What Discounts Can I Get on Auto Insurance?
In the past, we’ve talked about discounts that are available for homeowners’ insurance. But we haven’t really talked about auto insurance. Honestly, there aren’t many add-on discounts for auto insurance.
Youthful Driver
If you have a youthful driver, you can look out for good student discounts. That’s huge! A good student discount can save you $400-$500 per year. So, make sure your kiddos keep a “B” or better average to get that discount.
The other discount is trained driver. Most insurance agencies give that to any youthful driver that has a license. In Texas, you have to complete some type of driver training to get your driver’s license.
Read more here about insuring Teen Drivers: Insurance for Teen Drivers
Benefits of Telematics
There are also a few things you can add on. A big one is telematics. We’re seeing more and more insurance companies add telematics.
What is Telematics?
This is usually an app, but it can also be a chip that can be added to your car. This app or device monitors your driving, you’ve probably seen the commercials “Don’t mess with my discount” or “Save money based on how you drive.” Insurance carriers have different time frames for the monitoring period. Some make you keep the app or chip as long as you have insurance with that company. Other carriers only make you use the app for 90 days. The average discount that people see from telematics is about 12%, but it can be as much as 30%-40% depending on the carrier.
Good Candidates for Telematic
Drivers that are good candidates for telematics are drivers that don’t drive very often. So, if you work from home or you only drive 2-3 miles to work every day, this could be perfect for you. But it’s important to keep in mind that some carriers use the information to raise your rate.
Reasons Not to Use Telematic
One thing they’re looking at is how fast you accelerate. If you floor it the second the light turns green like you’re in the Indy 500, you don’t need to do telematics. They also looking out for hard breaking. If you tend be someone who slams on the break last minute, this won’t be good for you. Another thing they monitor, is how often people use their phones while driving. This is not referencing GPS usage or playing music. The apps can track if you pick up your phone and touch it. If you text and drive or you hold your phone a lot while driving, telematics isn’t a good choice. Lastly, they look at the time of day that you drive. If you tend to drive between the hours of midnight to 4:00 a.m., telematics probably isn’t the best option.
If you don’t drive for work, you’re a pretty good driver, you don’t use your phone while driving, it can save you up to 30%-40% on your auto insurance. This is the biggest discount you can get on your auto insurance!
Other Auto Insurance Discounts
Other discounts that you’ve heard of before are bundling with your home/renter’s insurance or keeping a low mileage. Pretty much every carrier has stopped giving a discount for defensive driving. It was getting abused too much. And let’s face it. If you’re taking defensive driving, it’s probably because you got a ticket. So, they really shouldn’t reward you for that, right?
Another thing to be on the lookout for is if you have a car that’s garaged somewhere other than your home. If your kid is going to school in a rural area, the rates are much lower out there. So let your insurance agent know so you can take advantage of the lower rates while the car is away at school.
Hanby Helps
We hope this information helps! Have a great day!