Auto Insurance Discounts

Many car insurance carriers offer a wide range of auto insurance discounts to entice customers to use their services, as well as to encourage responsible driving habits. Grabbing all the policy discounts for which you qualify is probably the biggest cost-saving measure you can take when you decide to buy car insurance.

There is no limit to the number of policy discounts you can receive. Stacking multiple discounts can really add up to major savings on your auto insurance policy premium rates. Although no one can qualify for every discount, there are almost always at least a few important discounts that apply to you.

According to a recent survey taken by insure.com, the states with the biggest auto insurance discounts are Missouri, Connecticut, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa, in that order. However, no worries to drivers from the other 45 states and Washington DC. There are plenty of discounts on auto insurance from companies all over America.

Read on for a list of some of the many auto insurance discounts available to car insurance policyholders throughout the United States.

Cool savings

Types of Auto Insurance Discounts

 

Shown here is a list of 20 typical auto insurance discounts. This is by no means an exhaustive list. These are just some of the policy discounts that are available from many major providers, as well as quite a few regional carriers:

The Accident-Free Discount. This discount is for drivers who have not had an accident in at least three years, and were continuously insured the whole time. If you stay alert while behind the wheel, you should eventually be able to score this discount.

The Good Driver Discount: This discount is awarded to drivers who have not had any moving violations in the past three years. People who don’t drink are much more likely to score this discount than people who do.

The Good Student Discount: This discount is awarded to students who are enrolled full time in a high school or an accredited university, and who maintain a certain grade point average. Check several car insurance carrier websites or call to inquire for details regarding how good your grades have to be to qualify for this discount. Being a good student saves an average of 16% on car insurance premiums.

The Senior Discount: This discount is often available to people of ages 55 and older, based on the successful completion of a DMV-approved defensive driving course. This is good for a discount of 7%, on average. Senior citizens might also receive an additional discount by insuring their vehicles through the American Association of Retired People (AARP).

The Occupational Discount: This discount is approved for people whose professions suggest that they are careful drivers, at least in the eyes of auto insurance underwriters. Professional discounts are most often given to teachers, firefighters, police officers, taxi drivers, clergy members, auto mechanics, and insurance underwriters, to name just a few. People ineligible for this discount may include bartenders, deejays, drag racers, and daredevils. It’s hard to list all professions here, but you get the general idea. If you’re not sure, it might be worth your while to ask various carriers if your profession qualifies you for an occupational discount.

The Annual Mileage Discount: Some insurance carriers write policies with premiums based on the average number of miles driven in a year by the policyholder. Drivers who drive less than 15,000 miles per year may be eligible for this discount.

This type of policy discount may be a appropriate for younger drivers who attend school near where they live, perhaps even living on campus. This discount is also good for older drivers who work from home or close to home, for senior drivers who don’t go out much, for city drivers who have access to public transportation, and for anyone else who doesn’t drive too often. Only about one out of eight car insurance carriers offers this discount, but of you can get it, it’s good for a savings of 11%, on average.

The Passive Restraint Discount: This discount is given to drivers who have safety devices installed in their vehicles that are designed to protect people from bodily injury. Such devices may include dual airbags, automatic seat belts, antilock brakes, and other safety features. It’s a good idea to have these kinds of features installed anyway, discount or no discount. But just for the record, you can save 30% on car insurance just by having certain safety features installed, or by purchasing a car that already has these features. Check with several carriers to learn more about their safety feature discounts.

The Anti Theft Discount: This discount goes to policyholders who use particular anti theft devices, which reduce the chances of a vehicle being robbed, vandalized, or stolen. Approved anti theft devices may include items such as installed car alarms and wheel locks. Check with several insurance carriers regarding their anti theft device discounts.

The New Car Discount: This discount is applied to insurance policies on a vehicle that is less than 2 years old, and still has its original owner.

The Multi Vehicle Discount: This significant discount is given to drivers who insure more than one vehicle with the same insurance company. Multi vehicle policy discounts are not restricted to cars, but may also include motorcycles, boats, RVs, buses, and trucks, among other motor vehicles. Most online quote websites will ask if you have more than one vehicle. If you do, and if the vehicle’s insurance policy is with the same company, then your final quote will probably include a generous multi vehicle discount.

The Multi Policy Discount: This is kind of an expanded version of the multi vehicle discount. The multi policy discount is applied for policyholders who have more than one policy with the same insurance provider. This discount is for people who own homes, boats, valuables, and/or other vehicles. The discount can be as high as 10%. In fact, if you own more than one vehicle, don’t be afraid to ask for both discounts: The multi vehicle discount and the multi policy discount. If a company offers both discounts, then both discounts should apply to drivers who own more than one vehicle. Anyway, it couldn’t hurt to ask.

