Reader question:
When I turned 16 and got my first car, I also got added to the car insurance policy that my parent’s had. Now I’m leaving state to go to school elsewhere, so I’ll be getting my own new student car insurance. I know it will be more expensive, but how do I make it cheaper?
Sharon
It’s easy, Sharon.
First I want to remind you of the option to just not get a new student car insurance policy at all. If you are going to school in a different state, most car insurance companies will give a huge discount or not charge for you at all while your name is still on the policy, so if you leave your car at home you could end up paying nothing for car insurance and still be covered when you use it during visits home. This may not sound reasonable, but consider that if you are moving to a college town, not only will you live on campus but you will probably be able to get places where you need to go by taking public transportation.
If that isn’t what you want to do, or if your college town doesn’t have a good bus system, then here are some ways to get it done.
- Raise your deductible. This is the most basic cheap car insurance rates advice. The higher your deductible, the lower your premium. Just make sure that you can afford the higher deductible.
- Lower your standards. Pick a car that has some grey hairs and wrinkles, but is still safe. Older cars are cheaper to insure, and you also won’t need as much insurance. In the same vein, consider not getting that great stereo and those rims.
- Is your car worth less than your premium? Then you should only get the minimum state required car insurance coverage.
- Take a class in defensive driving.
- Maintain your credit report. It’s time that you are starting out in life and getting your credit going, so be careful now or you’ll have problems in the future.
- Look around for your car insurance company. Get instant online rate quotes and compare, compare, compare.
- Join an organization that helps you get discounted car insurance rates.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.
