Owning your own car means having the freedom to travel wherever you want to, whenever the mood strikes, picking games or dvds to have a total ride fun, but it also comes with at a bit of a price. On top of the monthly payments to buy the car, you also need to have auto insurance in place. It’s easy to be annoyed at having to fork over your hard earned money to insurance companies, but it’s something you need to do if you want to get behind the wheel. The good news is that while car insurance is the law, it doesn’t have to be something that severely bruises your bank account. Listed below are a few tips that will help you get the insurance you need at a rate you can live with.
The first piece of advice you need to follow is to not get sucked in by all the auto insurance ads that run on television. They all take real joy in exclaiming that they have the best, most affordable insurance in town, but that is only true of you meet all of their criteria for a low rate. The gecko is cute and the happy insurance lady is charming, but the only way to get a rate you really want is to go and do a little bit of comparison shopping. There are now plenty of great online options that allow you to price compare while only entering your information one time. That info is then sent out to multiple insurance companies, all of whom will come to you with a price quote.
The easiest way to lower your monthly auto insurance premiums is to go with a higher deductible. If you ever need to make a claim, the deductible is the amount you will be responsible for when it comes to repairs. Going with a higher deductible can literally save you hundreds of dollars each year, but you could run into a problem here. If you are financing the car through a bank or some other financial institution, they might ask you to go with a lower deductible. Check with the bank to see what sort of deductible is acceptable to them, and price shop using that number.
Another factor that plays a part in how much you can expect to pay for car insurance is your credit score. Paying all of your monthly bills on time will help you get a favorable insurance quote. The same rules apply with your driving record, with lower rates granted to those that have kept a clean bill of health in that regard. This is especially true of you are switching insurance companies, as one of the first things they will check is what sort of driving record you are bringing to the table.
Another good tip for a lower rate is to look at group discounts. That could be in the form of insuring multiple cars, or by combining home and any other types of insurance you have into a single package. You can also save money by paying the full yearly amount in a single payment, rather than breaking it down into monthly installments. It’s not everyone that can afford that route, but it’s a great way to save.
