Tips For Saving Money On Car Insurance

Have the holidays left your wallet feeling lighter than usual? Are you worried about being able to pay for your various upcoming bills? With some expenses, there may not be much that you can do to change or lower how much you owe. You may already be conserving water and electricity as much as you can, for example. However, there is one bill that you might not have even realized that could be in your power to adjust: your automobile insurance. Here are some tips on how to get a lower insurance premium rate:

Change insurance companies: In many instances, car insurance companies are willing to offer a special introductory rate in exchange for switching your policy to them. Even if you can't find an insurance company with a discount for new customers, it's possible that your current insurance company no longer offers the lowest rate for you and your vehicle. Insurance companies are always adjusting and readjusting their rates, so an insurance company that was the lowest a few years ago, when you first signed up, may actually be the most expensive now. Since a car insurance company isn't likely to tell you this, you'll need to shop around to see if different companies offer better rates.

Avoid driving: If you're like most people, you probably hop in your car whenever you need to go anywhere. This can include both long drives to the next state or short drives to the corner store just down the block. Even if you're an extremely careful driver, all of those miles add up to increased risk of an accident whenever you're on the road. But if you agree to forgo driving whenever possible, such as biking or walking to the grocery store instead of driving, and to restrict the mileage on your vehicle to a certain amount every month, your insurance company may give you a discount for doing so. They may require that you submit to an odometer check every few months or once a year, in order to confirm that you're still eligible for such a discount.

Take a defensive-driving class: Defensive driving teaches things like you how to react in the case of an accident and how to avoid an even bigger accident. In return for learning how to avoid turning a tire blow-out into a roll-over accident, your car insurance company will often give you a discount on your insurance premium. In order to be eligible for the discount, check with your insurance company to make sure that they offer the discount and that the driving school that you're considering is offering the qualifications that they need.