Unemployed – How can I lower my car insurance rates?

Unemployment can hit anybody and when a pink slip arrives the first thing you should do is try to re-evaluate your bills and cut costs. Although it’s recommended to always do a checkup of your car insurance policy annually sometimes it takes unemployment for drivers to look at ways to save money on insurance premiums. What can you do to find cheaper car insurance rates? Read below and learn about the ways to save money on auto insurance.

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Evaluate Your Current Policy

The trick with analyzing your current car insurance policy for ways to save money is to first understand how car insurance works. While they are minimum auto insurance requirements which all drivers must comply with many times drivers are over insured so reviewing your current policy coverage is important. If you have an older car you may not need high comprehensive coverage or GAP insurance that may have been purchased when you first purchased the vehicle a few years ago. Speak with your insurance agent and review your policy details.

Compare Car Insurance Companies

This is very important as many drivers never shop around for car insurance and premiums vary from one car insurance company to another. Switching auto insurance companies can often save you hundreds of dollars a year in premiums but before switching it’s important to always speak with your current auto insurance company. Many times its just a matter of not having all the discounts applied or a case of having too much insurance which makes your current premiums higher than new quotes.

Should I tell my car insurance company I am unemployed?

This is a really good question since it pertains to the amount of mileage you drive. The majority of a vehicles mileage can often be from commuting back and forth to work so if you no longer have this commute it might be worth calling your car insurance company and speaking about a temporary low mileage auto insurance policy. Low mileage car insurance policies can often be up to 50% or more lower than typical policies which factor in the average mileage used by people who typically commute to work. Not all car insurance companies offer this but its worth checking into since it can mean substantial savings during your period of unemployment.

Is car insurance higher when I am unemployed?

Many car insurance companies qualify unemployed individual as higher risk since the odds of getting premiums paid on time from people with no income is higher. While its not impossible to get auto insurance when you are unemployed you do need to shop around and compare car insurance companies. Each auto insurance company evaluated risk different but unemployment is a factor some insurance companies do not view favorably.

How else can I save money on car insurance?

The fact is you need auto insurance so regardless of what you do there is only so much you can save by changing or modifying your coverage. Some people also re-evaluate the numbers of cars they own, inquire about carpooling and even look into Hybrid vehicles which can save money on fuel. Overall it’s important you stick to a budget and try to cut costs until you find gainful employment again.

There are many ways to save money on car insurance although unemployment should never be the sole reason to start inquiring about how to reduce your cost of car insurance. From auto insurance discounts to policy limits to deductibles there are many ways to manipulate your insurance policy premiums and get better rates. However when you become unemployed you also are exposed to much higher risk of not being able to afford getting your car fixed in the event of an accident so always be careful with modifying car insurance. The last thing you want is to be unemployed and have no vehicle.

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