We can dream of lower expenses but can we make that a reality with auto insurance?

We actually need to so some insurance shopping. But other than selecting a company with lower premiums, what can help to lower the costs?

When we did that with the house insurance (raised the deductible to $1,500) we found that the lower premiums would allow us to pay that $1,500 every five years in otherwise insurable losses. Given that we've never filed an insurance claim for damage to the house we figured that was a good deal. The same would apply to car insurance.

 How to lower vehicle insurance premiums:

1. a great driving record/driving history

2. high deductibles

3. multi-policy discounts--all insurance needs--vehicles, campers, RVs, motorcycles, home, life are with the same company

4. maturity discount--55 and older will see a senior discount in most cases

5. good student discount--for teen drivers

6. defensive driving course discount

7. employer, union, sorrority, fraternity affiliation discount

8. a high credit score/no negative history on your credit report

9. reside and work in a low crime/low claim area

10. history of few or no claims

11. drop towing coverage

12. drop glass coverage

13. long term customer loyalty

14. pay premium annually to save on administrative fees and to receive paid in full discount

15. use an insurance broker who is able to shop around your insurance needs to dozens of providers to find the best coverage/best rate for you

We qualify for all but the good student discount and the defensive driving course discount, have a $1000 deductible on vehicles, and home.  All of these discounts save us almost $750 annually. This is a great discount as Michigan has the HIGHEST vehicular insurance costs nation wide. For the past 17 years, we have used the same insurance agency/broker for our home, vehicle, life, and long term care insurance. 

 Rolo covered most of the bases, but I would add that if you are driving an old clunker, it pays to drop your collision and comprehensive coverage altogether and just carry the liability insurance that the law requires. If your car is *really* old, its total value might actually be less than your deductible, in which case you could never collect a penny. But even if it's still worth a few thousand, the potential payout for totaling it (which almost any accident will do, if it's that old) is probably not enough to justify the additional premiums.