How to Save Money on Auto Insurance

I love it when I can save money on my monthly bills. We cut cable over a year ago, which is saving us over $50 per month, we use our utilities sparingly to save on electricity and gas, we have bare minimum cell phone plans, and just recently we started saving money on our auto insurance.

If you’re looking to cut some of your monthly expenses, I highly recommend starting with your auto insurance. Your life won’t change at all (such as if you cut cable, for example), and all it takes is just one phone call.

5 Ways to Save Money on Auto Insurance

Combine your auto insurance with your other policies

If you carry renter’s insurance, for example, try combining them with the same company for a discount. We were always able to save at least $10 per month when we were required to carry renter’s insurance by bulking it together with our auto policy. Now that we own a house, we have our auto insurance and our homeowner’s insurance on the same policy to save money. Plus, it keeps things simple.

Raise your deductible

A higher deductible means you will pay less per year in insurance. However, if you were to get in an accident and need to use your insurance, you would have to meet that deductible before insurance kicked in. I always recommend having the amount of your deductible tucked away in case of an emergency. As long as you have that, I don’t think it’s a bad thing to have a high-deductible policy.

Shop around

Shopping around for a loan or an insurance policy may seem like a foreign language to some. However, I believe that this is the new way of handling your finances and will soon seem like the norm. Take the travel industry, for example. Fifteen years ago, we had to book our vacations through a travel agent or directly through the airline or hotel. Now, we can use sites like Kayak and Travelocity to find the best deals on our trips. This is how I believe financial policies will look in the future. We will shop around via the web to find the best deal. If you’re interested in shopping around for your auto policy, check out the zebra, which compares quotes from top auto insurance companies for you, saving you both time and money.

Drive less and safer

For a quick way to save, reduce your driving. Call your auto insurance company and ask if they provide a discount to low-mileage drivers. And, drive safe by wearing your seatbelt and having your full attention focused on the road. Auto insurance companies provide safe driver discounts to those with a clean driving record.

Keep your credit in check

Many auto insurance companies will check your credit and give you a quote based on your score. It pays to have good credit—whether you’re buying a house or purchasing an auto insurance policy. You can improve your credit by paying all of your bills on time, keeping your credit card balances low and having old inquiries removed by calling the three credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.

And as a final tip, make sure to alert your auto insurance company any time you move. When we moved from AZ to NC, our car insurance went down about $30 per month. Then, when we moved into a new city here in NC, it went down again. Keep your policy up-to-date regarding any moves or life changes.

When was the last time you thought about your auto insurance policy? Do you think you could reduce your bill if you tried?

And as a reminder to all you Black Friday shoppers, The Penny Hoarder has a Black Friday portal where you can ask questions LIVE to a panel of money-saving experts! Questions can include what time a certain store opens, where to get the best TV deal, if the store you’re shopping at has any coupons, and more!