3 Ways You Can Save Money On Your Car Insurance Without Spending A Dime
When it comes to car insurance, many of the money saving opportunities that are out there will require you to actually spend money in order to start saving money. The problem is, if you are already struggling to keep up with your monthly car insurance premiums, you probably don't have any extra money laying around to cover the cost of installing a new anti-theft system or to sign up for a defensive driving course. If you have found yourself in this situation, you should know that there is still hope. This is because there are several ways you can go about lowering your car insurance premiums without spending any money in the process.
Reevaluating Your Coverage Options
While it is extremely important to ensure you have enough coverage in the event of an accident, you don't want to get stuck paying for more coverage than you need. If it has been a while since you last evaluated your coverage options, taking the time to complete this task can be one of the easiest and most effective ways to reduce your monthly car insurance premiums. This is because many people are actually paying for more coverage than they truly need.
When reevaluating your coverage options, be sure to consider things such as the depreciation of your vehicle. While you may have required $15,000 worth of collision coverage when you purchased the policy a year ago, your vehicle may actually be worth far less than that right now. Since the maximum payout your policy can offer is equal to the value of your vehicle, continuing to carry additional coverage is nothing more than a waste of money.
Bundling Your Existing Policies
Chances are, car insurance is just one of the insurance products that you purchase. If you also carry life, home, or renters insurance, choosing to bundle all of these policies can allow you to start saving a significant amount of money on all of your insurance needs. This is because insurance companies typically offer discounts to individuals who purchase multiple policies through their company. This is their way of attracting and keeping loyal customers.
If your insurance policies are currently spread out amongst several different companies, choosing to transfer all of these policies to the same company will allow you to take advantage of this type of bundling discount. You may even find that you get a one time credit as an additional perk for each policy you choose to transfer.
Reporting Your Average Mileage
Insurance companies rely on your average daily mileage to help assess your risk of being involved in an accident. The more miles you drive each day, the higher your risk will be.
Oftentimes, individuals do not even realize that the insurance company has collected this information or that they are using it to help determine how much to charge for their insurance each month. This is because this information is often collected during the claim's process by simply asking what the primary use of your vehicle is, and how many miles away your primary destination is. For instance, if you say that you primarily drive to and from work and that your work is 20 miles away, the insurance company will use this information to estimate your average number of miles per day. The problem is, this estimate may not be accurate.
In order to ensure you are getting the lowest rate possible, be sure to always provide your insurance agent with an accurate estimate of your average daily miles. This will allow them to calculate your rates based off your actual risk factors rather than using an algorithm that is designed to take the cautious route by overestimating your driving activity. To find out more, contact a company like Illinois Automobile Insurance.
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