How to Lower Car Insurance Premiums

This is a guide on lowering car insurance premiums. You can keep car insurance rates low by switching providers, raising deductibles, lowering coverage, and more.
Written by Brady Klopfer
Reviewed by Carrie Adkins
The quickest way to lower your car insurance is by switching providers. You can also keep insurance rates low by negotiating with your carrier and changing the details of your policy.
Car insurance
is a must-have for anyone who owns a vehicle, but unfortunately, it can get a little pricey. Since car insurance providers are looking to profit from their services, they’ll try to find ways to make more money off you.
As a result, you may find yourself paying premiums that are a bit higher than you think they should be. Still, there are a few things you can do to lower your premiums and make your car insurance coverage more affordable.
Switching insurance providers is one way to find
cheaper car insurance
. If you want cheap car insurance quotes fast, go to
Jerry
. A licensed broker that offers end-to-end support, the Jerry app gathers affordable quotes, helps you switch plans, and will even help you cancel your old policy.
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Negotiate or change providers

Just like with your cable bill, your auto insurance bill will slowly get larger over time, even if you don’t increase your coverage. This is partially because auto insurance providers offer low rates to new customers to get their business, and partially because they raise rates if they don’t think you’ll leave.
Most people don’t do anything about this, but you can! Contact your auto insurance provider and try to negotiate a better price. Then shop around and see what another provider will give you as a new customer (you can even use that quote as leverage with your current provider). You can keep car insurance rates low by simply changing providers or negotiating prices every few years.

Drive safely

Most auto insurance companies offer lower prices to
safe drivers
. This means that the longer you go between accidents and traffic violations, the lower your prices will get. When in doubt, contact your auto insurance provider and ask if they offer such incentives.

Raise your deductible

Deductibles
are directly linked to premiums. If you want to lower your premium, raising your deductible will do so. Of course, low deductibles serve an important purpose, so don’t employ this strategy unless you are able to save the money required to pay your deductible.
Raising your deductible can save you so much money on premiums that you’ll likely still spend less money annually, even if you hit your deductible during the year. Just make sure that you have enough money saved up to pay any deductible you need to use
after an accident
.

Check for discounts

Most auto insurance companies offer some
discounts
, though you sometimes have to ask about them. There are several discounts available from home and car insurance
bundling
, to family plans, to lower rates for people who drive a limited number of miles.

Purchase a more affordably insured vehicle

Different vehicles have different insurance costs. Typically, cars that drive fast or cost a lot of money to repair and replace are the most expensive ones to insure.
If you want to keep your premiums down, trading your sports car for a SUV with a top safety rating can really help you out.

Look into Classes

Many insurance companies will give you a discount if you take a
defensive driving course or a driving safety class
. Furthermore, if you’ve recently received a
speeding ticket
, attending traffic school can help drop the price of your premiums.

Lower your coverage

Simply put, the better your coverage, the higher your premiums. If you opt for
liability coverage
instead of
collision coverage
or
comprehensive coverage
, then your premiums will drop by a large amount. Of course, there is a risk in reducing your coverage. If you end up needing to file a claim but you're not fully covered, your claim could be denied.

Skip the payment plans

Payment plans can help a lot of people by spreading out the money that needs to be spent on insurance. The downside is, most auto insurance companies charge more money if you pay in installments than if you pay for your coverage all at once. If you can afford to make a lump-sum payment, then do so.
Having car insurance is important, but rates often increase over time and it’s common to overpay. None of these tips will make your car insurance free, but they can make it more affordable so that you can get the coverage you need for a reasonable price.

Find low premiums with Jerry

The absolute quickest way to change your premium is to switch insurance carriers. Carriers want your business, so they'll offer you lower quotes to convince you to work with them.
If you want cheap car insurance quotes fast, go to
Jerry
. A licensed broker that offers end-to-end support, the Jerry app gathers affordable quotes, helps you switch plans, and will even help you cancel your old policy.
It’s this simple: download the Jerry app or go to getjerry.com. In less than 45 seconds, Jerry collects all of your information from your existing insurer. Choose from competitive quotes from up to 50 top insurance companies and Jerry takes care of the rest–securing your new policy and helping you cancel your old one. No long forms. No calling around. No hard work. Just savings. The average Jerry user saves $879 a year on car insurance.
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