Part of staying on a Budget is making sure you’re getting the best deal possible on all your recurring expenses. I’ve found that one of the quickest ways to reduce expenses is to keep a check on auto insurance rates. It’s one of those expenses that I call a “necessary evil”. We have to have it and there is no way around it! But we can choose to stay on top of the cost and make sure we are paying as little as possible for it!
You can also make sure you have selected the right amounts of coverage. One *insiders secret* that I never knew about was insuring my vehicle for use as a “Pleasure” vehicle, since I do not commute to a real world job on a daily basis. This alone can drastically reduce your rate! We also choose to opt for higher deductibles and NONE of the bells & whistle coverages like Medical Payments,etc. My husbands vehicle is paid for and is a 1995 model, so we only keep liability insurance on it. The cost to insure it for collision outweighs the cost for us to replace it in the long run.
There are way too many companies that want our business and we can reap the benefits of that just by staying on top of our car insurance rates.
Experts recommend you check your coverage rates at least once a year. If you’ve had the same insurance since you started driving, you’re likely be paying WAY more than you should. If you’ve been with your current company for longer than a year, you are also highly likely to be paying WAY more than you should be!
I’ve found that the best way to compare rates is to do it one shot, and I prefer to do it online. Choose a company that will get quotes for you from various insurance agencies.
2 websites that I’ve found and used to simplify this process are 2 Insure 4 Less and 21st Century Insurance. With either of these, you get quotes from some of the top companies (Geico, Farmers, AARP, and many others) all through one single inquiry. And it really does not take much time! Within an hour or so, you could be saving yourself hundreds over the next year!
You’ll be asked to fill out an insurance quote with your vehicle information, driving history, name, and address. You will then receive personalized quotes from each company over the next couple days. I got a quote from a local agency and was even able to negotiate the rate via email…which likely would not have happened if I’d have gone into their office to get a quote. It never hurts to ask!
Have you reviewed your auto insurance rates lately?
You might be pleasantly surprised at how much you can save! Tweet
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