Green Panda Treehouse

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Photo Credit: cervus

We didn’t switch to GEICO and it took longer than 15 minutes, but thanks to a phone call we saved money. My husband called Progressive to inform them of our move.

He had to be switched a few times as we went from an agent in one state then one to the other state. Our previous car insurance was $135/month and now we’re going to $104/month. I’m excited about it. One positive point of the move is that my commute is a lot shorter. Instead of driving 1 hour each way, I’m looking at a 15-20 minute commute depending on traffic.

He mentioned the change and it got a us a lower rate. Since his car has airbags on both driver and passenger sides, we got a small discount on that as well. On top of that, it seems like our new state has lower rate in general.

If you’re trying to cut down on expenses without cutting corners, here’s some tips I dug up on saving on car insurance.

Photo Credit: anomalous4

• Maintain a good driving record. It’s obvious, but helps. Our last six month’s premiums went down because an old accident went off the record after 3 years.
• Develop and keep a good credit history. Another reason why being smart with your bills helps out.
• If you’re a college student, see if your grades qualify you for a discount. It’s usually a GPA of 3.0 and higher. Check your company to what their discount is for good students.
• Increase your deductible. Only do this if your emergency fund is in place. Don’t get a $1000 policy if you only have $500 in your emergency fund.
• Pay in one or two installments. Insurance companies tend to give a discount if you pay your premiums up front.
• If your commute has shorten a bit, let them know. It can lower your expense. Even if they don’t drop it as low as you want, you save on gas money.

The $30 we save a month will be saved, not spent. It can be tempting to use it to expand our eating out budget, but I’m learning to be more intelligent with the money. That money adds up to an extra $270 for this year!

Thanks Blue for being a great and frugal husband!

How have you lowered your car insurance bills?