How to Save on Your Auto Insurance

Let's face it-these days, the cost of everything is higher than it should be. Americans everywhere are looking for ways to save money, and one of the easiest ways to put as much as $100 a month back into your budget is to find new and creative ways to save money on your auto insurance.

Why is that easy? Because most insurance carriers make it that way. In case you hadn't noticed, there are currently over fifty major auto insurance carriers in the United States-and those are just the ones that have gone national! Fifty major auto insurance carriers equals fifty companies competing for business, and the only way to compete for business in the auto insurance industry is to provide high quality coverage at low quality prices.

The easiest (and simplest) method of shaving money off of your insurance payment every month is to start shopping around. Studies done by Progressive at the beginning of the 21^st century showed that the cost of coverage between the major U.S. players differed by as much as $1,200 a year. Don't you have something better you could be doing with your $1,200? Hopping a flight to Fiji, maybe?

We thought so.

Once you've identified the major players in the auto insurance game it's time to ante up and see what they're bringing to the table. Most auto insurance carriers make life easy by offering you the chance to get a personalized quote at their website. Those that haven't hopped on the technology train will usually create a quote for you over the telephone if you give them a call (although if they haven't figured out how to use the Internet to their advantage by now they're probably not going to be in business for long, and you might want to think twice before signing on the dotted line).

When you receive your personalized quote it's going to be based on what the company terms its "standard deductions". This number should be considered a starting point for bartering-this is not your final answer!

When it comes to the auto insurance game America's major players are fighting to stay ahead, and because of that they have an extensive list of regular and irregular deductions that can save you hundreds of dollars on your premium. You just have to know that they're there, and since the odds are good that you're going to be talking to a sales rep that's only been there a week or two it's going to be your job to see what they have to offer after you leave the sales script behind.

Some common (and not so common) auto insurance discounts include:

• A good driver discount for anyone who's been accident free for 5 years or more.
• A multivehicle discount for families who can't get by with one vehicle.
• A multiline discount for doubling up your insurance policies-for example, buying your renter's insurance and your auto insurance from the same carrier.
• Your job. Statistically, engineers, teachers and scientists are safer drivers and therefore get better prices. Hey, we didn't say it was fair!
• Good student discounts. Kids of all ages can take advantage of this! Suffering through hours of English lit and monotonous chemistry professors can pay off when you bring that "A" in to your auto insurance carrier.
• Safety features like anti-lock brakes and an alarm system are common auto insurance discounts that can take huge chunks out of your monthly payment. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of your car's safety system before contacting your insurance carrier.
• Military personnel, both active and retired. Most auto insurance carriers also have a clause in their contract that covers emergency deployments.
• Good credit ratings. Good credit rating equals responsible person equals responsible driver-in theory, anyway.
• Driver safety courses. Did you know they offer those online now?

By the time you've finished calling every major car insurance carrier in the area and driving your salesperson insane investigating every possible discount the company has to offer you should be holding in your hands the crème de la crème of the auto insurance industry-and your best hope of finding an auto insurance policy that will still let you afford that trip to the South Pacific. Now all you have to do is pick the lowest bidder, then sit back and kick your feet up. You've earned it.

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