There are many great ways to save money when shopping auto insurance quotes. 

The question, of course, is which ones are legitimate and which are old wives’ tales. 

Let’s dissect several common ones and look at their effectiveness.

1. Keep a Clean Driving Record.

Of course, the most common trick to keeping your rates low is maintaining a clear driving record. This is also the most important!

One ticket can really destroy your insurance rates, which is why so many elect driving school.  Most tickets for moving violations will cost you 3 points or higher especially for speeding.

2.  Drive Fewer Miles! 

The more you drive, the more exposure you have to accident risks.  Insurance companies in the applications will typically ask how long your commute to work is or even directly how many miles per year you drive.

3.  Take a Course! 

If you had a ticket, or are just turning driving age (16 or 17) taking a defensive driving course can lower your premiums quite a bit, however in other situations it will not have any significant effect. 

So, don’t sign up for a driving course if you have nothing to do this weekend without first calling your local auto insurance agent for advice.

4.  Shop your Coverage.

At least every two years you should take the temperature of the marketplace as sometimes a company will have an increase because of their own underwriting mistakes.  If you are with a company that takes both standard and non standard drivers you could easily be getting hit with their claims experience.  If your current company was the best value two years ago, usually this will mean they won’t be the cheapest now.

5.  Lower Your Limits, or Raise Your Deductible.

Maybe you have too much coverage or are over insuring.  Deductibles can be from $250 -1000.  If you have money in savings and a good accident history, you should really consider having a $1000 deductible.  Sometimes however the effect of deductible changes will be minimal so get a quote before changing your coverage.  If you own your car outright you might also be able to survive on lower coverage.

6.  You Don’t Need a V20!

Faster cars mean higher rates. And how often can you drive 130 mph anyways?!

7.  Credit, Credit, Credit.

One of the biggest factors in auto insurance is credit which kind of stinks for good, safe drivers that have poor financial history.  If you fix your credit and have continuous coverage you could possibly reduce your premiums in half.

8.  Continuous Coverage.

Never go without coverage, as it will make your new or reinstatement rates higher than you can imagine.

9.  What’s Your Zip Code?

If you live in the fraud capital of the world (South Florida) than your rates will always be incredibly higher than 100 miles north.  South Florida has put many auto insurance companies out of business.  If you want to save money on your insurance try moving to Jacksonville or something.

10.  Anti Theft Devices. 

Not as big as a factor as the manufacturers of these devices would have you believe.  If you save 7%, consider yourself lucky. 

I have seen some cases where there was no change at all.  The exception of course is low jack, which is effective.

11.  Bulk Pricing.

If you own lots of cars and have lots of family members you will get bulk pricing.