If your life depends on car, you will need similar dependency toward auto insurance. Paying periodic premium on-time and trying to avoid high-stake claims are the ways to keep your premium rate low. However, new policy holders may not be immediately aware of various discount possibilities they can get. Instead of looking for the availability of discounts, many new policy holders are set to find the lowest premium rates, which they may regret in the future when the coverage is insufficient for their needs.
Each insurance company offers specific benefits for customers, but there are several types of auto insurance discounts you can count on. These discounts are common in all insurance companies, and you can get great benefits from them.
Auto Insurance Common Types of Discounts
When you finally get to buy your first auto insurance policy, don’t settle for the lowest option just because you want to save some cash. Choose the one that gives coverage you actually need, and look for opportunities to find discounts. Here are some of the best and most common types of discounts you can find at various insurance companies:
Multiple-car discount.
This type of discount is very common, offering discounts for those who have more than one car and use one insurance policy for those cars. For example, you have two cars that each has $400 and $300 monthly premium. If you decide to put both cars under one policy, you may only need to pay $600 for both cars instead of $700.
Multi-policy discount.
Another common auto insurance discount, this is a great way to save for both home and car insurance policies. Many insurance companies actually use this discount as the main offer to attract more customers, and this discount is easy to find anywhere.
Low-risk driver discount.
If you are a good driver with low-risk behaviors, this is one of the best discounts in auto insurance policy, which motivates policy holders to always be good drivers. Usually, this kind of discount is given to drivers who manage to go for several years without getting ticketed or experiencing accidents. Being a more discipline driver always pays off, especially since your premium rate will also hike if you receive tickets.
Student discount.
This is a good auto insurance discount to be earned by young drivers. In the US, common requirements for this discount usually consist of 12 credit hours minimum, 3.0 GPA, and good records at school. This is a good discount to pursue because younger drivers (especially teenagers) are usually charged with higher premium rate, since they are considered more reckless and higher in risk.
Financial stability discount.
Auto insurance companies want to give credits for customers who have stable financial condition, which means that they are ideal customers. You can get this discount by making sure that your credit score is high, which signifies the ability to manage financial condition.
Homeowner discount.
This discount is usually offered to people who have their houses instead of rent them. Unlike multiple-policy discount, this discount is offered regardless of whether you use the same policy or not for your vehicle and house. This is because, according to auto insurance companies, people who have their own houses usually have more financial stability and level of responsibility.
With these discounts, you can save a lot of cash in auto insurance policy. It is better to actually buy policy that has the coverage you need and look for discounts. It is better than regretting about insufficient coverage later.
Extra: Tips to Get Cheap Multiple-Car Discount
When you list two vehicles under one policy, you usually automatically get multiple-car discount. However, if one of your cars is in storage for indeterminate time, you will not get the discount, because the car must be protected under comprehensive coverage. If you still insist of getting a discount, you must have PLPD coverage for all your cars. Multiple-car discount can also apply if there is a person who lives with you and has separate policy but under the same company, such as your teenage kid. Whenever you add a new vehicle under the same policy, the discount will automatically be applied.
If your vehicle is motorcycle, boat or RV instead of car, you can also get multiple-vehicle discount. However, not all insurance companies offer such discount for vehicles other than motorcycle and car, since it is rare for people to have more than one RVs, trucks or boats (except for business).
In short, auto insurance discounts are available in many forms, and you can get them in various methods to reduce premium rate.