Top Ways To Lower Car Insurance Costs
Insurance expenses can rise to several thousand dollars per year. It all depends on several factors, including the model of the vehicle, driving experience and history, coverage limits, annual mileage, and so on. Drivers can get better rates if they:
Maintain a clean driving record or expunge existing points. Although this may seem obvious, being a safe driver is the best way to keep premiums under control. Furthermore, being a safe driver and staying with the same insurer for a number of consecutive years will grant driver access to some discounts and bonuses. Avoid traffic violations, like speeding, ignoring signs and red light, or DUI/DWI. Accumulating too many traffic violations may determine the insurer to cancel current and future bonuses.
Make sure to declare the correct main driver. Some people lie when applying for car insurance and assign a more experienced person as main driver. This is called “fronting” and it is considered a fraud. If this is discovered (usually after a claim), the insurance company will decline the claim and will begin a thorough investigation. The fraud will be recorded and any insurance company will know who they are dealing with.
Avoid lending the car to inexperienced drivers. Even if his relatives or friends ask it, if they are horrible drivers, the policyholder should respectfully decline. If those persons commit or get involved in an accident, the insurer will investigate the case and the policyholder will be held responsible.
Pay upfront for the whole coverage period. Paying-in-full is a smart way to reduce insurance costs. As advertised by many online forms, paying everything in advance can save the policyholder as much as 15%.
Do not make claims for minor accidents. It is not recommended to bother the insurer for just a few scratches or dents which can be easily repaired and will cost little. Compare the repair costs with the existing deductibles.
Maintain a good credit score or improve it. When filling online questionnaires, one of the most common questions is related to credit score standing. Naturally, people with Excellent status will get better prices. Improving the credit score is possible, but requires financial counseling from experts. Some strategies may imply using balance transfer credit cards or short term loans.
Bundle multiple insurance services. A person can easily bundle car insurance with homeowners/renters/condo insurance and earn a valuable discount. When completing online questionnaires, the user is asked if he owns the home/apartment where he/she lives. If the user owns it, he will be provided with a bundle option. In some cases, a person can save as much as 20% simply by bundling coverage.
Combine multiple vehicles under the same contract. Covering multiple vehicles under the same insurer will also be financially rewarding. Multi-vehicle plans also provide a discount. The value of the discount is directly proportional to the number of insured vehicles.
Adjust the value of deductibles. It is up to the policyholder to set deductibles. The usually recommended value is $500, for both comprehensive and collision coverage. However, the policyholder can choose higher values and lower the overall premiums.
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