Ask:
I called our Car insurance company today to change our deductible from $500 - %1000. That saved us $286/YR. I asked about any other additional discounts that might be available to us.----- There were quiet a few.
Home Owner Discount - $188/Yr
AAA Member Discount - $128/Yr
Defensive Driving Course
Multi line
Discount - $214/yr
Total Discounts - $816/yr. If we pay our entire bill at one time we get another $150 discount!!! That cut our car insurance by more than 50%!
I have also suspended insurance on my farm truck that is not used in the winter months.
It never hurts to ask for a discount!
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Thanks for these tips! I also never knew to tell people we were Military (I know, I know...) And when Geico asked, it knocked quite a bit off our bill.
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Theme parks also give military discounts so just remember to ask.
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I have high deductibles on my insurance too, but keep in mind if something happens you will not get anything from the ins. company if the repair is under the deductible. so maybe ut money aside to cover the dedctible.
I had a dent in the car, my deductible is 1000, guess what the repair was $1100, so I only got $100 from them, the rest I have to pay out of pocket. I have that saved, but if I didnt, it would have been a problem. SO even if you save on your premium , take care.
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A dent in my truck might help.
We did have $500 deductible on the new minivan when we hit the moose and it was still hard to pay that, we put it on a zero interest credit card.
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I was going to post a tip along the same lines - DRIVE SAFETY, STAY HEALTHY and LIVE A CLEAN LIFE ...
When you're in an auto accident, you pay TWICE - once to get your car repaired and again with increased auto insurance premiums. A few minutes of distraction behind the wheel can turn out to be very expensive because your increased premiums - on every car you insure - might not go down again for over 3 years!
You also end up paying for an accident because a damaged car, even if fixed, can end up having a lower resale value. A severely damaged car can end up being not sellable at all if the Department of Motor Vehicles decides to put 'salvage' on your registration.
And too many accidents or tickets might end up getting your policy cancelled entirely, forcing you to get insurance from a company with higher premiums, less coverage, or worse service - or all three.
Even if you manage to avoid an auto accident, getting a ticket will increase your premiums, too.
The KIND of car we drive can affect our auto insurance premiums, too. Many sports cars are more expensive to insure than station wagons. Some brands of cars are more expensive to insure than other brands. Before making a final decision on which car to buy, it is a nice idea to ask your insurance agent to give you an opinion. And of course, it is cheaper to insure an older car than a brand new one - even if you pay for the new car with cash. One of the reasons is new cars don't always have their spare parts supply lines available in the first couple of years so insurance companies build in the extra expense of getting your car repair JUST IN CASE you get into an accident. If you need to take out a loan to purchase a car - new or used - the insurance picture is even worse since the loan company will require you to carry insurance and may even dictate how much insurance coverage you have. If they don't think you're carrying the proper insurance, they may cover you with their own policy AND ADD the inflated premium price to the BALANCE OF YOUR LOAN.
In some areas, having bad credit will increase your auto insurance and homeowner's insurance premiums - or get you denied for coverage all together. Still not working on improving your credit rating? A lower credit score will translate into higher interest rates on credit cards, loans AND your mortgage, even if you do get approved. Plus many employers have started to look at credit histories during the hiring process and a bad credit score just might ace you out of a job.
We all know being unhealthy can translate to higher medical expenses but our health insurance premiums will be higher, too, if we get into a position where we need to purchase our insurance separate from an employer. Additionally, an unhealthy lifestyle will translate directly into higher life insurance premiums. And if that unhealthy lifestyle translates into a medical condition that might impair our ability to operate heavy machinery - of requires that we take a medication that has that effect - we might suddenly find ourselves without a driver's license because a doctor is required to report that condition to the state.
That pack of cigarettes is costing a lot more that we first believed and a gym membership just might save money in the long run.