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Looking for ways to save money on insurance? There are many ways in which you can save money on your insurance rates. Below are just a few examples of ways to cut costs.
Work with a broker
There are so many different insurers to choose from. How do you know which one will offer you the best deal? An option could be to use a broker. Insurance brokers can compare masses of different insurance schemes on the market to help you find a policy that’s not just as cheap as possible but perfectly catered to your needs.
This can make a big difference with policies such as individual health insurance. Applying for health insurance can be time-consuming, making it hard to compare multiple deals by yourself. A broker can take the time out to compare all these deals for you.
Just be wary of brokers that pay expensive fees for their service or who may seem to be biased towards a certain insurer.
Raise your deductible
Your deductible is the amount that you’re willing to pay out of your own pocket before claiming compensation. Opting for a higher deductible can reduce your insurance rates by making you less of a financial risk.
Of course, you do need to be able to afford this deductible in the event of a claim, so don’t set it too high. It’s best to consider the risk. For example, if you’re a new driver who is likely to get into an accident in the next couple years, there’s a high chance a claim may be necessary, and so a low deductible insurance policy may be better. If you’re an experienced driver who rarely ever gets into accidents, a higher deductible may be worth the risk because you’re less likely to ever need to pay it.
Pay annually
Choosing to pay your insurance annually instead of monthly could save you money overall. One single annual installment is usually equal to 10 or 11 monthly payments. In essence, you’re getting a month or two free by opting for an annual payment.
Of course, most people can’t afford a hefty single payment, however it’s something that you can save up for. In fact, you can treat it much like a monthly policy by putting money into a savings account each month and then using this to pay off your annual installment.
Take out insurance in advance
Applying for your insurance a month in advance of when you want to be covered could help you to access much cheaper deals. This is particularly the case with auto insurance.
A lot of people can’t do this because they buy a car and then want to drive it straight away, which means taking out immediate cover. However, if your insurance is up for renewal in a month and you’re keeping the same car, this could be the perfect opportunity to take advantage of early application discounts instead of waiting the day before your renewal date to switch.
Say no to extras
A lot of insurance companies will try to upsell various extra forms of cover. For example, home insurance providers may try to sell you extras like accidental damage cover, key cover and personal possessions cover. Auto insurance providers may meanwhile try to sell you breakdown cover, windshield cover and hire car cover.
If you don’t think you’ll need these extras, don’t spend extra money on them – they can often bump up the cost significantly.
Look into insurance bundles
You may be able to save money by taking out multiple insurance policies from the same provider. For example, taking out home insurance and auto insurance from the same provider could make you eligible for a home and auto bundle in which you can take out both for a discounted price.
Family policies are also typically much cheaper than individual policies. This is particularly the case with health insurance – getting four family members insured under a family health insurance plan is generally the same cost as three individual health plans. There are exceptions of course, such as if one family member is more prone to health problems than the rest, often raising the cost of the entire family’s insurance plan.
Choose your job title wisely
When you have to type out your occupation, think carefully about how you word your job title. Certain occupations are seen as high risk and can increase your insurance rates. However, you may be able to word them in a way that makes them sound less risk-prone (within reason and within legality).
For example, the job title ‘journalist’ is often viewed as high risk when applying for car insurance – it could mean that you’re driving around the country looking for stories and therefore more likely to get in an accident. ‘Website copywriter’ is likely to be seen as much lower risk – you’re more likely to be working from home and not driving around. Of course, in reality, you could be driving around finding stories for an online publication, and still technically work as a ‘website copywriter’.
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