Tips and Tricks to Lower Car Insurance Premiums

Introduction to Car Insurance

Rising car insurance costs is still a huge pain point for a lot of people, so we decided to put together this video on tips and tricks to lower those premiums. So let’s see what we got for you.

The numbers and diving right in, trying to help you guys understand just what we’re talking about with these rising costs. The national average annual car insurance cost is nearly $2,300 for full coverage and just over $600 for minimum coverage. Now, these numbers can, of course, drastically change based on a number of factors such as your age. Just because younger drivers are more prone to accidents, they’re a little bit more reckless, so especially those under 25 will often pay higher premiums.

Factors Affecting Car Insurance Costs

Your location drastically changes things. As with any type of insurance, your driving record obviously, you know, if you’ve been in a lot of accidents, your premiums go up. Things like the type of vehicle you drive, how much you use it, your mileage, what coverages you opt into, your credit score, of course, as it affects almost everything in personal finance, your marital status actually comes into play, and they look at things like gender and your insurance history. So guys are just a little bit more prone to be a little more reckless, I guess.

Surprising Factors That Affect Your Insurance Premiums

Honestly, when putting together this blog, there were a couple of surprises on what all affected your insurance premiums. Your marital status, I didn’t know that was a big deal. Yeah, your gender, I did know because as a male, my parents would tell me, “Oh my gosh, your premiums are way more than versus my sister’s.” Right, so it’s there. There are a few things I did know, but a lot of them I didn’t know played a role that they picked based on just statistics saying, “Okay, males are more likely to have larger accidents, meaning they have higher repair costs, etc.” So they play on that, and they say, “Okay, they’re going to need a higher premium.” So it’s pretty interesting some of the things that go into that.

Yeah, I mean, if you’re like a 22-year-old guy, insurance companies look at you like you’re a criminal. They are going to charge you a good bit of money, and if you have a single infraction, those premiums skyrocket.

Future Outlook of Car Insurance

Absolutely. Now, looking in the future, Insurify projects that car insurance costs will increase by another 5% roughly in 2025, bringing the average annual full coverage to over $2,400. Now, why is this happening? Honestly, one of the biggest reasons is supply shortage. So not only is it now more costly to make newer cars and to ship those new cars, but also, old existing cars, it’s become harder to find those parts.

• I bought a Hyundai because it had a low entry cost.
• I assumed parts and repairs would also be cheap — but I was wrong.
• Parts have become hard to find and are very expensive.
• I was recently hit with a massive repair bill I didn’t expect.
• The shop said supply chain issues have driven up part costs.
• It’s now more expensive to repair even simple cars like mine.
• At this point, I could probably sell my Kia for parts and make more than selling the car itself.

Lowering Cost

How do we combat this and lower those premiums? Well, the most obvious one that you see for almost any type of insurance or a lot of costs in life is just shopping around. If you go to one company versus the next, it could be a $100 swing per month. So obviously, that builds up over time. There are companies that shop around for you, or you can just simply do it yourself. There are a lot of ways to find what the best premium out there is. On top of that, like other insurances as well, simply increasing your deductible will lower your premium just because your out-of-pocket cost increases, so they have to cover you less, so they charge you less.

Then I’m sure we’ve all seen those commercials about bundling. There is one company that comes to mind, but bundling things like home and auto or boat and auto and all this stuff, those can offer you savings at times. Now, of course, if you don’t have a boat, you don’t have a house or anything to bundle with, then maybe this one doesn’t really apply to you, but it is out there.

Defensive Driving Can Lower Your Insurance

On top of that, taking a defensive driving course or a lot of driving classes can oftentimes lower your insurance. I had to do this myself. Now, you know it was just a little bit of speeding and everything, but it was a little court-mandated class, but it did help combat my premiums that suddenly went up, came back down a little bit because I took a couple of courses.

That also helped get some points off my record, which I think played a role. But nothing crazy, I mean, it’s one of those speed traps. It was one of those cases, guys, where they suddenly lower the speed limit, and it’s one of those roads you’re like, “Why is it a 45 right here? It should definitely be a 65.” But now, in this case, a little bit different because it was less of getting a discount and more of keeping insurance.

