Reduce Your Car Insurance Cost with These 9 Tips

Want to cut car insurance costs – then follow these tips and save.

Drive Fewer Miles

Since insurance policies are typically based in part on the number of miles driven each year, consider cutting back on your driving to qualify for lower rates.

Pay Your Bill Annually

Making monthly payments on your insurance policy is a convenient option, but if you can afford to make one payment each year, you will save money because one-time annual rates are typically lower than they are when you pay monthly.

In many cases, the savings can be quite significant, so if possible, try to figure out ways to come up with a one-time payment. An example would be using a zero interest credit card to make this payment. By doing so, you will still be able to make monthly payments only instead of sending them to the insurance company you will be sending them to the credit card company. If you go this route, be sure you pay off your credit card before the zero interest period ends, otherwise, you’ll be hit with interest charges that will likely erase any savings you get from paying your insurance on an annual basis.

Security Improvements

Many insurance companies offer discounts when people make security improvements to their vehicle, but check with your insurer first before investing in these improvements to make sure the reduction in policy cost is worth the cost of these improvements. Some improvements to consider are car alarms, wheel locking nuts, and electronic immobilizers.

Choose a Higher Voluntary Excess

Opting for a higher voluntary excess ultimately results in less money coming out of your insurer’s pockets which allows them to offer you a policy at a lower price. However, make sure you can cover this increase should a problem arise, otherwise you may not be able to get your car back from the garage until you do.

Avoid Making Unnecessary Claims

By not making claims, you may qualify for discounts that can be used to reduce the cost of your policy.

Packaged Products

Be sure to do your due diligence before considering any available add-ons offered by your insurer. This is especially important when it comes to policy add-ons.

These add-ons are used by insurers to increase their profits and in many cases are unnecessary or may be covered already by other sources.

Some of these add-ons include legal assistance, roadside assistance, and windscreen cover, so just make sure you need these items before agreeing to purchase them.

Breakdown cover is one of the more common add-ons and it’s also a confusing one for car owners when it is combined with car insurance. Check out our packaged breakdown cover article to see how you can save a lot of money here if you make the correct choice.

Coverage Type Considerations

If you’re driving an inexpensive older car of little value, it may be cheaper to purchase a fire and theft policy from a third-party instead of a comprehensive policy from your insurer.

Just keep in mind that these third-party options will have limited coverage and may not provide the coverage level you need at a price that makes sense, so do your research first.  Check out these guys for research – www.moneyexpert.com/car-insurance/

Take Care with Parking

You should try to park your car in a driveway or in a garage if these options are available. By keeping your car off the road you reduce the chances of it being stolen or vandalized. You can learn more in our overnight parking & car insurance section.

Extra Drivers Add Up

Your insurance premiums can increase significantly by adding additional drivers to your policy. Adding one driver may not have much of an effect on your policy, but once you start adding others the cost will likely go up, and this increase can be substantial.

If you must have multiple drivers on your policy, try to limit those drivers to folks over 25. Drivers under 25 will cause your premium to increase.