Save Money by Regularly Obtaining Auto Insurance Quotes
By Jeremy on Oct 15, 2007 with Comments 12
Auto insurance is one of the necessities in life, and unfortunately it can be quite costly. Of course, you could try to skimp by going without insurance, but you risk losing everything. So, since it is your legal obligation to have adequate coverage, you can at least try to minimize the impact on your wallet by shopping around.
Being Complacent Can Cost You
I’ll have to admit, for the past few years I’ve been content with our auto coverage. A few years ago when we purchased our house, we had to shop around for homeowners insurance. When we found a suitable policy for that, we were lured in to moving our auto policy over to them as well so that we could qualify for a multiple policy discount.
At the time, when we ran the numbers and determined that we could save about $170/year on the homeowners by bringing our auto policy over, and even though the auto policy was slightly more expensive, we would still realize a net annual savings of around $80. Granted, that isn’t a whole lot of money, but not only was it a small savings, but we consolidated with one company, which is convenient.
Well, a few years go by and we never bothered to look into our auto insurance as we were happy with the service and coverage, but last week I decided to run a quote on Progressive just for fun, which is who we had prior to switching. To my surprise, the initial quote for our two vehicles came in pretty low. I had assumed it was simply due to a high deductible or lower coverage amounts, which was partially true. It was a quote for a $1,000 deductible whereas we currently had $500. So, I adjusted the policy, and even then, the numbers looked good.
Long story short, after getting the policy to match our current coverage, it looked as if we could save close to $50/month, or $600/year. That is fairly significant, and even though we would lose the multiple policy discount on the homeowners, if we forget the $170 annual savings from that, we’re still up over $400 per year.
Shop Around at Policy Renewal Time
I’m not suggesting that everyone can go run a quote right now and save hundreds of dollars, but it is certainly to your benefit to review your options every six months or so when that policy is ready to renew. The insurance marketplace is constantly evolving, and you may find that there are better deals out there. Sure, it probably isn’t worth the hassle if you are only able to save a few bucks, but you won’t know if you don’t check.
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This is a great tip for people wanting to save a little extra money. I’ve actually done this myself and saved just over $200.00 a year just by taking the time to research different policies. As you mentioned, make sure to do this before the policy ends or you can be looking at paying out a penalty fee.
Great job! A few hundred dollars a year makes a big difference! I did this just over a year ago when my wife and I got married and consolidated our home and car policies into one poilcy. We saved almost $100 per month! We haven’t looked at any other companies since then, but it might be a good idea to get a quote sometime soon. We may be able to save a little more.
Well, everyone knows you can save 15% in 15 minutes or less just by calling… nevermind.
Seriously, though, I did just this, and I saved about $35 a month (25%) on my car insurance by switching companies.
Keep in mind also that many auto insurance companies are starting to offer incentives to stay with them year after year. You can get additional discounts or other features added to your policy for free after a certain amount of time holding a policy or going accident free.
I think your key comment in your article is to shop around just prior to your renewal. I’m sure they all have a lead database that tracks expirations. You’ll definitely be able to get the best deal at this time.
I’ve shopped around from time to time, but because I’ve been with my insurance company for close to ten years now, and have my apartment/renter’s insurance with the same company, it’s very well. The discount for staying with the company is pretty significant.
Like some of the comments already mentioned, it often pays to stay with the same company. I’m currently with State Auto, a relatively unknown insurance company, but they have competitive rates and sizable discounts for staying with them and for having a good credit score. Occasionally, I look around, see what other companies offer, and my current company still offers the most competitive rates. So I just wanted to reiterate that people should not switch for the sake of switching, be smart in your decision-making process.
WOW, great savings you got there! It definetely pays to compare car insurance companies by doing some quotes each year, especially as it’s getting easier with the internet. In as little as 15 minutes you can get quote from up to 12 different companies. It cost nothing to do and this way you make sure you have the best deal, even if it’s by staying with your current company.