How to Find Cheaper Car Insurance

Although car insurance can be very expensive, with a little bit of work you can significantly lower your insurance rates by 15% or more. However, not all people will get the lowest rates with the same company. Here are some ways to lower your auto insurance rates in your particular situation.

How to Find Cheaper Car Insurance: Get Quotes

The first step when you are looking for cheaper car insurance is to get lots of quotes. Even if your friend down the street with a similar car found the best rates at company A, there are a number of things in your life that may make the rate lower for you at a different company. The only way to know is to get quotes, making sure that you are comparing consistent coverage plans (same numbers for liability coverage, comprehensive and collision, deductibles, and same add-ons).

How to Find Cheaper Car Insurance: Ask for Discounts

Once you have found the best few insurance companies, call them and talk about what discounts you might be eligible for. Some examples of discounts are a good student discount, low mileage discount, defensive driver course discount, and a prepay discount. All of these will lower your premiums, and some companies offer bigger discounts than others.

How to Find Cheaper Car Insurance: Pay Higher Deductibles

Your insurance rates will be a lot cheaper if you opt for higher deductibles. Although you will be paying a few hundred dollars more if you need to make any repairs, your annual premiums are likely to be at least a few hundred dollars less, meaning that if you don't make any claims, you get to keep all that money!

How to Find Cheaper Car Insurance: Pay Attention to Life Changes

If you have just gone through a major life change, such as moving, buying a new vehicle, getting married, or adding a teen driver to your policy, these are times when you should consider going through the two above steps again. All of these changes will have an impact on your auto insurance policy, and not all companies handle them the same way, meaning that another company that used to be more expensive could be cheaper now.

For example, when my husband and I got married, we got quotes for a plan together on his current insurance carrier and my current insurance carrier, both of which were the cheapest we could find for us as individuals. We also got quotes from other insurance providers, and we found that the cheapest was an entirely new one, so we went with that instead.