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Car insurance can be a huge expense for many people, and keeping the costs down isn’t always easy – but there are things that you can do that will lower your car insurance costs each year, and some of them are very simple. Let’s look at what steps you can take to lower car insurance fees.
Key Takeaways
The best discounts, in general, come from being a safe driver and from bundling your car insurance with other policies. Both of these are effective ways to lower your costs and could cut them by as much as 10% or sometimes even more.
Let’s start by exploring these two areas first.
As mentioned above, the multi-policy discount is one of the best ways to save money. This is where you take out multiple policies from the same insurance company, usually for several vehicles. Many companies will offer reduced rates if you have two or three policies with them, and you’ll often save a percentage for each vehicle.
A lot of people do this because of the savings, and it can also simplify documents and paperwork, which some people prefer.
Another important method for lowering your insurance premiums is to drive safely. The fewer accidents you have, the less your insurance will cost. Things like consistently wearing your seat belt, braking gently, and driving at low speeds are critical for keeping your costs down. Having a good driving record could reduce your rates by as much as 10%.
These are known as good-driver or safe-driver discounts. Most companies offer these discounts as one, but some separate them into different categories. Talk to your insurance company about the options on offer to you.
Even with these two methods, insurance can be costly, and if you’re struggling to pay for it because your card has been canceled by a credit grantor, you may want to get a loan to cover the costs.
You might be astonished to learn that driving your car less can reduce your insurance costs. In general, when you’re getting a quote from your insurance company, they will ask you what your average annual mileage is.
The national average is around 12,000 miles annually, but if you drive less than this, you could get a discount. This is because you’re at a much lower risk of accidents if you’re on the roads less often. There’s often a cap of around 7,500 miles, so if you drive less than this, let your insurance company know and see if you qualify for a discount.
In some cases, to access this discount, you’ll need to agree to have driver monitoring technology in your car, so that the insurance company can verify how much you drive.
Students often have very high insurance costs because they are at the highest risk of accidents, and insurance companies usually charge more. However, you might be able to mitigate this by keeping your grades up!
This is because insurance companies generally assume that if you’re a responsible student, you’re more likely to be a responsible and safe driver, and, therefore, less of an accident risk. Having poor grades could increase your costs, so it’s important to study hard and take your assignments seriously if you’re in college.
If you’ve got great grades, make sure you ask your insurance company about discounts that you might be able to take advantage of. Young drivers can also consider getting on their parents’ policies to keep their premiums down, as having a more experienced driver on the policy can reduce the costs.
If your car has a lot of safety features, it could save you money on your insurance policy – so it’s important to be aware of this. If you’ve got, for example, an anti-lock braking system (ABS) or airbags equipped in the car, your insurance costs could be reduced.
This is because ABS means you’re less likely to get into an accident, since your braking will be improved, and airbags reduce your risk of being injured if you do hit something. This is worth asking your insurer about if you know your car has these safety features in place; it could save you money!
Here are 13 more car insurance discounts that you may be eligible for. Just check with your car insurance provider and see if they accept these discounts. After all, what do you have to lose?
Of course, your car insurance doesn’t only cover you in the event of an accident; it also covers you from issues like theft, so you can get a payout if somebody steals your car. This is calculated into the cost and risk evaluation that the insurance company is doing whenever they take a customer on.
Installing an anti-theft device in your vehicle could therefore reduce your costs, such as an alarm system or a stolen vehicle recovery transceiver. These will help the insurance company recover your car if it does get stolen, reducing their risk and therefore your expenses.
It’s also worth considering where you park your car at night, as being able to state that it’s parked in a locked garage may reduce how much you pay.
If you are keen to cut your costs, you might want to consider installing a telematics device in the car. A telematics device will collect information about how you drive, using things like GPS technology and onboard diagnostics to learn about your driving habits.
You can even enroll in a telematics program, which may give you a bigger discount. However, it’s important to note that if you are a bad driver, this could work against you. Be aware that the telematics device will be tracking things like your speed and reporting this back to the insurance company.
Many people will wait until a few days or even a day before their current insurance policy expires before they sort it out and take out a new policy. However, this can increase your costs – which surprises many people!
