Most car owners pay little attention to their car insurance and just pay the premiums year after year. You can be wiser than that. Read on and see how you can save money on this necessary expense.

1)      Shop around. Only 39% of Americans looked for new auto insurance last year, according to a study by JD Power. The next time you need to renew, get annual quotes from other companies. Be sure you look at local companies, too, not just the ones on the internet advertising low rate says www.milnesford.com.

2)      Cut coverage on older vehicles. Once your car is 10 years old or worth less than 10 times the premium, the cost of repairing it could be more than the car is worth. Consider scaling back to just injury and property damage coverage on all your older cars.

3)      Bundle insurance policies. Insuring your home and auto with a single company could bring your rates down by more than 10% a year. Look into it!

4)      Consider an electronic monitor. Many insurance companies now offer drivers a discount if you install a device (plugs into your OBDII port in your car) that lets them monitor your driving habits. Progressive, for example, gives discounts of up to 30% for drivers who drive conservatively.

5)      Get a mileage discount. Some companies will offer you a discount if you drive less than the average number of miles per year. A recent study found that a person who drives 5,000 miles a year pays 8.4% less for auto insurance than someone who drives 15,000 miles a year. Big savings here.

6)      Mind your credit score. Your credit score could be factoring into your insurance rate. A WalletHub study found that there is a 49% difference in the cost of auto insurance premiums for someone with great credit and someone with no credit history.

7)      Got a teenager? Make sure your insurer knows if your child gets good grades. Students with good grades pay an average of 6%-20% less than their fellow teens did on car insurance. $263 is the average national savings a family will see a Consumer Reports study recently reported

8)      You don’t always have to file. Filing a claim following an accident can raise your premium by an average of 30-40%, if you are at fault. So if you’re involved in a minor collision, carefully consider whether the money you’ll get back will exceed the premium hike. For small accidents, it might be best to leave blemishes unrepaired on older cars.

Thanks to Milnes Ford