October 31, 2011

How To Mitigate The Rising Costs Of Car Insurance

Rising insurance costs are something that all drivers are being forced to deal with - from those that have been driving for years to those that had just passed their driver's test. An unstable global economy, a rise in the number of claims being made and an increase in the cost to fix many vehicles has insurance companies looking for any way to save money and make a profit, and often that comes down to charging their clients more. Cheap car insurance is something many American families are struggling to find, at least when it comes to insurance that will also provide robust benefits despite a lower price. While it may not be possible to find insurance quite as cheaply as was once the norm, there are a still a number of ways to help mitigate the costs of rising car insurance.

The first way to lower your car insurance cost is to opt for a higher deductible. If you are ever involved in an accident or need to use your car insurance for any reason, you will have to pay a deductible first, typically in the order of $500 to $1,000, before your insurance provider will pay for the rest of the cost to fix your car. In the case of an accident where another party is at fault, you will typically be reimbursed the cost for this deductible, but that is not always the case, and you will almost certainly be required to pay it upfront, regardless. One way to lower the cost you pay each month is to increase the amount your deductible, to say $1,500 or $2,500. This means you would have to pay more to get your insurance company involved in a collision claim, but also means you present a lower risk, and your monthly premium will go down.

Another option for lowering the cost of car insurance is to insure multiple vehicles under one policy. For families, this can be a great way to save money as each car added will have a smaller cost than the one before, and will be far more cost-effective than to have multiple policies spread out across several companies. If you stay with a company for a significant period of time - often several years - you will often be eligible for discounts based simply on your loyalty to the provider, and should call and ask what they can offer.

Although cheap car insurance isn't as easy to find as it once was, there are still options to help lower the monthly cost to insure your car, maintain your overall coverage and protection, and still help mitigate the rising insurance costs for cars in America.