Slash your car insurance premiums

Shopping around for lower rates is only the beginning

Some days it seems like the majority of television ads are selling auto insurance. Many of them are quite clever to be sure, and they underscore the need to shop around every so often to see if you qualify for lower rates with a different provider.

Car insurance is largely based on personal factors, including one’s age, gender, address, marital status, driving record and sometimes your credit score. Carriers tend to treat each differently on an actuarial basis, with some charging more than others to cover drivers they perceive as being at a higher-than-average risk of making a claim. Comparing rates among multiple sources is especially important if any of these factors change, such as moving, getting married or turning 65.

At that, there are steps you can take to minimize your auto insurance premiums proactively. For starters, choose a vehicle that’s inherently cheaper to cover, based on its cost and claims history. Expensive-to-fix luxury cars and aggressively driven sports cars are among the costliest models to insure, while modestly priced family-minded minivans, crossover SUVs and sedans tend to be the cheapest.

An obvious way to keep your auto insurance rates low is to maintain a clean driving record. Getting into a single at-fault accident could hike your annual premiums by $1,000 or more. Depending on the violation, being issued a ticket can boost an average policyholder’s auto insurance premiums by as much as 79 percent. Being cited for driving under the influence, reckless driving or highway racing tends to boost rates the most.

If you live in a heavily populated and trafficclogged city and park on the street, you could lower your insurance premiums — perhaps dramatically — by moving to the suburbs and keeping your vehicle in a garage. Providers consider urban dwellers to be at a much greater risk of getting into a wreck, or having a vehicle damaged or stolen than suburbanites.

You can usually keep your premiums low by maintaining only the minimum liability coverage for bodily injury and property damage required by state law. However, if you own an expensive house and/or have considerable assets to protect you may want to carry additional coverage.

A quick way to reduce your rates is to raise your deductibles for collision and comprehensive coverage, which apply to physical damage and theft. If you’re driving an older model with a minimal resale value, you may want to cancel the collision and comprehensive elements altogether.

Also, consider dropping some provisions that may be redundant with coverage you have elsewhere. For example, if you and your family have health insurance you can avoid taking the medical payments section that covers injuries to the driver and passengers. Likewise, waive the towing coverage if your car is covered by a roadside assistance plan. You might want to decline rental reimbursement coverage if you take public transportation to work.

And make sure you get each of an auto insurer’s discounts for which you qualify. For example, you’ll usually get a modest rate reduction by insuring multiple vehicles or bundling car and homeowner’s insurance from the same carrier. You’ll get a discount for having certain safety and security features and for driving fewer-than-average miles.

Some carriers will grant rate deductions for having a device installed on your vehicle that monitors driving habits. It can be a bit intrusive, not to mention a gamble. Driving passively and registering only a minimal number of miles will save some money, though aggressive operation and racking up excessive miles could trigger higher premiums.