One of our 2012 family goals was to re-evaluate our homeowners and automobile insurance to see if we could save a few bucks. WOW! This effort netted us nearly $2500 savings annually! If you want to see if this tip would work for you-take the following steps:
- Pull a copy of your current policy to make sure you shopped apples to apples and obtain the SAME coverage.
- Find an agent who can sell you MANY types of products (not just State Farm or All State for example) I used Dave Ramesy's Endorsed Local Insurance Provider (which can be found using his website, www.daveramsey.com). These agents have the heart of a teacher and helped me understand the subtleties of insurance that I previously didn't know.
- Tell the agent what you want to accomplish-we wanted the same coverage at a lower price.
- Once the agent has a proposal, review the proposal AGAINST your current policy to be sure you understand the coverage you are purchasing.
- Consider raising deductible IF you have the money in savings to cover your deductible when you need to make a claim.
- Don't file you insurance on small claims that are not at least double your deductible (for a small deductible of $500, you may want to not file a claim unless the damage is $2000 or more) Not filing small claims keeps your insurance premiums down and can keep you from getting dropped by your insurance company for excessive claims. Higher deductibles work to your advantage in this area because you will not be likely to file a $600 claim when your deductible is $500.
- Know what type of coverage you need (replacement value on your home?, sewer backup?, Earthquake?, etc.).
- Understand the difference between collision (someone runs into you) and comprehensive (you hit a fence). We have a lot of deer and the possibility of hitting one caused us to re-evaluate our deductibles on our newer cars.
- Paying your premium in full can net you a savings of several hundred dollars annually.
- Don't squander your new found savings. We plan to transfer the monthly savings directly into our savings account!
- Some television commercials say they can save you money but you may not have the coverage you need to protect your assets. Understand liability, what an umbrella policy is and why you need one, etc.
- If you agent doesn't perform this REVIEW service for you automatically at least every 2 years, time to do it yourself!
Source: Recent experience with a new insurance agent.
By Diana from Prospect, KY
