Eight Auto Insurance Discounts You May Be Missing

Eight Auto Insurance Discounts You May Be Missing
Linda Rey

You are probably looking for ways to cut a few dollars from your monthly budget, and the word of the day is discounts. If you enroll and qualify, you may find that you are able to save money through discounts on your auto insurance. Below are a few of the available discounts that you may want to investigate.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Discount. It’s a costly endeavor to maintain the billing department of a company. Why? Because many people pay late or don’t pay at all. As a result, policies may be canceled—and possibly then reinstated in the future. It takes a lot of paperwork and man-hours to update policies and keep the records current with both the agency and the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Automatic payments with an EFT reduce the potential for cancelation. The time saved in not having to send notices of cancelation and reinstatement, as well as phone calls to the customer service department, is extraordinary. Therefore, signing up for EFT may qualify you for a discount, as you’ll be saving your insurance company both time and money.

Paid in Full Discount. Again, billing is an expensive overhead that the insurance companies must maintain. If you have the financial resources to pay your premium in full for the policy period instead of making installment payments, the insurance company may reward you with a favorable discount.
Marital Discount. This is one of my favorite discounts! As a single person, it’s funny to me to report the benefits of being married. However, studies and statistics reveal that couples in their 20s who are married are less likely to be involved in incidents and accidents than their single counterparts. As a result, if you are married, you may be entitled to an insurance discount.
Multi-car Discount. No matter how well I try to inform my clients, I still see couples that do not combine their vehicles onto one policy. You are wasting valuable dollars by not combining. Ask your agent about your options.
Homeowners Discount. Owning a house, condo, or co-op, might entitle you to a discount on your auto insurance. Don’t keep these details a secret from your insurance agent—brag away. You may be rewarded with a nice discount.
Away at College Discount. Your kids are excited to leave for college, but the excitement shouldn’t be reserved just for them—you might get a break on your auto insurance! With your teen away from home or even out of the state, you may be able to get a discount because he or she has limited access to your vehicle.
Good Student Discount. Grades matter, and not just in the school setting. It has been proven that students who concentrate on academia have fewer incidents. Call it prudence. Contact your agent to see what documents you need to furnish to demonstrate your child’s good report card.
Defensive Driving School Discount. Driving offensively yields no benefit. It’s dangerous and will cost you money when the accidents and tickets start piling up. That doesn’t even include the cost of insurance. But if you’ve attended defensive driving school, it is likely that you are more motivated to pay attention, slow down, and yield cautiously to other drivers. Get rewarded for your good behavior by asking for a discount on your auto insurance premium.

Don’t let discounts disappear. Talk to your insurance agent and find out if you can save money by taking advantage of all the discounts that apply to you.

Linda Rey is a licensed insurance agent at Rey Insurance with a broad spectrum of expertise in life, accident, health, property and casualty insurance as well as retirement planning and college funding strategies.

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