How can I lower my USAA car insurance?

Common reasons for high car insurance costs include your driving record, age, coverage options, where you live, the car you drive, your credit history or not taking advantage of discounts. The average car insurance premium has also become more expensive as it increased by more than 50% in the past 10 years.... read full answer

8 Reasons Why Your Car Insurance Is So Expensive

1. You Have a Poor Driving Record

Your driving record is probably the most important factor in determining your car insurance rates. If your record is poor, with accidents and driving violations, and you have a history of claims, your rates will be high. You will also pay more than average if you’re bad with credit, young (especially young and male), or unmarried.

2. Your Vehicle Is Expensive to Insure

Insurance companies like safe, boring cars that nobody wants to steal for joy-riding or parts. If you choose to drive something large, fast, luxurious, statistically unsafe on the road, or popular with thieves, you will pay more.

3. You Live in a High-Risk Location

Where you live has a large impact on your premiums. Some areas of the country have much higher insurance costs than others. A number of factors go into this, such as the history of accidents in the area, population density, the number of uninsured drivers, crime statistics, bad weather patterns, etc. Also, if you live far from work and have a long daily commute, the high annual mileage could raise your rate.

4. You Have High Coverage Amounts

If your coverage limits are high and your deductibles are low, you will be happy if you need to make a claim, but not as happy when you’re paying your premiums. If the insurance company risks having to pay out more in the future, you will have to pay more now.

5. You Are Not Taking Advantage of Discounts

Insurers offer a very wide variety of discounts. Valued customer discounts offer savings for things like loyalty, multiple cars and policies, and paying online. Driver discounts may apply if you are a good driver, good student, belong to a certain profession or organization, are married, or more. Your car may also qualify for a discount if it has equipment that makes it safer to drive or harder to steal. Discounts are available to nearly everyone, and you may qualify for some that you aren’t getting credit for yet.

6. You Are Too Young or Too Old

Teens are statistically more likely to cause car accidents than the average driver, so insurance companies charge them the highest premiums. Drivers who get their license at 16 years old usually see their premiums decrease with every year of experience, however, and age 25 is generally considered a turning point when premiums become considerably lower.

Experienced drivers in their 40s and 50s are often the cheapest to insure. But rates begin to rise again after age 65.

7. You Have a Low Insurance Score

Every major insurance company uses a credit-based insurance score to calculate premiums where allowed by law. Like credit scores, insurance scores are based on credit report information, only they are used to predict a driver’s likelihood of filing a claim. The rationale is that individuals who are careful with their money tend to be careful drivers, too.

However, insurance scores are controversial, so they are banned in Massachusetts, Hawaii, and California. Most other states also have restrictions on their use, which can be found on the state insurance regulator’s website.

8. Costs Increasing Overall

Record-setting natural disasters, more phone-related car accidents, high rates of insurance fraud, and expensive-to-repair car technology have all increased costs for insurance companies. As a result, insurers have been raising their prices to cover their expenses.

From 2010 to 2019, the average cost of car insurance increased by more than 50%. Prices have gone up every year. This steady rise in insurance costs has outstripped other consumer costs. Even skyrocketing hospital costs lag slightly behind car insurance.

Overall Cost Increases from 2010 to 2019

• Car Insurance: 52.2%
• Hospital Services: 49.1%
• Cost of Living: 17.2%
• Physician’s Fees: 15.7%

You can’t reverse this industry-wide inflation. But if you want to lower your own insurance costs, address as many of your personal factors as you can. Then get quotes from multiple insurance companies and compare.

Check out WalletHub's full guide on the factors that affect car insurance rates for more information.

The best way to lower your teenager’s car insurance rate is to add them to your existing insurance policy if they currently have their own and then look for discounts to further lower the cost. Other notable ways to lower the cost of teenage car insurance include reducing your teen’s coverage and getting multiple quotes.... read full answer

Teen drivers typically pay more for car insurance than mature drivers because insurers consider them high-risk. Rates don’t usually drop until age 25, unless you intervene with these strategies.

Four Ways To Lower Teenage Car Insurance Costs

Add your teen to an existing policy

Sharing an insurance policy with a teen driver is usually the most cost-effective option for a family. For example, car insurance for a 16-year-old with their own policy costs an average of $3,343 per year. By comparison, adding a teen to an existing policy raises the premium by about $1,400, on average.

Look for applicable discounts

Most major insurers offer several discounts designed to help lower the cost of insuring a teen driver. The two most common types of discounts that apply specifically to teens are good student discounts and resident student discounts. Good student discounts apply to high school or college students who maintain a certain GPA, while a resident student discount reduces premiums for college students who go to school more than 100 miles away from their vehicle.

Teens can still qualify for some general discounts, too. For example, they may be able to receive a discount if they take an approved defensive driving course or stay accident-free for a certain period of time.

Reduce coverage

Considering how expensive car insurance is for young drivers, your teen could save on their premium by limiting the amount of coverage they include on their policy. However, they still need to be in compliance with state law and avoid driving uninsured.

Get multiple quotes

The best way to lower teen car insurance is to shop around for quotes from at least three different providers, especially if your teenager is getting their own policy. Every insurer uses their own methods to calculate premiums, so the rate that you get from one company might not be the same as another. As a result, simply shopping around could save a teen driver hundreds of dollars per year on car insurance.

To find out where to start, check out WalletHub’s picks for the best teen car insurance companies. You can also find more information in our guide on how to lower car insurance costs.

The best ways to lower your car insurance after an accident are to reduce the amount of coverage that you pay for and compare quotes from multiple insurers. You can also take a defensive driving course and search for additional discounts from your current insurance provider. On average, an at-fault accident ... read full answerraises premiums by about 48%, and the increased cost lasts 3-5 years.

How to Lower Car Insurance After an Accident

1. Shop around for quotes from other insurers

Every insurer uses its own methods to calculate insurance premiums, so the rate that you have with your current provider might not be the best deal. In general, it’s a good idea to compare quotes from at least three different insurance companies every 6-12 months.

2. Consider reducing your coverage

You should never drive without insurance, and you should always buy as much coverage as you can afford. But if an accident raises your rates to a point where you simply cannot afford insurance beyond what’s required, you can consider removing certain types of coverage from your policy or lowering your limits. Just make sure that you’re still carrying at least the minimum amount of car insurance coverage required by state law.

3. Go to traffic school

Most major insurers offer a discount if you take an approved defensive driving course. Additionally, if the accident occurred while you were committing a moving violation, you may be able to remove the ticket or points from your record by taking the course.

4. Check for discounts with your insurer

Most major insurers offer a variety of discounts that drivers can get even if they’ve recently been in an accident. Bundling policies, setting up auto-pay, and going paperless are all easy ways to earn a discount on car insurance. If you want to know what other discounts you may qualify for, you should call your insurer directly.

5. Practice safe driving habits

The best way to lower your rate long-term is to avoid getting into any more accidents. Even if you have one at-fault accident on your record, your rate will eventually go back down if you don’t get any other infractions for 3-5 years. And if you drive safely for a long period of time, you may qualify for an additional good driver discount from your insurer.