Car ownership is not cheap and many people are looking for ways to save money. Since the cost of living is rising all the time it is important to find areas where you can stretch your dollars. You can save money by doing the maintenance and small repairs yourself as well as using hacks like hypermiling to use less fuel.
Another way that is often ignored is lowering your insurance costs. Insurance costs are not fixed and there is a lot of room to reduce the cost and pay a more manageable premium every month. In this article, we will go over several of the ways that you can reduce the cost of your car insurance.
1 – Shop around
It may seem like the cost of your premium is going to be the same no matter what insurance company you use. The reality is that the prices are all over the place and you can often find a pretty good deal. If you’re searching for the cheapest car insurance Virginia has then try to avoid just looking for quotes online.
If you call around and speak to an agent then you are likely to get a very good deal. These agents are sometimes given a bonus when they are able to bring in new customers that were previously with their competition. This can end up saving you hundreds over the year.
Not only will you save money on the same type of policy with the same coverage, but you may actually save money and end up with better coverage depending on the company.
2 – Check your coverage
Chances are very high that you are paying for coverage that you don’t need. If you have been simply renewing your insurance every year without checking the coverage then this is almost a guarantee. Since needs change over time, your coverage should also change at the same time.
Go through your policy and look for things like roadside assistance coverage. If you already have AAA then there is no reason to also be paying for it with your car insurance provider.
There are also things like fire and theft which are not really necessary to have once your car loan is paid off. This coverage is usually mandatory when financing but once you own the car outright you can get rid of it.
3 – Drive better
Good drivers pay less in insurance. This is because they don’t get into accidents where they are at fault. If you cause an accident then your insurance provider will consider you a risk and will hike up your rates for years to come.
When you drive defensively not only are you able to avoid accidents but you also won’t be getting any moving violations which also causes your premium to be higher for a few years. Make sure to always be paying attention to the signs as speed limits change regularly depending on if you are in a residential zone or not.
