Best Way to Save on Car Insurance

The Wall Street Journal offers three ways to save on car insurance, but to me there is one idea that's way better than the other two:

Shop once a year. A little research can go a long way. Bob Hunter of the Consumer Federation of America suggests checking price ranges on your state insurance commission's Web site. If you're working with an insurance agent, he adds, ask him to match online price quotes, which are typically lower. No-frills insurers are another good starting place; InsWeb.com lists some.

Every year or so, we quote out our car insurance to a few agencies to make sure our current agency is competitive (BTW, we do this with our homeowner's insurance as well.) I think that many people simply stay with one company year after year without checking other options (I used to do this) but if they'd simply check alternatives, they'd find that they are paying way over the market rate. It's a simple way to save a pretty decent amount of money.

Comments

[rob]

Yeah but what happens when you go with Geico to save some extra money every month and when you get in an accident, they do everything they can to give you as little as they can and use the cheapest replacement parts they can? Is it really worth it? I wish I knew the answer to that one.

[Mark]

I tried my best with Geico, Progressive, and Erie Insurance to save a few more dollars, but with a clean driving record, homeowner, and loyalty discounts, State Farm has yet to be beaten in my case. If you are very low risk driver, and you're just starting out, I would give Erie Insurance a try.

[Sean]

Sounds like a good trip, but I have to wonder what is a practical minimum? Or at least the point of seriously diminishing returns?
(did not find any ranges on my state's site)

[sow]

Here's a tip. If you aren't prone to making claims, raise your deductible as high as possible. The monthly savings will replace what you would pay as a deductible anyway.

[Matt]

rob,

What evidence do you have that Geico is any worse about that than any other insurance company? I've been through a major collision claim with another insurance company (can't remember whether it was Prudential or All State) where the company decided to repair rather than total and it was much the same as you described.

[rob]

I don't have any evidence other than what I hear from people who have experienced it. Don't get me wrong, there are other companies that are just as bad as I hear Geico can be. I don't know much about it but I do know that I don't think I would want to risk it. I use State Farm and have been with them since I started driving. We've never had a problem with them and they don't try to stiff you.

I'm sure the experience is different for everyone but my whole point is, once you find someone that treats you right, maybe that's worth your premium, as long as it's in a reasonable range.

[Kevin]

Another trick is to have both homeowners and auto with one company and get a multi-policy discount. We did this last year and saved some money. I don't tend to shop ours that much since we are both good drivers (no accidents for me ever, knock on wood) and have good credit, so in the past there hasn't been much difference from our current coverage and what I could get elsewhere.

[OL]

Another thing to consider each year is whether your driving habits have changed. For example, you can often save quite a bit if you start working from home or your commute gets shorter since they can put you on a reduced mileage policy.

[Financial Goal]

My auto insurance policy is usually up for renewal once every 6 months. Every time I receive the bill, I go online to search for a cheaper rate. It seems that nobody has been able to match the price I am paying right now.

[Travis]

I was with Statefarm for 16 years and never switched then I took a Dave Ramsey class and now I'm much smarter about how I go about life...I just got married and we called around for qoutes. We saved $1900 on our Auto and Homeowners policy. Bye Bye Statefarm. My agent didn't try to match my new quote, and she didn't seem the least bit upset that I was leaving.

[Marc Edwards]

I have found it cheaper to obtain Insurance [auto and home] through any number of membership Organizations.

My Insurance is currently through Amerprise which is through Costco. And I am achieving great savings compared to the others. And the actual Policy is not as restrictive as some others are.

Price is not the only thing to consider.

[McFrug]

I've had both my auto and homeowner's with Allstate for 20 years. Since I'd been accident and ticket-free I felt comfortable raising my deductible to $1K a couple of years ago. My rates were pretty good based on comparisons I'd done previously and the fact that I drive very little since I work from home. I was at fault in a minor accident earlier this year and my rates have gone up a whopping 56%! Not much the agent can do as the rates are out of their hands. I'm now shopping for new policies but so far haven't come up with anything better.

[techno]

The secret of Car Insurance is written.http://carinsurance2008.seesaa.net/

[Barry]

I have not had an accident in at least 10 years, and I used State Farm for both renters, homeowners, and auto insurance. I never had a claim, yet when I started shopping around, I found that Allstate insurance was something like 2/3 cheaper. True, my wife had Allstate so we got a multi-driver discount but it can't make that much of a difference, right? Another funny thing is that I take transit to work these days, so I had called State Farm to ask if they'd give me a lower premium (I only drive my car 2,000 miles a year now.) Guess what? They were only going to reduce the premium by 1%!

I think insurance companies vary their premiums significantly from year to year, from area to area, and maybe even based on other factors. It's not that different from airline tickets; we all know how much they vary based on day of week, time of day, etc. I heard a couple of years ago that many insurance companies were starting to look at surprising factors like your credit rating or whether you have a college education.