Ways to Decrease Your Auto Insurance Rates

How do I decrease my auto insurance rates?

I was in the life insurance business for years but knew nothing about car insurance. As I grew older I was able to afford more expensive cars. Further my children got older and were able to drive. Insurance companies charge more for young drivers, quite a bit more. The premiums started to sting.

I divested the children from my auto insurance:

Is your child going to college? Has your child gone to work and is in the process of purchasing their own car? In either event get them off of your policy. That is what I did. My wife and I both have good driving records and as a result our premium was very reasonable without our children.

Don't let the car be the center of your life; drive "cheap":

Are you driving a $60,000 car? Do you need a $60,000 car? When you drive a car like that you must have "total coverage."

The reason for that is that if you are in an accident you have to be able to take care of any damage you inflict on another vehicle plus replace your own car. After all, how many of us can repay $60,000 out of pocket?

"Driving cheap" means driving a car that is worth maybe $5,000. Then all you have to do is carry coverage that protects the other driver. This is called "liability coverage."

The difference in the cost of liability and comprehensive coverage is in the hundreds if not thousands of dollars.

I decided paying thousands of dollars to insure a fancy car just wasn't worth it. My wife and I each have a modest car that we could replace with our own funds.

Make the largest payment possible:

I found that by paying the premium annually I could save about $25.00.

Bundle coverages:

I bought my homeowners' coverage through the same company as I purchased the car insurance through. As a result I got a small discount.

My son and I bought the insurance for our cars through the same company and each got a discount. It was the same mentality as bundling insurance individually.

The way that I have saved money buying auto insurance is by taking advantage of "little benefits."

I drive a cheap car; I "bundle" services meaning I get different types of insurance through the same coverage; I pay annual premiums and I insure my car without kids on my policy but in conjunction with them if they have their own.

One final thing I do is carry a high deductable. Obviously if the deductable per accident is just $100.00 the premium will be higher than for a $500.00 dollar deductable.

To me the less I have to spend on car insurance the more fun I can have doing other things.