How to Cut Insurance Costs, Part 2
How to Cut Insurance Costs, Part 2
One good way to keep your costs down is to be reasonable about the deductible amount. That is, you agree that the insurance company will pay everything above a certain amount that you will first pay out of your pocket. If you feel that you could come up with $500 a year for medical situations, you will pay a lower premium then if you will not pay anything. Therefore, increasing your deductible will lower your insurance bill by as much as $100 a month.
Car insurance is mandatory in most states. However, your premium will depend a great deal on your age, how good your driving record is, and how much deductible you are willing to pay. You can’t do anything about your or your family members ages and accidents do happen. But again, you can control that deductible. Shopping around to other companies and increasing your deductible can have a very large effect on your car insurance costs. We personally recently decreased our car insurance costs by $2,000 a year by just making a few phone calls and shopping around. While shopping around, ask each company if they have special lower rates for individuals who are non-smokers, kids who have taken safe driving courses, etc. Our insurance company even gave us a break because our son is a straight A student. Of course, your biggest savings on car insurance will be a good driving record. If you or someone in your family is involved in one or more accidents within a five year period, you are not good drivers and need to consider taking a course in safe driving. We know that some people are literally born with more driving skills than others are. But if you can accept the fact that maybe you are not one of them, then you can start driving more carefully to compensate for it.
We all know that teenagers are responsible for most accidents. But what can you do to control your teens driving when you are not around? Plenty! Sometimes the old-fashioned ideas work the best. Make sure your kids know that driving is a privilege that they must earn, not a right given to them at birth. Therefore, if they are involved in an accident that is judged to be their fault or they get a ticket for a driving infraction, take away their car privileges for awhile. Make sure they are well aware of the consequences that will result from their driving record. Just as crime cannot go unpunished, kids need to have some punishment in order to learn what is expected of them.
Another things to always keep in mind concerning car insurance is that a family sedan will costs you less in insurance then a sports car will (a lot less). And buying a used car will cost quite a bit less then a new car. You may want a new car in order to avoid the problems created by the previous owner but, if you must have a second car, could the additional car be a later model? Thus, you not only save on your monthly car payments but you also save on your car insurance and registration costs.
House insurance is usually very necessary for a lot of reasons. For one thing, your house is quite often the most expensive thing you own. On top of that, depending on where you live, you will need “normal” insurance to cover fire, theft, etc. and you may also need something additional such as flood insurance. Again, the major ways to save on your house insurance are to shop around for the best prices and to raise your deductible as much as you can. Unless you have already done these two things, you should be able to save at least a couple of hundred dollars.
Insurance is a very expensive gamble. We believe in using the old saying “I only bet on a sure thing”. Therefore, do everything you can to keep the bet in your favor rather than the insurance companies favor. Eat and live healthy, drive safely, and protect your home as much as possible.