The Online Purchase Discount: This discount is automatically applied to insurance policies that are purchased online. Additional benefits of purchasing auto insurance policies online include convenience, flexibility, and cost effectiveness, among other things.

The Paypal Discount: This discount applies to people who maintain an active Paypal account. If you don’t already have a Paypal account, it’s easy and free to sign up. Having a Paypal account makes sending and receiving money much more convenient.

The EZ-Pay Discount: If you set up automatic withdrawals to your car insurance company from your bank account, you can earn an extra 5% savings.

The PIF Discount: The Paid In Full discount is applied if a policyholder pays the annual premium all at once and up front, as opposed to month by month. Paying the premium in full comes with a 9% discount, on average.

The Good Credit Discount: Whether or not they are willing to admit it, insurance underwriters normally check your credit rating, and factor it into their calculations of how high your premiums should be. Maintaining good credit is a good idea anyway, and also just might lower your annual premium rates for car insurance.

Early Signing Discount: Enjoy a 10% auto insurance discount when you buy a car insurance policy one week before it goes into effect.

The Advance Renewal Discount: This discount goes to policyholders who renew their auto insurance policies a week or ten days ahead of time. The savings for early renewal is 8%, on average.

The Marriage Discount: You may or may not have heard, but being married can score auto insurance policy discounts of 14%, on average.

The Farm Vehicle Discount: This discount applies to drivers who use their vehicles primarily for farming or ranching purposes. You can save 10% with a farm vehicle discount.

Counting savings

How To Maximize Your Car Insurance Discounts

It goes without saying that there are things you can do to get lots of auto insurance discounts. If you are a student, you can maintain good grades. If you are a senior citizen, you can take a defensive driving course. You can earn a Paypal discount by simply opening a Paypal account, if you don’t already have one. You can also buy your policy online to get an online purchase discount. And so on.

However, it is possible to be even more proactive about discounts when purchasing a car insurance policy. Here are four unusual ways to add to your savings with auto insurance discounts.

Downgrade Your Vehicle. Get an ordinary, used Economy car. If you are trying to save money on car insurance, this is not the time for flaunting status symbols. You do not need to have the coolest car ever. Just a reliable vehicle that gets you there and back. So sell your BMW and buy an ordinary, reliable used car on eBay, such as a 2013 Honda Civic or a 2014 Toyota Corolla. It doesn’t need to be fully loaded with all the toys. However, you should install dual airbags and some sort of anti theft device, if these things are not already installed. The right type of car will capture some of the deepest auto insurance discounts.

Don’t drive your car for 3 years. If you manage well enough through carpooling and mass transit, leave your car covered in a garage for three years, while keeping your driver’s license current. This will give you a “perfect” driving record, with no accidents or incidents of any kind. Doing this will make you eligible for the Good Driver discount and the Accident-Free discount.

Switch jobs. If you dislike your job and wish to change careers, you might consider finding a job that gets an occupational discount on car insurance. Have you though about teaching? Or underwriting, perhaps?

Get Married. But before you rush to the local florist, the auto insurance discount for being married (an average of 14%) is not really worth the expense of getting married. However, if you already have a significant other who you were planning to marry anyway, a break in car insurance is one of the benefits of being married. So, if you are planning on getting married and also planning to buy a car insurance policy, it seems smart to get married first.

SR-22 Coverage Discounts

An SR-22 is a form that must be filed with the state by drivers who have been involved in DUIs, or got caught driving without the minimum insurance coverage required by state law. These people are known as “high risk drivers.”

Often, high risk drivers have had their licenses suspended or even revoked, and an SR-22 form is required as the first step in getting a license reinstated. However, you can’t get an SR-22 unless you purchase an insurance policy. Unfortunately, if you are deemed a high risk driver, your premium rates are likely to skyrocket.

The only way to get an auto insurance discount on an SR-22 policy is to sell, give away, or otherwise get rid of the vehicle you own, and purchase a “non owner” SR-22 policy.

No matter what kind of auto insurance you buy, it is important to be very proactive about auto insurance discounts. Check each company’s website and scan their list of discounts. If you see any appropriate discounts that were not figured into your online quote, call the company and ask an agent if those discounts can be added to your policy. Any time you speak to an agent on the phone, ask about the discounts! The agent will not necessarily volunteer this information. Asking about available auto insurance discounts can literally save you hundreds of dollars a year on car insurance.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.