Reducing Your Monthly Car Insurance Payments

By Andy Darwinson

Monthly car insurance payments are one of the larger items in many budgets - and often, they just keep getting bigger and bigger! You may have been eagerly anticipating your insurance rates to drop as your car reaches a certain age, only to have them keep right on climbing! It is frustrating, but fortunately there are some ways to lower your insurance costs, especially if you pay on a monthly basis.

You can look for cheaper premiums online with ease. There are many websites which allow you to get multiple insurance quotes at once. For most people, this can help them to find savings of as much as 20% compared to their current premiums. Since you only need to enter your information once to get multiple quotes, it is quick and easy.

If you pay your car insurance premiums annually, then you will get just one chance to find a better rate each year when your policy is up for renewal. If you make monthly payments instead, it is much easier. You can usually drop your coverage within the policy year as long as you notify your insurance company in advance. Be sure to ask if you will have to pay any sort of fees or penalties, such as a short rate if you cancel before your policy is due for renewal.

Once you tell your insurance company that you have decided to drop your coverage, you will want to make sure that you have the date that you drop your current coverage the same as the date your new policy takes effect. You should look at how much advance notice your insurer requires and notify them by mail, including your name, address and policy number in this notification.

You can often find not only a lower premium, but also more coverage by comparison shopping for car insurance quotes. While it can be tempting to save on your costs by choosing a lower deductible, it is a better idea to go for higher liability limits. These are the limits on how much coverage you will have if you are sued after injuring someone in an accident, so you should not try to cut corners here.

If you have a checking account, request the premium come out of your account automatically. Except for annual payments, this is often the most inexpensive way to pay your premiums. Insurance companies often charge you a service fee each time they mail you a premium notice. Normally this isn't true if you have an automatic premium payment withdrawn from your checking account. It's another way to save more money.

If you already have automatic payments set up, you can still save on your monthly car insurance payments by switching to a different car insurance company. Just contact your insurer and ask them for a cancellation form, if one is needed. This form or a letter informing them of your cancellation should be sent to your insurer along with a note stating that you do not want any payments deducted automatically after your cancellation date. Make a copy of this letter and keep it for your records in case of a dispute or miscommunication.

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