Are you tired of your car insurance rates spinning out of control? If so, then you’re like most people who are looking for ways that they can get a better deal on their car insurance. Here are six different ways that you can get discounts to lower your premiums.
#1: Shop Around
Unfortunately, car insurance companies don’t reward loyalty, and in fact, they even penalize you. If they think you’re less likely to shop around, they will often charge you more just because you’re not paying attention to better prices.
#2: Pay Your Bills on Time
Higher insurance rates have been linked to low credit scores because the people with low credit scores tend to get into more accidents, which puts them at a higher risk. This practice has only been banned in states like California, Hawaii and Massachusetts.
#3: Get an Older Vehicle
Now granted, this might not be the choice for everyone. Some people need a new vehicle because it will be more dependable, and their job requires it. However, new cars cost more to insure, and they will be more expensive in the long run. At the least, you should call your insurance agent and ask them what this new car will cost to insure. In that way, you haven’t bought a car that you can’t afford to insure.
#4: Install Certain Safety Equipment
Having specific safety equipment installed in your vehicle can help to get you a discount on your purchase. It depends on the insurance company, but discounts have been offered for:
- Airbags
- Anti-lock brakes
- Passive restraint
- Anti-theft protection device
#5: Skip Comprehensive Coverage and Collision Insurance for Older Cars
Comprehensive coverage on older vehicles will pay for the repairs of the damage on your vehicle once an accident has happened. This coverage will take care of floods, crashes, fires, and vandalism. In addition, it will cover the theft of the vehicle. Unfortunately, the maximum payout that you will get for these policies will be limited based on the value of your vehicle. For example, if you have an older car, it will usually have a lower market value, and it may not make sense for you to pay extra for this coverage.
#6: Do You Have a Family?
If you happen to have a family, you can ask for a multi-car discount. In some cases, insuring two vehicles or more can cost about the same as insuring one vehicle. In many cases, however, you will have to ask for it in advance. Another trick that you might use would be if you were to keep one car on liability insurance to receive the multiple car discount.
These are some of the tips and tricks that you can use to manage better discounts on your vehicle’s car insurance. With the cost of car insurance continuing to rise, you have to try to get discounts wherever possible.
Why You Need New Auto Insurance When Moving
This entire process might seem a big hassle at this point. Of course, you have every right to feel that way. You’ve recently moved to a new state, and now you discover the need to get new car insurance. But why is that? Simple. Because when you move to another state, the laws might not be the same as they were where your last residence was.
States like California and New York have too much traffic that the government needs to regulate the vehicles coming in and out of the region. On the other hand, places like Utah are notorious for having a handful of irresponsible drivers. As a responsible citizen, you must abide by the laws of every state, hence the need for new auto insurance.
Every state has different requirements for what cars can and cannot be driven on their roads. Some states might require certain safety features that you wouldn’t have on your old car. Many times, although the requirements of one state are satisfied by the other, it is recommended that you get new auto insurance to avoid any repercussions.
Why Do You Need Car Insurance?
If it’s not too obvious yet, car insurance protects you from damages and injuries you might cause to other people or damage they might make to your car. There are usually three main types of insurance: liability, personal injury protection (PIP), and property damage (PD).
- Liability is by far the most common type, as it covers any third-party damages made to them because of an accident that was your fault. These third parties can be a family member or someone on the street.
- Personal Injury Protection: The second type is PIP which covers medical expenses for yourself and other passengers involved in the accident if the other driver isn’t at fault.
- Property Damage Insurance is pretty self-explanatory as it protects your vehicle from being damaged through an accident done by another person. If both cars were equally responsible for the accident, then both insurance companies would pay for their own property damage.
In order to be covered by another state’s car insurance company, you must have a policy that is valid in your previous state of residence. In other words, if you move from Arizona to California and your vehicle was registered and insured in Arizona, but you never changed your registration to California, you will have a hard time convincing the authorities to cover you in your new state’s auto insurance policy.