This article is mainly about the situation in the United States. If you're looking for the cheap car insurance in the UK you should check out this page about cheapest car insurances. When it comes to purchasing auto insurance, grabbing as many discounts as possible is the most effective way to reduce your monthly premiums. Most of the major carriers offer similar discounts if you qualify but if you don’t ask, chances are they will not be offered. So, how to save on car insurance? Here we have some good tips from an experienced insurance broker:
Defensive Driver Course
The major carriers all offer a Defensive Driver Course discount for qualified drivers. This discount can mean significant savings over a two or three year period for an investment of about $30 for most courses. Make certain you ask for a list of “approved” courses before you spend your money going to a class or taking the course online. Companies such as Allstate have a specific list of approved courses and will not allow the discount if your course didn’t make the approved list.
Multi-Policy Discount
This is a big one. Whenever possible, always put your auto and homeowner’s or auto and renter’s policies with the same company. The discounts provided are significant and can save you up to 25% on your premium on both policies. In many cases, the savings on the auto policy will actually pay the premium on the renter’s policy so always ask for rates on both. Insurance companies have found that a multi-policy customer will stay longer and therefore reduce their cost of customer acquisition. Since changing insurance companies can be a hassle, customers with multi-policy accounts are more likely to stay around for several renewals.
Pay In Full
The PIF discount is also significant and can represent a 10 to 20% savings on your policy. All insurance companies love customers who pay in full and are willing to discount deeply for getting your premium in advance. Included in this category is “automatic bank draft” where the company deducts your monthly premium from your checking account electronically. This saves you time and the insurance company money.
Safe Driver Discount
Probably the easiest discount available is the Safe Driver Discount. Typically, this discount is awarded to those drivers who do not get tickets or have at-fault accidents. It is not very difficult to follow the rules yet remarkably; many drivers choose to ignore them.
Saving money on car insurance takes a little effort. Spend some time shopping online with as many companies as possible and make certain you are getting every discount you qualify for. Reducing limits and increasing deductibles is the last thing a driver should do to save money however; when all else fails talk to an agent about limit and deductible selections. Don't forget though, the best way to save on car insurance is to go for a free car insurance by simply getting rid of your car.