It’s important to always make sure you are covered, as it’s generally illegal to have a car that is not insured at any time. Even if you’re going to switch insurers, you need to make sure you do this before your current policy has expired.
However, being preemptive about this can decrease your costs. The weeks leading up to your insurance expiration date will often offer you cheaper rates than if you wait until the last minute to renew your policy.
A defensive driving discount is also an option for lowering your insurance costs. A defensive driving course is a four-hour course that teaches you how to drive with a focus on safety, and many insurance companies will offer you a cheaper rate if you have completed one of these courses. You’ll get a certificate as well as reduced rates.
This discount can last for several years, depending on your insurance company, although you may then have to re-take your defensive driving course if you want to continue to benefit from the discount. It’s worth discussing this with your insurance company before you undertake the course.
If you’re not living at home but you are a young person, you might find that your rates go down. You can discuss this with your insurance company to see if it’s cheaper because you no longer live with your parents. Again, this may link in with the insurance company’s assessment of how responsible you are; if you live alone, you are likely a responsible young adult who is less likely to have accidents.
Most of the time, when you book your insurance, you will be asked whether you want to pay a monthly fee or pay for the whole year at once. In many cases, people will opt for the monthly payment because it seems smaller and lets them spread out the expense.
However, paying for the whole policy in full often works out cheaper. You can discuss this with your insurance company for more information. If it’s hard for you to afford the lump sum all at once, try putting money away in a savings account in advance, so you can more easily meet the cost. You’ll save money overall!
A lot of people swap their insurance company every year, and it’s important to note that this can be more cost-effective in some cases. However, you shouldn’t automatically assume that it will be! Brand loyalty can sometimes work out in your favor. It’s always a good idea to review what your current company will offer before you start looking at other options.
If their rate on paper doesn’t look great, give them a call and ask whether they can improve their offer. In some cases, they’ll reduce the cost if you can tell them you’ve got a better quote elsewhere.
In some cases, using an autoplay feature in your car could reduce the amount of money that you pay for your insurance. An autoplay feature means that music will play automatically from any device you connect using the USB – and that means you won’t be fiddling around with the radio when your eyes should be on the road. This can lower your costs.
As mentioned above, having anti-lock brakes can lower your insurance costs because they reduce your risk of having an accident. Most modern cars have these safety features, so it’s well worth checking whether yours does.
Anti-lock brake systems are designed to stop the wheels from locking if you slam the brakes on suddenly. The brakes will be applied in a controlled manner, but extremely quickly. This means that you’re less likely to have an accident, and can therefore lower your insurance premiums.
Passive restraint systems may lower your costs too. This phrase refers to any system that is designed to protect individuals in the car if a crash occurs – such as airbags and safety belts. Having these in your car and making sure that they are working is key to keeping your insurance costs low.
Sometimes, having a new car will reduce your costs, because the insurance company can be sure it will have all the latest features, such as parking assistance, ABS, airbags, etc. It may have more security features too. It’s important to be aware of this when you’re purchasing a car.
Related: Is purchasing a car with cash suspicious?
However, you should also consider that a more expensive car can increase your insurance rates because it will cost your insurance company more if they need to replace it. This is therefore worth discussing with the insurance company before you make any purchasing decisions, so you can find out whether it would increase or decrease your costs.
Daytime running lights, also known as DRLs, are lights that come on automatically whenever your vehicle is being used and your main headlights are not on. These lights are designed to make your vehicle more visible at all times, including in the daytime. It has been shown that these lights reduce your risk of accidents because you are more visible to other vehicles, and therefore at less risk of accidents.
Not all vehicles have daytime running lights, so it’s important to check whether your car does before you discuss this with your insurance company. However, many new models have these lights because they have been proven to reduce accident rates. These lights can also be retrofitted and are fairly inexpensive, but you’ll need to remember to turn them off at night if they aren’t wired into the main headlight switch.
As you can see, there are many ways to reduce your insurance costs – which is good because many people find this is an expense that’s difficult to meet. Use the tips above to lower your insurance rates, and consider a loan if you’re finding it hard to cover them.
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