Let’s talk about car insurance. It’s one of those fallen-by-the-wayside things that you pay every month/6 months/or yearly and you never really ask questions. You just make your payment and move on to the next bill. How long have you been with your current insurance company? When was the last time you called and inquired about your rate? If you have a relatively clean driving record, or turned 25 in the past couple of years, there is a chance you can save money by switching insurance companies. Typically what happens is if you go several years without any incidents you will have a cheaper rate available to you. However, your current insurance company will neither tell you that, nor automatically reduce your rate when that time comes. It is up to you to get quotes from a couple different places and compare them to what you’re currently paying.
If any of these apply to you in the past couple of years, you could possibly qualify for a cheaper rate:
• Kept a clean driving record
• Turned 25 and have been driving for 10 years
• Credit score increased
• Moved to another state, but never updated your insurance/vehicle registration (NY, NJ, and FL are some of the most expensive states)
• Promotional discount with your current company has ended
Another possible way to get a discounted rate is if you pay for the full 6 months or year at a time. Many insurance companies will offer a discount for you doing this. I’m sure some of you are thinking “If I had the ability to pay that much at a time, I would”. However, what I do is pay for 6 months by putting it on the credit card. I have a pretty low rate on my credit card and know if I pay it off quickly enough that I can still end up with somewhat of a discount. For example, if paying for the full 6 months gives me a $40-60 discount and I know I can pay off the credit card quick enough to incur much less in interest, say $10-20, then I am still ending up with a discount on my insurance. Again, I know this depends on the interest rate of your credit card, how quickly you can pay it off, and how much you already have on your credit card, but it does give you another option.
You still haven’t moved your homeowners insurance and car insurance to the same company? You’re missing out on a discount. I know you see it on the commercials all the time, but it’s real. You do get discounts for “bundling” or having multiple things insured by the same company.
Remember that loyalty does not pay off. If you have stayed with the same company for a couple of years they will not automatically lower your rate when you qualify. Also note that if you call a company to get insurance, rates are not negotiable. You cannot haggle on your insurance. If the customer service rep is able to change your price it’s because they changed something on your policy. Then you should be concerned with what they changed on your policy. Don’t try to haggle. You might end up with less coverage than you planned on.
