You most likely have a vehicle and also insurance but there are discounts to look into that could save you hundreds annually or thousands over a lifetime. I want to share how to save on auto Insurance with 10 discounts to definitely look in to.
I wrote about my vehicle and my experience with cars I’ve had a while ago and also recently posted a post on best and cheapest cars for 2018, now I haven’t really talked much about insurance because with new car purchase comes a new insurance quote. To our benefit, there are ways to save on auto insurance and I want to share with you 10 auto insurance discounts that you need to look in to.
Firstly, insuring a vehicle in United States varies state-by-state but you must have some type of minimum insurance coverage for your vehicle. A minimum required is usually the liability coverage, but how much varies by state.
It is simple to find the minimum coverage requirements for your state just by typing into google or any other search engine (“Your State” minimum auto insurance requirements), Since I live in California, example would be “California minimum auto insurance requirements”.
Simple Rule that People Seem to Forget About
Don’t ever try and take a picture (driver seat) of a vehicle that you might find funny or interesting or that you know will get many likes on your social media while you are driving. Makes sense right? Well, many people get caught by police holding their phone and trying to take a picture of that funny car. Is it going to be worth having your insurance raised for this reason and have a violation? Don’t think so.
Let’s Talk About Auto Insurance
The competition of auto insurance is high and it is good for us as consumers. Why? Because everyone needs it – at least in USA, why to worry about getting your insurance cheap? Because it is not cheap.
From 2013 to 2017, the average individual insurance premium increased by 105%. In 2014, the average annual auto insurance cost was $907,38 or about $75,60/month, remember this is everyone combined. My auto insurance is at $1,905 annually. The prices you pay vary a lot depending on the insurer.
At $164 a month, it is rather expensive for anyones budget, but especially students. Doing a little research and calls could save you hundreds of dollars per year and thousands over your lifetime, so take this article into consideration when you start shopping around for insurance or check the discounts for your current auto insurance policy. Doing this little work will help you out in a long run.
There are many choices when it comes to auto insurance discounts, but I only would like to cover ones that are very common and your insurer is most likely offering it.
Looking for a new car? See my post on best and cheapest new cars for 2018.
Auto Insurance Discounts
Being almost 22 I can tell that the insurance run a lot of people I know dry on pocket. Insurance companies have special formulas that calculate how risky of a driver you are, I don’t know it, neither insurance companies tell us. But we know one thing for a fact, the more accidents or tickets you accumulate, the more likely you will have a higher premium, as simple as that.
By being a good driver, you are eligible for these discounts:
1.College degree/alumni/GPA discounts: Firstly, as majority of my blog readers are students and whom I focus on primarily, many insurers. It is proven that people that have a degree have less chance of accidents or violations. Many insurers will give you a discount for graduating or being an alumni. If you have a high GPA and you are a student, your insurer might also offer discounts for having high GPA (I’ve seen 3.0 or higher which I believe is very reasonable).
2.Good driving record discount: This is the most common discount and you most likely have it on your policy if you have been a good driver over the past three to five years (accidents, traffic violations). This is not automatically added and if you have been a great driver over the past 3-5 years, then call and ask your insurance company.
3.Low mileage discount/College student away discount:Some insurance companies will give you discounts if you don’t drive much and it is usually under 10,000 per year in order to get this discount. The less you drive, the less chances of an accident.
4.Military: If you or your close family member is in military or served before, you might be able to save some more cash.
5.Multiple policy discount: Your insurer is most likely offering discounts for opening another policy like home, life etc… It might be well worth to have everything on one insurance combined because of multiple policy discounts.
6.Up front discount: You’ve probably seen this when you get to the payment options. Your insurance company might give you a discount for paying your insurance in full instead of paying it month-to-month. So, if you can afford it, then pay in full next time and get a discount.
7.Vehicle safety discount: Every car comes with alarm these days. IF your car has alarm or theft protection system, you might qualify to get a discount because it is much less likely to be broken into or stolen. There are many areas you can get a discount on like having extra airbags, anti-lock brakes and any other safety item your car might have that can lower risks.
8.Employee discount: Believe it or not but some professions have better drivers (engineers, scientists, teachers to name a few) therefore the auto insurance companies offer discounts to those professions. So, log in to your policy and serif your profession or employer is listed for this category.
9.Multiple vehicle discounts: If you have multiple vehicles like 2,3 or even 4 cars or same goes for motorcycles that you use – it is most likely better to insure them all together and qualify for multi-vehicle discount.
10. Good credit discount: Credit score plays role as well on deciding your premium cost. As I said there are formulas that insurance companies have that we as consumers don’t know but it seem to be working out for them. Having a good credit score can either hurt or benefit you. I wrote about credit building tips for students if you would like to learn best ways to improve your scores and review of Credit Karma and why you need account.
Here are some links to major insurance companies discount pages as they make up majority of people that have auto insurance policies:
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Richard Barnett is a student majoring in finance, entrepreneur, marketer, content writer, budget traveler, and financial blog “Student Money Adviser” owner. You can read more about me here.
