Thing No. 1 Hike up the deductible.
Paying a premium
every month, year after year for the privilege of saving $500 on the
deductible if and when you file a claim…is just mental. You
should have at least a $1,000 deductible. That way you part with
the cash if and when you need to and it goes straight to the bottom
line of your repairs instead of into your broker’s kitchen remodel or
wherever it is that overpaid premiums go.
Thing No. 2 Comparison shop online.
There are a
multitude of sites online that gather quotes from hundreds of
companies: insurance.com or insure.com. Progressive jumped into the game offering competitive
quotes in addition to their own progressive.com and now everybody’s
doing it. Do review exactly what you’re
getting though. Although premiums vary widely for the identical
coverage, different companies slice and dice things differently and
package different “perks” together (like roadside assistance) so the
coverage you get on those quotes will not necessarily be identical. We
have no idea where you’ll get the best quote because each company is
optimizing premiums for certain types of customers but gee whiz, we
sure think that little gecko is cute.
Thing No. 3 Check out their rating.
This shouldn’t be an
issue with the majors but if you get a great quote from some wackadoo
company you’ve never heard of, find out what their rating is (this is
based on their “financial strength” i.e. ability to pay.) These
ratings are available from Standard & Poors but we like
www.ambest.com you just type the name of the company in the box right
on the home page and off you go. You do have to register, but
it’s free. If these websites make you dizzy trying to navigate
through the Byzantine architecture and just too much information, might
we suggest you take your butt to the local library. We’re betting
your friendly librarian can help you put your finger on just what
you’re looking for. Well, that does sound a bit exhausting.
Never mind.
Thing No. 4 Dump the personal injury coverage.
If you
have good medical coverage already (through your employer for example)
you don’t need duplicate coverage on your auto policy by the name of
Personal Injury Protection (PIP). This will save you dough on
your premium.
Thing No. 5 Get all the discounts.
Make sure you’re getting any discounts that you are due including
• Good driver (assuming you are one and can prove it
by having a record clean of accidents or tickets in the past 3 years)
• Anti-theft device
• Low annual mileage (under 10,000)
• Air Bags/Anti-Lock brakes
• Garage Parking
• Combined Policy (e.g. auto + homeowners)
• Over 50 years old