Being a safe driver is the biggest way to save money on car insurance – because car insurance companies reward good driving with massive discounts. It’s standard practice for insurers to offer a No-Claim Discount (NCD) of 10% off your premium for EVERY year you drive accident free.
What’s even better is that your NCD can grow to a maximum of 50% off your insurance premium if you’re accident free for 5 years, making it the easiest way to save money on car insurance.
Important Note: Most insurers offer an NCD protector (for a fee) that protects your NCD in the event you get into an accident – that way you still pay your discounted rate.
Maintain Zero Points on Your License
Accumulating demerit points on your license by getting speeding tickets is not only a good way to get your license suspended – it gives insurers a reason to raise your premium. But if you drive safely and maintain zero points on your license, you’ll actually save money instead.
If you drive for 3 years without committing a traffic offense, you can earn a Certificate of Merit (COM), which will save you an additional 5% on your policy premium – on top of any NCD you’re receiving.
Higher Excess Means Lower Premiums
Excess is what you must pay an insurer before receiving your full claim amount. But the excess can be adjusted – moving it higher will lower your insurance premium because you’re taking on a greater share of the financial risk if an accident occurs. If you’re a good driver with a safe record, choosing a higher excess is a good money-saving move.
Just keep in mind that if the cost of a claim exceeds the excess, the insurer will pay the claim – but if the cost of the claim is lower than the excess, you’ll need to pay.
For example:
If your windshield cracks and it costs $450 to replace it but your excess is $750, the insurer WILL NOT pay for its replacement.
Slash All Unnecessary Coverage
If you want to save additional money on your insurance policy, you should go through your policy line-by-line to remove items you either don’t need or can live without. So if your policy has an item that covers car rental while your car is being repaired but you don’t need it – remove it from your policy. Just don’t overdo it by removing items you may actually need in the event of an accident!
Add Age and Experience to Your Policy
Another way to save money on your insurance premium is to add a more experienced driver to your policy. This is especially important to young, inexperienced drivers who already pay the highest premiums possible.
So if you’re under the age of 30 with less than 3 years of driving experience, adding an experienced driver to your policy will definitely reduce your policy premium.
