How to Pay Less for Car Insurance

Michigan may be the hub of the US auto industry, but it’s also where car insurance costs are the highest, according to carinsurancequotes.com. (http://www.carinsurancequotes.com/car_insurance-costs) Michigan residents spend an average of 8 percent of their median household income on car insurance. The District of Columbia, Louisiana and Kentucky follow with the next highest rates. Car insurance costs the least in Hawaii, North Carolina and Massachusetts. But no matter where you live, paying less is always best.

Compare Regularly If it’s been a while since you’ve done some car insurance comparison shopping, then put it on your to-do list. Take an easy first step by heading to MSN.com and using their car insurance comparison tool. Just plug in your vehicle’s make and model along with your location to find out what the average premium is. Compare that to what you’re paying to see if you could be getting a better deal.

Try Snapshot
Even if you’re not a Progressive customer you can take Snapshot for a free 30-day test drive and find out if you could save by switching. Plug it in to your car and it will track driving habits like how many miles you cover, how fast you go and how many times you slam on the brakes. After the trial period find out what your rate with Progressive would be and decide if switching could save you money.

Drive a Mini Van
According to Forbes’ list of the cheapest cars to insure, mini vans come out on top. The Toyota Sienna LE is the cheapest car in the US to insure. The average annual premium is just $1,111.

Increase Your Deductible
By increasing your deductible you can save considerably on annual costs. According to the Insurance Information Institute, increasing an auto deductible from $200 to $500 can reduce premium costs by up to 30 percent. Bump that deductible to $1000 and you may cut your bill by 40 percent.

By Alison Storm

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