Often overlooked: non insurance strategies which can save you real dollars on your premiums
In today’s rough economical climate, everyone can use a break, especially when it comes to their car insurance. Often overlooked: non-insurance strategies to increase your safety and pay lower premiums. If you’re looking for ways to keep a bit more cash in your pocket, here are some easy ways to potentially save yourself hundreds of dollars each year:
Drive Less
Makes sense, doesn’t it? The less you drive, the less you should be paying in premiums. If you switch to a “pleasure use” insurance policy or “Pay-As-You-Drive”, you can potentially save a bundle. Depending on your insurance provider and rate, you can easily save anywhere from 25-40% on your insurance every single month.
Drive an Eco-Friendly Car
Did you know that driving a hybrid car can save you up to 10% on your auto insurance premium? Drivers are now being rewarded for being eco-friendly in a number of ways, one of them being driving a “flex fuel” or hybrid car. As an added plus, many savvy retailers are now creating “hybrid-only” parking spots located right at the front of their parking lot to further reward people for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Raise your Deductible
One of the oldest tricks in the book for reducing your premium rate is to increase the deductible. Just by increasing your deductible can have you saving a ton on your monthly or annual auto insurance. The amount you save depends on your provider and rate, so check in with your auto insurance dealer to see how much you can save by increasing your deductible to $500 or $1000.
Use Anti-Theft Devices
Living in a safer neighborhood can get you a great discount, but you can also add some anti-theft measures to help decrease your premium amount. Something as simple as using a car alarm
or stowing your car in the garage when it’s not in use can get you a nice 5-10% discount on your premium.
Get Billed Annually
The vast majority of plan holders aren’t aware that they pay an additional “add-on” fee for the convenience of being billed monthly. Most drivers qualify for both annual and semi-annual billing, which can save you a bit on your insurance compared to if you’re billed monthly. Check with your insurance company to see if you qualify (typically you need a decent credit rating to qualify).Nervous about receiving a big bill at the end of the year? You
can create your own “monthly pay” system by dividing your premium by 12, and then setting aside that money every month to go towards your car insurance at the end of the year.
Getting lower premiums isn’t anything that’s rocket science and isn’t unobtainable. These are just a few of the ways you can achieve lower premiums, but are ones that can have a significant impact.
Image: Flickr.
