Many people pay too much for their car insurance, and the chances are that you may be one of them. The following are four reasons that you may be paying too much for your current policy.
You never get quotes
This is at the top of the list because insurance companies love customers who never get quotations. When their policy reaches its expiration date, it is simply renewed. Insurance companies make renewal easy because they want to discourage you from shopping around. It is true that many insurance companies will offer a discount for being with them for a certain amount of time, but this is only after you have paid too much for a long time.
You have too much coverage
This can be an issue if you have had your car for several years. When you first bought the car, it was brand new. You likely financed the car, and your lender required full coverage. But now your car has long since paid off, and because of this, the requirement for full coverage is no longer mandatory. This in no way means you should drop coverage that is not required by your state's law, but at the very least you should review your policy. Perhaps you still want collision coverage, but you may be able to save money by increasing the deductible.
You don't get discounts
It is important to ask about discounts from your current insurance company, but you should also ask about discounts available from other insurance companies when you get quotations. There are many examples of discounts. There are safety features that may enable you to get discounts on the comprehensive portion of your policy. If you park your car in your garage instead of the driveway or the street, you may get a discount. Often there are good driver discounts for not having an accident over a certain amount of time.
You make payments
Making monthly payments on your policy means paying more for your insurance. Insurance companies will charge you fees for doing this, so you need to know exactly how much you are paying for your policy by paying in installments versus how much it would be to pay for the policy in one lump sum. The difference between the two payment methods can be substantial.
Although you can and you should contact your current auto insurance provider, you need to quote other companies as well. Your savings begins with getting several quotes. In addition, keep in mind that if you find another policy, you do not have to wait for your current policy to expire. You can buy a new policy and cancel your current one. You will be refunded any amount that is overpaid.
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