Find the best car insurance policy is not easy! There are a lot of factors to consider. You should first be concerned with finding the best coverage. Once you’ve found the best coverage then you want to find the best price.
This article gives you 13 discounts that you should make sure you’re getting on your car insurance. If you aren’t getting these discounts then you need to call your insurance agent right away and make sure they apply them!
Table of Contents
Married Discount
There are many people I’ve seen that get married and stay on separate policies. Many times they have what they think are good reasons for doing so. They’re missing out on this crucial discount. If you are married, make sure you get on the same policy as your spouse.
Getting the married discount can make a huge difference on your auto insurance.
Good Student Discount
The second discount is the good student discount. This is a sizeable discount. Most insurance companies require that your student has a GPA of 3. 0 or better.
So they have to get at least all average B’s. And then they can get that discount. Go tell your insurance agent now if you have a good student. They’re going to ask for proof. So you’ll need to get some type of report card or progress report and send that into the insurance company.
Homeowner Discount
The third discount is the homeowner discount. You should be bundling your insurance policies anyways. If you do, your insurance company will automatically know that you’re a homeowner. But, if your auto and your home policies are separate, make sure that whoever is insuring your cars knows that you are a homeowner. This is an easy and significant discount to get on your auto insurance policy.
Low Mileage Discount
The fourth discount is the low mileage discount. Many people have an extra vehicle in the house. There’s only two drivers in the house but they have three vehicles. If that is the case or if you just don’t drive a lot, it’s important to call your insurance company and let them know how many miles on average you’re driving.
Most insurance companies will give you a discount if you are driving a vehicle less than 5000 miles per year. So if you’re not driving your car, call your insurance company, let them know.
Security Discount
The fifth discount is the security discount. if you have a security alarm on your vehicle you would qualify. Or if you have something like lo-jack installed on your vehicle.
Insurance companies like this. Especially things like lo-jack, because if your vehicle is ever stolen they can go and find that vehicle. The insurance company then is not going to have to pay out to replace your vehicle. So anything that helps with the security of your vehicle in most cases on most policies will get you a discount.
Safe Driver Discount
The sixth discount is the safe driver discount. Your insurance company will automatically know if you qualify for this discount. They’ll know because they will run your driving record and your motor vehicle report.
So with this one, all that can be said is be a good driver. Slow down, pay attention, get off your phone. When you do all those things you will be rewarded with a safe driver discount.
Multi-Car Discount
The seventh discount is the multi car discount. Some people, for whatever reason, sometimes have separate policies for separate cars.
You want all of your vehicles to be on the same policy. By doing so, you can get the multi car discount, it will automatically be added on to your policy.
So there’s nothing you have to do. You just have to know that it’s best to always put all of your vehicles on one single policy.
Early Shopper Discount
The 8th discount is one not many people know about. It’s the early shopper discount.
What does this mean? Insurance companies will reward you for not being last minute. In other words, don’t call an insurance agent and ask for a policy to start today or tomorrow. If you can give the insurance company at least up to one week to 10 days notice, you will get a discount.
So if you can start ahead of time call it an insurance agent and say, “hey I need a policy but I needed to start 15 days from now”. You will get the early shopper discount and we’ve often seen it be a sizeable discount. So don’t procrastinate, don’t be last minute, start shopping for insurance earlier in the process.
Occupational Discount
The ninth discount is an occupational discount. Many insurance companies are going to give you a discount based off of what you do for a profession. Many insurance agents won’t ask you, they’ll just put a stock answer in for your profession. This is not good because you are losing out on discounts.
So make sure when you’re getting quotes that your insurance broker knows what you do for a living. There could be discounts that are hiding that could save you a decent amount of money.
Drivers Safety Course
The 10th discount is a driver’s course discount. Not as many companies are offering this discount anymore.
However there still are a handful of companies that offer this discount. What this means is if you take any type of driving school, you will get a discount. Yes, even if you get a ticket and you’re forced to take driving school, you will still get a discount.
Pay In Full Discount
The 11th discount to be aware of is how you pay your insurance. Insurance companies are always going to give you a discount if you pay in one of two ways:
- If you pay in full for the whole year.
- If you pay using eft, meaning they are automatically going to withdraw that money from your checking account.
This discount can be hundreds of dollars by simply paying in full. Make sure when your policy renews or when you’re getting quotes, that you ask for all available payment plans. This can save you a good amount of money.
Affiliate Discount
The 12th discount to be aware of is an affinity discount. If you belong to any type of group. Sometimes even just belonging to Costco or Sam’s Club or AAA. Ask your insurance broker if there are any affiliate discounts for your particular policy.
Good Credit Discount
The 13th discount is credit. We have another video & blog that talks about credit here. Insurance companies use credit to determine your insurance premium. Make sure you are always doing everything you can to have the best credit score. By doing so you will see a significant drop in your insurance premiums the better your credit gets.
Use The Best Credit
Many insurance companies will only run credit on the first name listed on the insurance policy. So what this means is if you are married and listed on the same policy, the first person listed is the one who’s credit is going to determine your rate.
Make sure that you list whatever spouse has the best credit first on the insurance policy. After that you can list the spouse. This can save you hundreds of dollars! Tell your broker to list whatever spouse has the best credit first. That will go a long way in getting you the best premium for your auto insurance.