These days most people get their insurance advice from TV or Radio Ads from direct insurance companies. These companies usually just tell you to shop for better rates because that’s the only thing they are paying ad money for so its self-serving at best. Does shopping for insurance hurt you? No, not unless you miss something important and open yourself up to unnecessary risk in the process. There are some time tested insurance tips that still apply in this modern world, I will spare you the obvious ones like: Don’t get violations or speed.

Be Selective with Claims

If you are concerned about artificially high rates, or high rates you can easily avoid its a good idea to not claim every incident. If you have a $500 deductible on a vehicle and you claim a fender bender that totals $600 will your automobile policy pay out? Yes, of course. Some people view this as their rightful money because they have paid their premiums faithfully for years, they aren’t wrong however this isn’t what any insurance policy was designed for. Many of the rate increases out there can be attributed to, at least in part, to many small losses. This is why insurance companies have increased their minimum deductibles. Its simply a numbers game. You will also lose a claim-free discount in the process. The old advice is still wise here, if you can afford to pay it out of pocket do so…if not put in your claim.

Plan to Add a Youthful Operator

Another pain point for clients is when their children come of age and get their drivers license. There can be sticker shock but you have to realize that adding an inexperienced driver to your policy multiplies your chances many fold. Forget about any old ideas like females are more expensive than males…its a numbers game pure and simple. Young inexperience operators will have accidents. In fact each year between their 16th and 25th birthday their added operating experience will show in their rates. Its a critical time. There are a few important things you can do to mitigate your premium increase however and they haven’t changed over time. If you just add a child and no additional vehicle your rates will be less. A household with 2 vehicles and 3 drivers pays less than a household with equal number of vehicles and drivers. Less total potential operating time.

This of course might not be a convenient option and in that case make sure the vehicle you get your young driver is a liability-only, older but safe vehicle. Many policies still allow us to rate a driver on a specific vehicle, are they rated on the others? Yes, however we can target them on the less expensive vehicle. Other great pieces of advice are make sure your youthful operator has good grades in order to obtain a discount, this is one even you cannot get so it makes sense to motivate your child.

The Best Place to Insure Toys

Lastly, on your homeowners policy. Many companies allow you to add all sorts of coverage to it. Boats, ATV’s Jewelry etc. These are risks that inherently have a greater chance of causing a claim. The very last place you will want a claim is on your homeowners insurance policy. It is a far better option to get a separate policy for those items and remove that risk on your home policy. Another benefit is these policies have additional coverage and lower deductibles.

So there you have it, even in modern times the old advice still holds up. Insurance is a very old industry with a simple premise – spread your personal risk to a larger pool. The more overall problems you cause that pool the higher your share will be. Please contact your agent or us if you have any questions about saving money on your insurance.