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Are you trying to save on car insurance quotes? No one wants to pay more than they have to pay for car insurance. Some people don’t know how to shop their rates. If you haven’t checked rates lately, here are some tips on how to save money on car insurance quotes.
What Is A Car Insurance Quote?
A car insurance quote usually starts with an estimation of what your rates would be. From the estimation, you can decide if it is worth having them run your credit score and driving record. After they verify the information you gave them, then they give you an official quote. This quote should be exactly what you pay each month for the length of the insurance term.
So I May Not Pay The Rate I Saw Online?
Unfortunately, a lot of the car insurance quote websites don’t have enough information to give you a fully accurate quote. They may give you a number but that number may change. Insurance isn’t like buying milk. The price isn’t the same for everybody. It is an approve process much like getting a credit card.
Just as you might get a lower interest rate from CapitalOne than I get, I may get a lower quote from Geico than you get. There are multiple factors that decide how much the insurance company will charge you for auto insurance. Although this may seem unfair, the rates are based on the perceived risk of insuring you. The good news is that once you know what drives your rate up, you can change a few things to lower your cost.
What Determines My Car Insurance Quote?
The biggest factors that determine your insurance quote are: the vehicle you are insuring, your zip code, your age, your gender, your marital status, driving history and credit score. I will explore each of these factors in more detail. This will let you know how to get cheaper insurance.
How To Save Money On Car Insurance Quotes With Your Car
The car you drive can make a huge impact on your car insurance rates. This is especially true of full coverage car insurance but affects liability rates too. As you can imagine, an insurance company having to replace a $100,000 brand new BMW is going to be more expensive to insure than a $2,000 15 year old Ford Focus. This means that the BMW would probably cost more to buy and insure. Should this be the only deciding factor in buying a car? No. However, it should be a consideration, especially if you will have a car payment.
In general, older cars are cheaper to insure. They usually use an estimate that is similar to what the Kelly Blue Book value of your used car. Some of the cheapest cars to insure are actually antique cars. I have seen someone who was paying about $100 a month for a normal car insurance rate but it went down to $19 with a policy for an antique T-Bird from the early 1990s. So if you have an old T-Bird, Mustang or Camaro that is in good running order, you may want to consider making it your daily driver.
Hybrids and electric cars are also usually more expensive to insure. This is probably because their batteries can be costly to replace after an accident. Also, they usually require specially trained mechanics to assess damage or make repairs. However, you still might save more money on gas with a hybrid or electric car than your rate goes up.
How Can My Zip Code Help Me Save Money On Car Insurance Quotes?
The number of accidents, stop lights, roundabouts, stop signs and more can change how much car insurance costs. While I highly doubt it would be worth moving to save money on car insurance, it’s something you should factor into relocation costs. If you want to see how much your rates will vary, try looking at insurance estimates (without running your credit score and driving record) both where you currently live and where you are about to move.
Can My Age Affect My Insurance Rates?
Kinda. While, you know how everyone says that your car insurance rates go down after you turn 25? That’s not entirely true. It isn’t about age so much as how long you have had a clean driving record. The exception to this being that younger people, especially teenage boys, are usually more expensive to insure. They do base rates off of how likely someone your age would have an accident.
Generally, assuming you started driving at 16, if you are about 25-65, you will get the best rates based on age. After about 65-75, you will actually start to see your insurance rates increase.
Can My Marital Status Affect My Insurance Rates?
Yes! Married people, especially men, are less likely to get into car accidents. You actually get a discount for being married. Getting a divorce can raise your car insurance rates a bit because you will be considered single again. The good news for divorcees is that they usually are in a better age bracket and have cleaner driving histories than they did before their marriage so their rates might not actually go up at all.
How Does My Driving History Change My Can Insurance Quotes?
Your driving history probably plays the biggest role in determining your car insurance rates. I have seen people with absolutely horrible driving records get unbelievable high rates. I once talked to a man who had several accidents, DUIs and tickets get a quote north of $750 a month for liability! The more accidents you’ve been in, the more likely it is that you will be in another in the near future. The more tickets you have, the higher your rate will be. If you have a DUI, please go and get a lawyer to help you fight it. If you get a ticket, traffic school is probably worth it.
Tickets and moving violations stay on your driving record for 3 years. Accidents and insurance claims stay on your driving record for 5 years. Please tell the agent who is quoting you about everything on your driving record. It is much better for a few things to come down and your rate be lower than you thought than to lie and go through the whole process of getting a quote for the rate to double or triple and it be out of your price range.
How To Save Money On Car Insurance Quotes With A Good Credit History
I have never seen a good credit score lower someone’s rates but I have seen people’s rates skyrocket and the insurance carrier even rejecting them because of a bad payment history. The good news is that this credit check usually has less to do with your FICO score and more to do with your payment history.
If you have utilities in your name, installment loans that you pay every month and a history of paying car insurance on time, you should be fine. However, not paying these bills or having several accounts in collections may make an insurance company think twice about you.
Summary
Now you should be empowered to take control of your car insurance rates. You now know all of the primary factors that can change your insurance quote. I invite all my readers to get a quote from Root Insurance because they have given me the best quotes I have been able to find. Also, if you download the app and get a quote with my link, they will give us both $50 gift cards, even if you don’t sign up! So try it out and let me know how it goes!
You can check out my full review here.
Adam is a license Property and Casualty Insurance Agent for over two years in 25 States. He has worked with 10 different insurances companies. His interests include marketing, insurance, sales, and personal finance.
