(Newswire.net — January 9, 2020) —
It’s a new year, which means one thing: a fresh crop of new year’s resolutions.
If you’re someone who takes their new year’s resolutions seriously, you probably have a whole host of items on this year’s to-do list. Here’s a humble suggestion: Make room for one or two resolutions that could — nay, *will* — reduce your out of pocket auto insurance costs.
What do those resolutions look like? Are they all boring and driving-related?
Sort of. But there’s no shame in boring, not when you’ve got real money on the line. Let’s take a look at a dozen resolutions that’ll lighten the financial load of your auto insurance policy — and, just maybe, make you a better, more responsible driver in the process.
1. Accept Higher Deductibles on Collision & Comprehensive Coverage
This overview of insurance deductibles is a good read for those not intimately familiar with the concept. If you don’t have time to read it in its entirety, the “TL;DR” is that your deductible is the portion of your claim cost that you’re expected to pay out of pocket. Once you hit your deductible, your insurance company pays the rest of the claim.
There’s one more thing you need to know about insurance deductibles: that the relationship between your deductible and your premium is inverse. That is: the higher your deductible, the lower your premium, all other things being equal. Ergo, if you’ve resolved this year to avoid auto insurance claims at all costs, you should also resolve to raise your collision and comprehensive deductibles. Doing so will lower your premiums, reducing your auto insurance costs in the absence of a claim.
2. Take Another Look at Your Auto Insurance Options
The start of a new year is the perfect time to take a fresh look at your auto insurance options. Start by hooking up with a reputable insurance broker like Freeway Insurance, whose experienced team is devoted to connecting its customers with high-value insurance products suitable for their needs. You might be shocked to discover how much you’ve been leaving on the table.
3. Take a Fresh Look at Comprehensive Coverage, Too
Don’t let the fresh looks stop with your insurance policy. Even if you’re not ready to switch providers, consider whether it’s time to say goodbye to comprehensive coverage, which often isn’t cost-effective for owners of older or less valuable vehicles. If a major repair is likely to cost more than the value of your car, it doesn’t make sense to keep your comprehensive add-on in effect; you’ll save a bundle by discontinuing it.
4. Invest in an Anti-Theft System
Most auto insurers are only too happy to cut policyholders a break when they install anti-theft systems in their vehicles. Because anti-theft systems come standard in many late-model vehicles, this may not require any action on your part — or it may simply require you to make good on your new year’s resolution to get a new car.
5. Find a New Way to Get to Work
Even if you’re sold on the benefits of public transportation, upending your commuting routine is easier said than done.
Make this the year it finally happens. Taking the bus or train to work could significantly reduce your total miles driven, which could directly lower your auto insurance premiums (since you’re more likely to get into an accident when you drive more).
6. Move Somewhere More Convenient
If public transit isn’t an option in your current location, or you find yourself driving too much for other reasons, consider relocating to a more centrally located place. This is also easier said than done, of course, but it may have other benefits, like lower housing costs and better lifestyle amenities.
7. Observe Posted Speed Limits
What a concept, right? One that’s not always fun or easy to follow, to be sure, but important nonetheless. Driving conservatively isn’t just safer for you, your passengers, and those around you; it may also reduce claims frequency, raising your premiums over time.
8. Stop Approaching Merges Like a Racecar Driver
The dreaded lane merge is one of the most dangerous maneuvers you make on the road. Why do you approach it as if your life depended on beating the driver next to you? Learn the “zipper merge” and embrace a safer, saner approach to blended traffic.
9. Remember That Slow and Steady Wins the Auto Insurance Premium Race
The zipper merge isn’t the only safe, sane driving move you can resolve to make this year. Make a point to accelerate slowly and steadily from a stopped position, regardless of the posted speed limit or flow of traffic.
10. Carpool More Often
This is yet another new year’s resolution that could reduce your total miles driven — and your total out of pocket auto insurance costs. Follow these simple tips to organize a carpool with your coworkers and say goodbye to the same long, lonely commute every day.
11. Participate in Your Insurer’s Safe Driving Discount Program
Many insurers now offer safe driving discount programs for drivers who consent to remote observation of their driving habits for an initial period of time. While these programs do strike some drivers as invasive, the savings are difficult to resist: 30% to 40%, in many cases.
12. Set Up a One-Stop Shop For All Your Insurance Needs
If you’re not yet bundling multiple insurance policies, you are certainly paying more for insurance than you should. Anyway, a bundle discount is just one of the benefits of bundling home and auto insurance; the convenience of working with a single agent across your entire insurance portfolio is not to be dismissed.
New Year, New You
A new year means a new you, with all that entails. Right-sizing your auto insurance coverage might not be as glamorous as a head-to-toe makeover, but it’s almost certain to cost less — which means you might just have more money left over for the more exciting aspects of your flip-the-calendar reinvention.
There’s only one thing left to do: decide which of these resolutions make sense for your pocketbook. It’s time to rethink everything you thought you knew about auto insurance.