Can’t Afford Car Insurance? Here Are Some Options

More and more drivers can’t afford car insurance, especially since the cost of living is rising in cities and rural areas around the world.

If you’re one of the thousands of people who find it’s too expensive to own and use a vehicle, there are ways that you can lower your costs.

Instead of starting to research the public transit maps in your area, try these options to help make your car insurance a little more affordable.

Can’t Afford Car Insurance: Things You Can Do

Here are some recommended ways for you to be able to afford car insurance:

1. Manage Your Finances

If you have already signed up for an insurance policy at an agreed-upon rate for a specified period, there’s little that you can do to make your insurance more affordable.

With that said, there’s plenty that you can change with your current finances to improve your available funds.

Instead of lapsing on your coverage and rendering yourself unable to drive, you might be able to make small sacrifices in other areas.

First, you will want to make a list of your current expenses, including your rent or mortgage, utilities, groceries, and luxuries.

By analyzing your luxury expenses first, determine if there are certain areas that you can cut back, such as limiting the number of subscription services you use, such as Netflix.

You might also find that you’re spending too much on activities, for example, which can help you to save more per month.

Once you’ve cut back on unnecessary expenses, you might find there’s even more funding available to afford your insurance.

Depending on your lifestyle, being able to drive is likely far more critical than having an extra 100 movies available to stream.

2. Change Vehicles

One of the primary factors that will affect your insurance rates is the type of vehicle you’re using.

Even though it might be tempting to get that fantastic sports car you’ve always wanted, you’d be surprised at how much more affordable an SUV or van would be.

The safer the insurance company deems your vehicle, the lower your rates will be.

Not only is the type of car essential to consider, but its age, as well, since older vehicles are likely to be seen as more of a risk than newer vehicles.

There are other factors to consider, as well, such as anti-theft technology and automatic features.

You can quickly determine the change in your insurance premiums based on the car you drive, either with the help of your insurance agent or online.

You can quickly get a quote using the information for an alternative make and model that you might be interested in buying.

The new quote will then be able to give you an idea of whether a different vehicle will help to make your insurance more affordable or not.

However, you will also want to consider whether opting for a safer or newer car is a better financial decision than sticking with your current premiums.

3. Research Available Discounts

It’s far too often that drivers sign up for an auto policy with a clean record and don’t have any discounts applied to their plan.

When you get an insurance quote, it is your responsibility to make sure the insurer presents you with the appropriate discounts based on your information and driving history.

You would be surprised at the numerous ways you can trim costs off your policy.

A few examples include:

Good Student Discounts: If you’re a student driver and can maintain a high-grade average, you can save a certain percentage.
Safe Driver Discounts: For drivers who don’t have any accidents on their records, there should be savings available.
Membership Discounts: If you’re a member of an organization, such as AAA, certain insurance providers may have added discounts.
Policy Bundling: As the most common way to save on your premiums, if you own more than one type of insurance with the same company, bundling your policies will cut a substantial amount off your premiums.

4. Switch Providers

If you’re nearing the end of your policy with your current provider and insurance is too much to afford, you can switch to another insurer.

There are plenty of companies that would be willing to give you even lower rates if you change to them from another provider.

Not to mention, you’ll also be able to negotiate lower prices with your current insurer at the end of your policy.

This process will be even more straightforward for drivers who have a clean driving history and are classified as “standard” since you’re the ideal type of customer that companies would love to have.

Also, it’s important to note that renegotiating your insurance policy is quite common.

5. Meet Minimum State Requirements

Most drivers find that this process is the best and most straightforward way to save on their insurance, although it might not put you in the best position if you are ever in an accident.

Every state in the USA has minimum requirements for insurance that a driver will need.

If you are stopped for a traffic violation or in an accident without this minimum type of coverage, you could be in serious legal trouble.

Instead of focusing on all of the add-ons and maximum coverages in your policy, you could be better off opting for state minimums.

The less coverage you have in your policy, the less expensive it’ll be monthly; however, it could be disastrous if you’re ever in an accident.

Regardless if you are found at-fault or not, if you don’t have enough insurance to cover the accident, you will be responsible for paying for your costs out-of-pocket.

It’s also important to note that if you don’t have a policy that covers the costs of an accident where you are at-fault, you’re more open to litigation from the other party.

Even though more insurance can be expensive, it’s well worth the investment for those “just-in-case” scenarios.

The best idea is to talk to your insurance agent to see what the differences would be in your insurance policy if you were to opt for state minimums instead of a comprehensive package.