Five “Creative” Ways To Save On Your Insurance
It happens on a daily basis. The reason why most people pick up the phone and call their insurance agency. The bill came in the mail, a claim hasn’t been filed in several years (or if ever) and it just seems “way too expensive.”
What’s the answer you commonly get? “The price is what it is and there’s nothing we can do.” While that’s SOMETIMES the case, other times your insurance people are doing you an injustice and there are things you can do. I’m going to put on the cape and be your insurance hero today. That’s right, I’m going to try and help you save some money. Let’s get into it:
1: Change the way you pay.
The most cost-effective way to pay your premium is to pay in full. Typically that’s every 6 months for auto insurance and every 12 months for home insurance. Paying in full is always going to save you the most in the long run if you can. Another thing to do is if you pay monthly, pay automatically with a bank account. Our company waives the monthly service charges if you go on automatic payment. Also, save those trees and go paperless. Every time an insurance company sends you a bill, they use paper and postage so if you go paperless a lot of times fees are waived. Also, paying automatically means you’re less likely to cancel due to missing a payment so most insurance companies will waive service charges by doing both things, paperless and automatic payments. Review your statement next time you get it and check those fees. If you see a $3 to $10 service charge there, call your agent, your company etc and ask about ways to save if you go paperless and/or automatic payment.
2: Look at your deductibles.
Most people have super low deductibles. The big one for auto insurance is collision, I’m shocked every time I see people with $100, $250 deductibles on collision. Having a lower deductible for comprehensive is totally okay because that is a less expensive aspect of your auto policy, but collision is the big one that really moves the needle price wise. I typically recommend $1000 deductibles because that’s a good middle ground and will save you money long term. Ask yourself, will you really file a claim for any damage under $1000? I ask my clients this a lot and when you really think about it, most won’t. Remember at the end of the day insurance isn’t meant to help for something small that can ruin your day, it’s meant to help you for something big that can ruin your life. Same with your house, we write most of our policies with $2500 deductibles. Home claims are more rare and often times major so having a higher deductible will definitely save you money long term.
3: Review those discounts.
Insurance companies are introducing new discounts ALL THE TIME. Some of the big ones include bundling multiple policies like your auto, home/renters, life insurance, even your toys like motorcycles, boats, ATVs etc. Having everything in one place just makes it easier too because I’ve found it keeps one more organized. Ask your agent or company
4: Review the “extra” coverages thrown in.
Review those things that you may not ever use. For example, rental car reimbursement. If you have multiple cars can you drop that coverage and just drive another one of your vehicles should something happen? Take that rental car reimbursement off because you may not even need it. On the home side, review those because a lot of things are thrown in that you may never use. Maybe you needed it at one time but you don’t anymore. Review your coverages periodically to make sure there isn’t anything on there that you don’t need that’s driving up the price. Medical coverage is a big one, do you really need $10,000 or more if you have good health insurance? Reduce that and all those things add up and save you overtime. You never know what you’ll find when you really dive into your policies and look at the fine print.
5: Review the people in the household.
Make sure there aren’t any drivers on your auto insurance that don’t live there anymore. If your kids don’t live there anymore and they have their own policy, they don’t need to be on your policy anymore. Did you have a parent, in law, resident relative on your policies because they lived with you for a little while? Make sure they aren’t on there anymore because that can drive up the price on auto AND home insurance policies.
Bottom line: call your insurance agent, broker, or company directly and ask for a policy review. Bring up these five items and have a good thorough conversation. Your representative should be reaching out regularly to do this, if they aren’t then we’ll gladly do a free review of your current policies for you. It’s a free service we provide. So there you go, hopefully you’ll save some money from taking the time to read this and review your policies. Thank you to our wonderful team and of course thank you to our amazing clients.