After reading Flyin96M's difficulties with his insurance company, I thought I'd suggest some of the ways I have found to reduce my premiums. Some of these you may already be using, some you might not be aware of.
1. Put all your eggs in one basket. If you insure your homeowners, auto, boat, etc...policies all with the same company, you get a discount. Although Geico had the better rate for just my autos, they don't offer homeowners. I listed everything insured and faxed it to several companies, as well as independent agents. Best bottom line total ended up being with Allstate.
2. If your car is paid for, only carry liability coverage. BUT, make sure you have adequate uninsured/underinsured motorist protection. Paying for collision basically protects you from your own bad driving.:burnrubr: If you are in an accident caused by the other guy and its his fault, you're covered by his insurance (if he has any) or your own that way. No points against you if you make a claim this way either. The downside to this is that you're not covered for things like hail damage and vandalism. However, the money you save by not paying comprehensive/collision premiums will quickly add up and you can set those $$$ aside for any unforseen incidents like that.
3. Ask for a "pleasure vehicle" rate. Considerably less than the standard rates and I carry this on all five vehicles insured. Since I work from home, I didn't think it was right that I should pay the same as someone who drives 30K a year, so I asked my agent about it and he came up with this angle. State Farm never even asked me how many miles I drove a year. Allstate's cutoff is 7000 miles annually per vehicle. They neither monitor nor enforce this, although Allstate did ask what my monthly mileage was (real difficult to figure that one out)
4. When they ask if the car is parked in a garage or the street, the preferred answer is garage. When they ask if it has any anti-theft devices, the answer is yes. (isn't the locking steering wheel key lock supposed to deter theft?)
5. Other discounts: Defensive driving, obviously. Good student discount. (Keep at least a B average) Move to Tarrant county (rates are cheaper than Dallas!);)
Hope something here might help someone!
