How to Save a Bundle on Your Car Insurance

by Tip Hero David Glenn
If you drive a car, you must be insured. Car insurance, therefore, is one of those expenses that you can’t legally outrun. When you have this type of expense, keeping it as low as possible is optimal so that it won’t take away from your other monetary commitments, so the question then becomes how do you save money on car insurance?

Most insurance cost saving techniques are extremely basic, and you’re probably already applying them right now. Other car insurance saving methods, like attending online traffic school, can involve some fees and third parties, but in the long-run will save you more money overall. Some car insurance cost saving methods include:

  • Follow all traffic regulations
  • Keep your driving record clean
  • If eligible, request available discounts

The easiest way to save money on your car insurance is to follow all the driving regulations. If you don’t drive over the speed limit, or extremely under it, for example, there’s no real legal reason why you would incur a speeding traffic violation. If you don’t drink and drive, a driving under the influence, DUI, or driving while intoxicated, DWI, ticket shouldn’t be in your future, either.

Most drivers whose driving record has no moving violations over an extended period can enjoy the lowest car insurance rates, even with the top-notch car insurance companies as the carrier; it’s just about keeping that record clean, and that’s a great way to save.

Taking advantage of car insurance discounts is another available saving approach. Some vocations are deemed to be inherently responsible, like engineers and doctors, so they are rewarded with a small discount. Students with above average grades may also receive a small percentage off their bill. Drivers within a certain age range are considered to be less of a driving risk and tend to receive a lower rate than someone out of that range and is compounded with a clean driving record.

Let’s say that one day you do slip up and are caught driving at 70 miles per hour when you should have only been driving at 55. The moving traffic violation sets you up for a fine, and the case is then reported to the Department of Motors and Vehicles as well as your insurance carrier.

Once your insurance carrier is notified of the incident, they may raise your insurance costs directly going against your mission to save on this expense, so what can you do at this point? Keep in mind that a number of factors will decide the outcome of your carrier’s decision, but you won’t know what they decide until after the incident has officially been recorded on your record.

For many drivers, online traffic school is an option that will remove the ticket from the driving record and keep insurance rates level. Having the violation removed from your record before your insurance carrier is alerted avoids unneeded red flags being raised on your record, an obvious plus. While it’s true that a fee is associated with traffic school, and payment of the ticket is still required, when the numbers are crunched, the fees versus possible insurance rate hikes are lower.

The number of daily driving citations issued measured against the daily number of drivers on the road is miniscule because most drivers do abide by traffic regulations. The best approach to take to truly guarantee your car insurance costs will stay low is to be the driver that follows the driving rules. A clean driving record can ensure that future discounts will become available to you saving you even more.