words Al Woods
We’ve all been shocked at our car insurance renewal quote at one point or another in our lives. It’s usually more than last year’s insurance payment, which is often a brain teaser as it leaves us wondering if we’ve been driving poorly for the last year.
We haven’t, it’s just a ploy for insurance companies to get more money out of their clients. Looking into how we can reduce our auto insurance each year can save us literally hundreds of dollars so it’s wise to look carefully. Here we take a look at some tips and tricks as to how you can lower your car insurance premium.
Shop Around
The first rule of insurance is loyalty doesn’t get you anywhere. Staying with the same insurance provider for 10 years won’t get you a special price. In fact, changing your company will get you a better deal almost every time as the new market is a competitive one. When looking at insurance for your car it’s important to look at as many different companies as possible. People taking out new policies tend to get a good deal as companies want as many clients as possible, this means attractive new deals to hook people in.
Know What You’re Paying For
There are so many different aspects of insurance that it’s difficult to know what you’re paying for. It starts with the standard options, fully comp, third party fire & theft, etc. Within those deals, there are many extras that are sold as different packages. A good example would be a gold, silver, and bronze deal. It’s very rare that the gold package will be needed but it’s likely it will be standard, to begin with. All it takes is finding out everything that’s on your policy and see if you need it. Payment for driving abroad? Know you aren’t going to drive abroad? There’s no need to have it on your policy.
Ask The Right Questions
There is always room for another question. The way to get by in life is by living with the mentality “don’t ask don’t get”. In the world of insurance, this is especially true. There will always be a discount to be had somewhere, all you have to do is ask. A broker’s job is to get as much money as possible from their clients.
When questions are presented they have to answer them. Is that the best price you can do? Maybe the answer is yes, but if they want the sale they might be able to drop the price a little. Ask the right questions, and you’ll have a cheaper quote.
Don’t Take Your Renewal
Your renewal email is pretty much a ploy to get the most amount of money from you as possible. The percentage of people that don’t think, or forget, about their car insurance is quite high. So the companies took advantage. When renewal time comes round they send an email with a bloated renewal price hoping that it will be forgotten about and not contested. If you notice this email come in, call the company and ask for their best deal. 9 times out of 10 you’ll find the next quote you receive will be dramatically cheaper.
Look At Your Job Title
There are some jobs that are associated with a higher accident rate. This isn’t down to you personally, just that there are more crashes within that profession. There are ways to change your job title without it being false information. A carpenter is also known as a joiner, joiners are known as cabinet makers. There are ways of saying what you do in a different way. Look into yours to see if you can save money.
Look At Your Details
Being as accurate as possible is essential to getting the best price possible for your car insurance. Make sure you have correctly estimated how many miles you are going to drive every year. If you’re saying you’re driving more than you are then your price might go up.
How do you use your car? Do you use it for business, recreational use or commuting? These are the options you have to choose from and it will dictate how much you use your car. Business use means you’ll be in your car at least 5 days a week, for most of the day. Commuting for 5 days a week every morning and evening during rush hour. And recreational is using it for social pleasures. Make sure you have the right one checked.
There are plenty of tricks to get your car insurance cheaper. Just don’t go with the first insurance provider you meet along the way. Shop around and play them off each other. They’re trying to make the most money out of you, so why not try and get the best deal from all of the insurers?
