How to Cut Car Insurance Costs

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How to Cut Car Insurance Costs

On » Saturday, June 16, 2012 //

Cutting your car insurance costs is not very difficult, especially with today's competitive rates. However, you don't just need to find the cheapest or most scaled-down insurance carrier. You can actually cut your insurance costs just by skipping a few of the coverages you don't really need. These coverages are sometimes built in as perks, but other times they are costing you big bucks and delivering very little in return.

Instructions

- 1
  Browse on the Internet and to Geico.com or Progressive.com. These are two of the biggest, cheapest and most claims-oriented companies, and they both offer lower rates. Just type in your information online to get a quote you can easily compare.
- 2
  Include all the safety features of your car, like anti-lock brakes and anti-theft devices. Some cars have an electronic key with an ignition cut-off feature, and Geico will give you a lower rate if you have one of these. If you use your own device like a steering column lock or radio frequency tracker, select this option during your rate quote.
  3 Choose only the coverages you need by law, like basic coverage, property damage and bodily injury. You can lower the coverages to $10,000/$20,000, which means $10,000 per person and $20,000 for the entire accident. This will save money, but it won't give you as much coverage.
  - 4
    Decide if you need collision and comprehensive, which covers you against theft and other damage that is not related to a car accident (could include floods, fires, storms, etc.). While most state require collision they don't require comprehensive, but your lien holder will. This protects them from losing money if your car is in an accident, or stolen.
  - 5
    Raise your deductible to $1,000 on comprehensive if you are comfortable paying that much out of pocket. The odds are pretty low your car falls victim to theft or a flood, and, in many cases, you will earn back the extra $500 in savings after only a few years.
  - 6
    Consult your agent as to whether you need uninsured motorist property damage protection. This can be a redundant coverage in some cases because it only covers your car if hit by an uninsured motorist, which is what your collision coverage is for. Each state has different laws; some require this, and some have very low deductibles, so ask about it and decide what is best.
    
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