How to Save Money on Car Insurance: 6 Ways to Lower Your Rate

If you have a car and want to drive it, you’re legally required to insure it. Unfortunately, insuring a car isn’t exactly cheap. Average car insurance costs $1,765 per year, according to AAA’s annual Your Driving Costs study, and many drivers pay much more.

But just because you need car insurance doesn’t mean you have to let this bill break the bank. There are many ways you can lower these costs and make auto insurance easier on your budget.

Wondering how to save money on car insurance? To get you started, we rounded up some easy, quick steps you can take to reduce your insurance costs.

How to save money on car insurance — 6 options

1. Look at your current coverage and consider your needs

First, take a look at your current auto insurance policies to see how much coverage you have and what you’re already paying. Your car insurance premiums are largely determined by the kinds and amounts of coverage that your auto insurance provides.

Many auto insurance policies include:

• Collision coverage
• Property damage
• Bodily injury liability
• Personal injury protection
• Comprehensive coverage
• Uninsured motorist coverage

Not all drivers will need all of these types of coverage, and the limits for each can vary quite a bit. Consider if there are types of coverage you can cut back on to lower premiums.

2. Consider downgrading your insurance on older vehicles

An easy way to save money on car insurance? Don’t overpay by buying more coverage than you need. Compare your car’s current value to your premiums. If your annual car insurance premium is equal to or more than 10% of your vehicle’s value, you might be overpaying.

Keeping insurance rates low compared to your car’s value can be tricky as it ages, however. Cars are depreciating assets, which means they become less valuable as time goes on. If you have an older car, it might cost less to simply replace it out of pocket than to pay to have it insured.

So what coverage can you safely forego? For older or less valuable cars, you can probably skip comprehensive coverage that protects you from theft, vandalism, or weather damage. It might also be more cost-effective to skip collision coverage that protects your car and start saving for any potential repairs out of pocket, instead.

If, on the other hand, the type of car you have is a high-value luxury car, a new car, or you’re still paying an auto loan or lease — use caution when cutting back on coverage.

3. Ask about car insurance discounts

If you know the right questions to ask, you could find additional car insurance discounts. Don’t be afraid to ask your insurance agent to play around with the numbers either. My husband and I share two vehicles, though he drives further to work each day. Our insurance agent switched which driver used which car for their daily drive, and it surprisingly lowered our rate by $25 per month, or $300 per year.

Here are some common insurance discounts that car insurance companies might offer, so you may want to ask your current insurer about:

• Ask for higher deductibles. A deductible is the amount of money you’d have to pay out of pocket before coverage kicks in. Many auto insurance companies will lower premiums for policies with higher deductibles.
• Bundle your insurance. Chances are you probably need renters insurance or homeowners insurance in addition to car insurance. See how much you could save by bundling these together from an insurer that offers both. You may also be able to get a discount for a multi-car policy.
• Keep your car safe. Some insurers will lower your rates if you park your vehicle in a garage, and the reason is simple: Vehicles are safer from theft, vandalism, or damage when parked in a garage. Insurers may also offer discounts if you choose a car with better safety and security features.
• Check for other discounts. You might qualify for a low-mileage discount if you drive a lower-than-average number of miles. You might be able to get a loyalty discount if you’re a long-time customer or a good student discount if you're in college and have good grades. Some insurers provide a policy discount if you take a defensive driving course or have certain safety features on your car like anti-lock brakes and airbags. You could even get a car insurance discount through your employer!

4. Shop around with different providers

You aren’t married to your car insurance policy. You can look at new rates and even switch insurance companies at any time. This is also an important step if you’ve just purchased a car and need to get it insured. We haven’t been picky about what type of car we were looking for, so we asked our insurance agent the price difference between two to three different models we were looking at. Surprisingly, we have found out that the insurance company charges more for some models or trim packages.

You can talk to an insurance agent, but you can also easily shop around and get quotes yourself by selecting a range of insurers. Decide on the car insurance coverage you want, then collect car insurance quotes from each company. You can see which is willing to offer you the best car insurance deal for the coverage you need.

Certain money apps could also help you find a better price on car insurance. Trim, for example, can negotiate bills on your behalf or alert you to opportunities to save — such as pointing you to providers that might offer you a better deal on car insurance.

5. Maintain a safe driving record

Finding how to save money on car insurance can be as simple as following the rules of the road. That’s because your driving record is a significant factor that’s used to determine your insurance premiums.

A driver with a record of safe driving habits is less likely to get in accidents that would result in a claim. Auto insurers will often reward this lower risk with lower insurance premiums and possibly even additional safe driver discounts.

Liberty Mutual states on its site that it offers a discount to select drivers who take a defensive driving course. You might even be able to take the course online. If you weren’t using Liberty Mutual for your car insurance needs, ask other insurance providers if they offer a discount for taking the course.

Obviously you want to avoid traffic tickets and accidents to keep your insurance costs down. If you do happen to get a traffic ticket, consider investing in traffic school to keep the ticket off your record and your insurance unaffected. This won’t work for every state or insurance company, but as a driver in California, doing an online driving school allowed my traffic violation to remain off my driving record, and I didn’t need to report it to my insurance.

6. Improve your credit

If you live in California, Massachusetts, Michigan or Hawaii, this doesn’t apply to you. These states don’t allow car insurance companies to base rates off of scores.

For residents of other states, auto insurers can base your insurance rate off your credit history. That’s because in the world of insurance, enrollees with poor credit and financial habits are more likely to file claims. On the other hand, drivers with good credit are a better bet for insurance companies and are more likely to be offered lower auto insurance premiums.

To set car insurance rates, insurers consider many of the same factors used to formulate credit scores. So taking steps to raise your credit score can also lead to insurers offering you better rates, including on car insurance.

Consider taking action to raise your credit score quickly. You can lower your credit utilization by asking for a higher credit limit or paying down balances on revolving debt, for example. Or you can check your credit reports and look for errors that could be mistakenly lowering your score.

FAQs

Saving on auto insurance can be an easy money win

Car insurance premiums are a recurring expense that’s all too easy to set and forget. But if you leave auto insurance on autopilot, you could very well end up with a high insurance bill and be unnecessarily overspending on this cost. But there are easy ways to save money on car insurance.

If you haven’t compared car insurance rates in a while, it could be time to revisit your auto insurance to see if making some simple changes could save you money. With just a little bit of effort and research into the different insurance carriers, you might be able to lower your rates and save hundreds. And we’re sure you can find a better way to use that money, whether that’s getting out of debt, saving more money, or simply stressing less about your budget.