This is going to sound like one of those Geico ads, but how would you like to save $500 on your car insurance? This is better than any television ad. This is something you can do on your own without having to listen to some sales pitch from a gecko.
Thanks to U.S. News Report and certified financial planner Joel Ohman, here are seven tips for reducing the cost of your car insurance and you can do it from the comfort of your home.
Tip 1. Review coverage every six months and drop any coverage you don't need
You should review your car insurance coverage every six months or so. Even if it turns out that your current provider is still the best value on the market you may just find out that you are paying for a part of your auto insurance policy that you no longer need.
Not only do insurance rates change quite often but your insurance needs change more often than you may think. If you no longer have a new teenage driver or have changed cars, or have moved to a new zip code, all of these things may potentially cause you to be paying for coverage that you no longer need.
Tip 2. Search for discounts
Never assume that because you searched for all of the car insurance discounts available six months ago that now there are no new discounts that you may be eligible for.
New opportunities for saving money with a car insurance discount program pop up all of the time as different companies announce different discount programs in order to increase their market share.
Tip 3. Improve your credit score
It's no secret that a better credit score will result in better car insurance rates. You may have been working hard to improve your credit score over the last few months in order to qualify for lower interest rates for a home loan or auto loan and you are now starting to see some of your hard work pay off.
When you see an increase in your credit score don't let the opportunity slip by to check and see if this credit score improvement will result in an improvement in your auto insurance rates as well. You worked hard to improve your credit score so why not spend a few minutes to see if that can only help you get a lower interest rate but a lower car insurance rate as well?
Tip 4. Pay your premiums with a credit card
You can cut one to five percent off of your total car insurance premiums just by changing your method of payment.
With the average cash back credit card earning you anywhere from 1 percent to 5 percent cash back that's like getting a bill from your insurance company and then having to only pay 95 percent to 99 percent of the total instead of the full 100 percent!
One to 5 percent may not seem like much but as you can see with a cash back credit card calculator that money can quickly start to add up--depending upon how much money you spend each month if you use that cash back card for many of your purchases then your savings could end up being enough to pay for an entire year of college tuition after 15 to 20 years!
Tip 5. Tell your kids to keep their grades up
Virtually all of the major car insurance companies offer some form of good student discount. If your kids get good grades then you save money. Some companies offer savings for a lackluster C while most offer savings for you that range from 5 percent to 15 percent if your student maintains a B or an A on their report cards.
Tip 6. Take a defensive driving course
OK, maybe you have to leave the house for this one. Signing up for a defensive driving course will take up minimal time and save you money.
Taking a driving course just one time can result in lifetime savings on your car insurance. Check with your car insurance company as to what type of courses and course providers they will recognize for a discount on your policy.
Tip 7. See If Your Occupation Can Save You Money
Did you know that when car insurance actuaries calculate car insurance rates that they actually assign different risk classes to different types of occupations? Some occupations have cheap car insurance rates while other occupations get assigned an added level of risk that increases their rates.
The various occupation risk assessment algorithms will vary from one insurance company to the next but generally speaking professions like engineering and teaching will receive lower car insurance rates than business owners and attorneys.
