How To Get Discounts on Car Insurance

Safe driving, company loyalty, and even having a new car can save you money on car insurance.

Laura Leavitt | 

Aug 3, 2022 | 4 min read

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When you're shopping for car insurance, it can be exciting to see an initial price estimate drop as you factor in different applicable discounts or rate changes. Finding the right coverage is a personal task and if you're new to the process it can be a challenge to learn how to get discounts on car insurance. Luckily, experienced insurance agents can help you compare costs and factor in all available discounts. You can also use online rate comparison tools to get quotes from multiple companies side by side.

Discounts tend to be associated with a particular identity or behavior, like being part of a professional organization or taking a particular driving course. Try using the following discounts to get your car insurance rates as low as possible when comparison shopping for the right coverage.

Driver Track Record Discounts

Drivers with a clean record often get a discount on their car insurance or simply qualify at lower rates. If you had a car accident at some point, some insurers might lower your insurance rates progressively the longer you go without an accident as you move forward.

Another part of your track record has to do with how often you drive your car. Discounts are sometimes available for not driving much, since the probability of an accident increases with the number of miles driven and time on the road. If you can demonstrate that you put very little mileage on the car each year, you may qualify for a discount.

Company Loyalty Discounts

If you can show that you've been with the same insurer for many years — even if it isn't the current insurer that you're researching — you may qualify for a continuous coverage discount. This can reward you for loyalty to your insurer, which is a trait many insurers value. Continuous coverage discounts can also reward you for always having insurance coverage, since uninsured drivers are a hazard that can be expensive for insurance companies.

There are also often discounts for keeping your business all with one company. If you choose a single company and bundle multiple insurance products, such as multi-car insurance policies or adding homeowners insurance from the same insurer, the overall cost is often lower.

Safety and Monitoring Discounts

Newer cars and cars with specific safety features can trigger car insurance discounts because they're safer and less likely to result in costly accidents. These safety features can include anti-lock brakes, anti-theft features, airbags, and more.

Similarly, you can agree to have your driving monitored through an app or a device that attaches to your car with telematics programs. The data collected from these devices can allow you to qualify for discounts related to driving carefully, and accelerating and braking smoothly. Similarly, if you take certain defensive driving or driver's education courses, these classes may qualify you for a car insurance discount.

Affiliation and Student Discounts

Membership organizations, like big-box clubs and the American Automobile Association (AAA), sometimes negotiate discount rates for car insurance. Other insurers may offer discounts to particular groups, like current and former members of the United States military.

If you're a teen driver who's also a college student, you can sometimes qualify for a discount — including if you receive good grades or if you're insured but live at least 100 miles away from home without a car on campus. Check with the insurers you're considering to evaluate if other memberships or affiliations could qualify you for a discount.

Insurers Pass on Savings When You Reduce Their Risk

Car insurance companies want lower risk in their insurance pools, and the best way to learn how to get discounts on car insurance is to see how you can reduce insurer risk. Driving well, taking driving courses, and allowing telematics to monitor your driving are all ways to incentivize less-risky driving behavior. It makes sense that insurers would prefer to cover more accident-free, well-prepared drivers.

You might also find smaller discounts connected to convenience, such as when you choose to pay your whole year's premium ahead of time and get a paid-in-full discount or a discount for paperless billing, though not every company offers these.

When a company offers a unique discount that you qualify for, it's a good idea to still get price quotes from other insurers as well. Take both standard rates and discounts into consideration as you compare so you can get the best combination of final price and included coverage.

Laura Leavitt

I love a good spreadsheet and will happily calculate compound interest all day, but my biggest focus is helping people achieve their financial goals. That could be saving up for a dream car or calculating the right car payment for your budget so you can get a reliable daily driver. I research and write about personal finance so that making great financial choices becomes easier for us all.