Anyone who has been negatively affected by the steady downturn in our economy knows just how important it is to make every dollar count. Expenses that were somewhat trivial previous to the recession, are now very difficult to pay. Car insurance premiums are one of these expenses. No matter what your reason is for wanting to lower your rates, there are two little tricks that I recently learned that can help you get lower auto insurance rates, and keep your current level of coverage, and deductible amount the same.
1) Raise your personal credit score to 720 or higher. Of course, there are many other benefits to having a stellar credit rating, but it’s amazing how much of a difference it can make in the amount you are charged for auto coverage. As competition increases between all the auto insurance companies, the need to insure safe and responsible drivers increases as well. One of the new things they are paying more attention to in an attempt to rate a driver’s maturity and responsibility level is their credit score. Most insurance companies believe that a higher credit score means a higher level of responsibility. They will give big discounts to those who have them.
2) Drive less. In many cases, you don’t even have to drive that much less to receive big discounts. More and more, bigger discounts are being offered to those who drive less than 10,000 miles a year. This discount is referred to as the low mileage discount. Furthermore, if you cease commuting to and from work in your car and switch to public transportation or riding a bike, you will receive even bigger price breaks.