Easy Insurance Discounts You Shouldn’t Miss

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It lowered the premiums regardless. And honestly, one of the biggest factors that’s going to change your premium is going to be looking for discounts. For the most part, all different insurance companies offer generally the same discounts. So some of the discounts you can look for are going to be a good driver discount if you don’t have any accidents or tickets for multiple years, multiple car discounts.

So you, your wife, maybe your kids have your car. You can put it all in one account. Will give you a discount for that. Having advanced safety and anti-theft features obviously helps because there’s less of a likelihood that there’s an accident, so less of a likelihood they have to pay out. I used to get this discount for being a good student, which was really cool, and my mom was a teacher, and she also got a discount. So that was pretty neat.

Military & Safe Driver Programs Can Cut Costs

Being active, retired, or reserved member of the military, you can get a discount. There are different safe driver programs where basically you can put a little tracker in your car, and it just says how much, how fast you break, how fast you accelerate, do you speed often, and those can often help track for different so you can get the good driver, and you can also get multiple discounts as well being like a safe driver, other things like that. I’ve gotten a couple of those myself.

Yeah, heads up with that, though. Sometimes, my beeps, I’m like, “They cut me off. That was not my fault. That was not me.” Mine does not beep. That’s interesting. Yeah, mine beeps. I’ve only noticed it when I suddenly stop. Maybe that’s just coincidence. I don’t know, but it seems to coincide with sudden stops. We should check our scores, compare.

Check for New Discounts and Save More Each Year

Yeah, I’m probably paying more than I would without it. Also, there’s like a low mileage or usage. If you drive your car less than 7,500 miles a year, usually they’ll give you a pretty good discount for that because there’s less likelihood you’ll get in an accident.

• There are many different discounts available for various situations.
• Check the website or call your agent to see which discounts you qualify for.
• It’s a good idea to do this once a year to stay updated.
• Ask questions like:
• “Is there anything new available?”
• “Can I make changes to reduce costs?”
• “Any new options I can add to save money?”
• Bundling is another strategy worth exploring to save more.
• Talk to your agent to find the best strategy and deal for your specific needs.

Boost Savings With Good Credit and Full Payments

Yeah, and kind of piggybacking off what I just said about these low mileage programs and kind of asking what you can change, just good general credit practices are also beneficial. I mean, credit score seems to infiltrate life every, and this is no exception. Also, if you’re able to pay your premium in full, I know not everyone can do that, but if you can, often times they’ll give you a discount for that. So that’s just something you can consider if that is an option for you, especially in states where it’s very cheap to have insurance. Not many of them left, but some states it is very reasonable to have auto insurance or home insurance or whatever. And if you can pay it all up front, usually will give you a say five to seven to 10% discount on that, which is huge savings.

Small Savings Add Up: Review Your Premium Factors

Yeah, so again, super conclusion, quick recap. There’s a lot of things that go into what makes your premium that cost, and we went over a lot of the ways to combat that. Just good general driving practices, of course. There’s unique little programs, little things you can sign up for.

• Your circumstances are different from your family or friends.
• Factors like your driving record, insurance company, and car type all play a role.
• That’s why rates and savings can vary greatly from person to person.
• It’s still worth looking into, even if the savings seem small — like \$20 a month.
• If you’ve had your car for a long time, those small savings can add up over time.
• Just something important to keep in mind when reviewing your options.

Like, Comment, and Share to Help Others Save Too!

As always, if you have any other tips or advice for people, please leave them down in the comments below. If you got anything out of this, please leave it down in the comments below. We love hearing from you guys. It’d be good for one of your friends. You know, maybe they’re not the best driver or anything. You send this their way like, “Hey, you know, you could save some money if you were a little bit better a driver.” A little subtle hint there. Be sure to do that. We love hearing from you guys, so be sure to tune in next week for our upcoming blog. Stop with the money on that dumb and instead put it in investment. I know it’s tempting. You spend it and be broke again.