I Just Lowered my Auto Insurance Bill by $489 Per Year

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I Just Lowered my Auto Insurance Bill by $489 Per Year

By JLP | April 28, 2006

I received my renewal notice for my car insurance. The renewal was for $2,207 for the year for two cars. I know that seems high but car insurance is fairly high in Texas (at least I think it is). Anyway, I called the insurance company and bumped up our deductible to $1,000 per vehicle and also dropped comprehensive coverage on our Civic. That got our annual bill down $1,718. When the new paperwork comes in I’ll do a side-by-side comparison.

I would shop around with different companies but we have both our homeowners and auto insurance with this company and they have a really good reputation. After all the problems people down here are having with Allstate after Hurricane Rita, I know we won’t be considering them.

Topics: Cars |

Comments to “I Just Lowered my Auto Insurance Bill by $489 Per Year”

Vladimir Stojanovski Says:
April 28th, 2006 at 6:47 pm

What company do you use? I had State Farm on my house, cars and personal stuff for 6 years, but last year I had enough (premiums went up by at least 20% per year), and switched to Travelers. Car insurance is comparable, but it reduced my homeowners by some 60% (if I recall the numbers right). And believe it or not, I have more coverage, not less–since I saved so much, I decided to buy all additional endorsements they had to offer, even identity theft.

Vladimir Stojanovski Says:
April 28th, 2006 at 6:49 pm

Oh, and BTW, I live in Texas too–Plano–and can totally relate to high car ins. premiums. Bah!

mapgirl Says:
April 30th, 2006 at 7:43 pm

I just did the same! I bumped up my deductible to $1000 and saved about $200 a year.

» Odd Blog Happenings » Consumerism Commentary: A Blog About Personal Finance Says:
April 30th, 2006 at 8:43 pm

[...] AllFinancialMatters saved $489 on his car insurance by raising his deductible and dropping comprehensive coverage on one car. It’s so easy, a caveman can do it. [...]

» MBN Weekly Roundup on Blueprint for Financial Prosperity Says:
April 30th, 2006 at 9:12 pm

[...] Raise your deductible and drop comprehensive, save $489 on your insurance like JLP. [...]

Kurt Ramsauer Says:
May 1st, 2006 at 11:22 am

I think everyone should have as high a deductible as possible. Since these days pretty much any action on your car is going to cost more than $1000, you are basically paying them to hold your money until your first claim. I’d rather hold on to it, thank you very much.

Jeff Says:
May 3rd, 2006 at 7:02 pm

I might just do that for my car insurance….I use USAA for homeowners and both my vehicles, and I’ve been really pleased with their service and pricing (I pay $2100 per year for 2004 G35 and 2003 FX35)…..Unfortunately, just got my renewal for homeowners….$4335.00 , a $1200 increase to cover 2005 and 2004 hurricanes ( live in Boca Raton FL…took direct hit from Wilma and Francis, and a glancing blow from Jeanne)…oh well…

dosibule Says:
December 13th, 2006 at 6:08 pm

my insurance is good but 489 …

Traci Says:
January 6th, 2007 at 2:27 am

I agree that having a high deductible is a great way to save money on your insurance.

Another good way to save money on insurance is to use the internet to get some competitive quotes you can use to compare against your existing insurance companies rates.

I think that would be a great negotiation tool to encourage your insurance company to review your plan and hopefully provide you with some cost savings.

I’m with Farmers Insurance and I was planning to meet with my agent to review my plan to make sure I wasn’t paying for something unecessarily. I haven’t had that meeting yet, but after visiting this forum, I’m definitely motivated to do that.

Thanks

http://www.cheapcarautoinsurancequotes.com

joseph Says:
February 11th, 2007 at 7:04 am

nationwide is a rip off some girl hit me an ran now nationwide dont think they should pay me even if it was her falt!An after all that now they got my address from the report an now they keep sending me Letters tryin to get me to buy Ins, from them they got alot of nerve!i would want a better Car Ins, co!An i hope that noone with Nationwide ever hits me agin because next time i wont be so nice! an i will call a lawyer !

Shawn Says:
February 11th, 2007 at 2:57 pm

I completely agree, many people are simply over-insured. Dropping the comprehensive and sometimes collision coverage on older cars can save a significant amount. Considering the average person claims a total loss once every 50 years, chances are good that you would have paid many times what that car is worth in auto insurance premiums. Another good way to save is by asking your auto insurance carrier about discounts. Some carriers have some pretty obscure ones.

Readers of this blog may also find helpful information to reduce their auto insurance at:

http://www.accidentautoinsurance.com

AllFinancialMatters » Blog Archive » Auto Insurance - When Should You Drop Collision and Comprehensive Coverage? Says:
April 26th, 2007 at 12:41 pm

[...] I dropped both comprehensive and collision on our Honda Civic last year, which reduced our premium by nearly $500. It’s nice to have an emergency fund! Bookmark to: [link] [...]

Cricket Says:
July 13th, 2007 at 7:33 am

To Joseph;
Call your insurance company to duke it out with Nationwide.
The reason you do this is to protect your premiums from going up. I have been a member of USAA for 20 years, and while they have been extremely good, there have been times I have had to get in their face about ‘fender benders.’

One was a kid who backed into me and hit my door. I got his license number and had USAA run it down…he was with State Farm and they refused to pay a thing, since a police report hadn’t been filed. So, that got filed, and USAA
took it from there. I had it repaired within a week of getting hit.

If someone hits you, and you are still conscious and have a cell phone, call 911, your lawyer and your insurance company before you call anyone else. After you get them, and they are protecting your rights, you can have the luxury of passing out.

Joe Says:
November 27th, 2007 at 6:55 pm

I have been dealing with allstate for years with my car insurance which I have an excellent driving record I decided to check other companies just to see if I could get a lower monthly rate…And Geico gave me a 50 dollar a month savings with roadside service and savings on a rental car in case of an accident which allstate wanted to raise my rate with the same options….So it just goes to show you…It pays to shop around and get better service for your hard eaned money.

Jim Phelps Says:
January 25th, 2008 at 7:47 pm

As an agent, I can tell you it does pay to shop your coverage around. If you’re with a “captive” agent (State Farm, Allstate) check with an independent agent. They write with many companies and many times can find the lowest rates with smaller mutual companies that aren’t as well known. And remember, the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so if you don’t squeak, your policy won’t get shopped around. It can be quite a bit of word quoting with 4 or 5 companies, especially if it’s a package deal, but if it means keeping your business, it’ll get done!

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I Just Lowered my Auto Insurance Bill by $489 Per Year