Most of us dread paying our auto insurance premium each month. We know that it is an important policy, but don’t understand why our rates seem to go up, and up, and up. Here are some simple tips to assist you in lowering your premiums while maintaining your coverage.
Tip #1 – Raise your deductibles.
Full coverage vehicles include a deductible for Comprehensive and Collision coverages. Comprehensive is what covers you if you hit an animal, are a victim of vandalism, have an object fall on your vehicle, etc. Collision covers you in the case of an accident with or without another vehicle. If your deductibles are currently low such as $50 for Comp. and $250 for collision. Why not raise them to $250 comp and $500 Collision. If you calculate the savings per year versus how many claims you typically have, you will most likely find that it will be worth it to raise your deductibles.
Another deductible option is to change your collision deductible to basic instead of broad. All that means is you will pay your deductible weather you are at fault or not. However, in Michigan, if you are found to be less than 50% at fault you can claim your deductible cost against the at faults policy. (Get your money back) Talk to your agent about your state’s deductible options.
Tip#2- Call your health insurance carrier.
Yes, your health insurance coverage can lower your auto insurance. If your health insurance will coordinate benefits then your auto insurance rates can be discounted. In other words, your personal injury protection (PIP) will cost you less because your auto insurance policy will not have to pay as much if you were injured in an auto accident.
Many companies also will tie a deductible to your PIP coverages. If your health insurance doesn’t coordinate, put a $300 deductible on the coverage. What that says is if you are injured in an accident you are willing to pay up to $300 first. That can save you quite a bit.
Tip #3- Bundle all of your insurance needs.
Instead of shopping around for auto insurance rates, shop for your insurance package rate. You can get multi line discounts for each additional line of coverage. You would be surprised how much you can save overall.
Tip #4- Shop your rates every two years.
Insurance companies have cycles. They sometimes need to gain new policies so they drop their rates. That then leads to more claims so then they will need to raise their rates. It is a cycle that all companies face, balancing policy growth with claims filed. By shopping your rates every two years you should be able to find a better deal with a quality company.
Tip #5- Exclude a house hold driver.
If there is a driver in your household with a terrible driving record or a youthful driver, you can exclude them. This would keep them from being rated on the policy. However, you are promising the company that this person will not drive. If the excluded driver gets into an accident in one of your covered vehicles, you will not have coverage. So give it some serious thought before signing on the dotted line.
There you have it, 5 easy tips to lowering your insurance costs. Your agent should be more than happy to meet with you to go over your state’s specific options. Good luck and drive safely!