that your lender has certain minimum requirements for your insurance which are undoubtedly higher than the minimum insurance that your state requires for driving on a public roadway.  While it is perfectly reasonable for your lender to require higher minimums in your insurance coverage than does your state, remember that your lender cannot tell you which insurance company you must buy your policy from – although many lenders will certainly do their best to influence your decision. 

The fact that you have a choice of which insurance company to buy your policy from guarantees that you have the opportunity to save money on your car insurance. 

Following are 5 steps that most car insurance buyers can easily take and which should result in lower car insurance premiums month after month.  All 5 steps for reducing automobile insurance costs can be combined for even greater savings, but if even just one of the following ideas applies to your insurance situation you should still save hundreds if not thousands of dollars over the next several driving years. 

• Install Anti-Theft devices on your car.  Many anti-theft devices are quite simple to purchase and you can install many of them yourself.  A steering wheel "club," for example, is a simple device that anyone can use and which can reduce the cost of your automobile insurance.  A simple electronic automatic gas cut-off system can make your car almost worthless to thieves by simply turning off your fuel pump and causing your car to run out of gas within just a mile or so. Car alarms and other such simple-to-install devices can also lower your vehicle's theft profile and decrease your monthly insurance premium.  Of course, certain cars in and of themselves are susceptible to being stolen; your auto insurance agent can steer you away from those models.  Talk to your agent about which devices offer the greatest reduction in your car insurance premium.
   
• Buy group auto insurance.  This discount may be staring you in the face and you don't even realize it.  Your place of employment or any clubs or organizations that you belong to may offer group auto insurance at a discount.  Do you belong to Kiwanis Club, Rotary Club, Key Club, an Elk or Moose Lodge or any other large group or organization?  Sometimes even a church will offer group car insurance at a discount.  If you belong to any club, group or organization it may pay you very handsomely to ask around and see if you can get low-cost group car insurance.
   
• Take an hour or two and review your policy with your agent.  Things change.  Sometimes we don't even think about the changes when they occur, but many changes can affect how much you pay for your car insurance.  Has anyone moved out of your household recently?  Has anyone turned 55?  Has anyone retired and is driving less?  Have you stopped driving one of your cars?  Is one or more of your cars now so old that it has little or no Kelly Blue Book value and should be dropped from collision and comprehensive coverage?  Have you purchased other insurance policies, such as health or life insurance from the same company?  If so you need to claim your Multi-Policy Discount.  Have you been with the same company 5 years or more? If so you should be getting a Long-Term Policy Discount. Do you park your car in a garage at night?  Ask your agent straight to his or her face if there are any unannounced discounts that could even remotely apply to you; you'd be surprised at the number of discounts that go unclaimed each year simply because people don't know they exist and are afraid to ask about them.
   
•  Do you have a health insurance policy separate from your car insurance?  If you do, you may be able to save quite a bit on your car insurance by reducing your Liability coverage to the minimum required by your state's law.  This could save you quite a bit on your insurance but it is a strategy that really needs to be discussed with your automobile insurance agent because there are many angles to consider when implementing this money-savings strategy.
   
• Use public transportation and car pooling whenever possible.  One way to save some serious money on your car insurance is to drive your car less.  We've already mentioned telling your insurance agent if you no longer drive to work on a daily basis, but if you can find ways to cut your driving to under 500 miles each month – perhaps by using public transportation whenever possible – you can greatly reduce your monthly insurance premium by applying for a Low-Mileage policy. 

Well, there are 5 simple things you can do to lower your automobile insurance costs each month.  Of course there are a lot more things you can do, such as not getting speeding tickets and not being convicted of a DUI or DWI, if you're under 25 you can stay in school and maintain at least a 3.0 grade average for a Good Student Discount, if you're over 55 you can take a special driver's refresher course, you can pay premiums yearly rather than monthly, if you're married you can save money by making the wife the primary driver and the husband a secondary driver, if one of your credit cards offers a towing service or if you belong to AAA towing then don't pay for towing on your auto policy, and don't make unnecessary small claims – if you can go for only 6 months without making a claim some insurance companies will give you a price break on your policy. 

Once you have done everything you can to lower your monthly premium then you should get online and compare the price of your low-cost policy at as many different insurance companies as you possibly can in an effort to lower your monthly bill even more. 

Don't stop after making your price comparisons on just one website.  No one website compares all of the different insurance companies operating in your state.  Take the extra time and make your comparisons on at least 3 different websites – then grab the lowest price you find!