Consumer Report: Saving Money On Car Insurance

The cost of car insurance is on the rise, with prices increasing about 15% in the past year. Kevin Amezaga says the escalating expense is making his 2019 Audi hard to afford. “I'm paying $351 a month,” he says, “which is more than I pay for my car.”

Amezaga lives in Florida, where premiums saw the biggest increase in the country, climbing $421 a year on average to about $3,183 a year. But people nationwide are feeling the pinch. Annual premiums have increased about $243 to $2,014, according to Bankrate. Mark Hamrick is a senior economic analyst at the consumer financial services company and says, “One of the ways of bringing down the cost of car ownership is to shop around for less expensive car insurance."

Hamrick points out that auto insurance is highly competitive and cheaper rates can often be found with a little research. Sometimes bundling car and home insurance together can lead to a better rate. People who work from home may qualify for a low mileage discount and car owners might consider cutting parts of their policy. "Do you need, for example, to have the cost of a car rental covered,” Hamrick asks. “Do you want to have essentially towing insurance?"

He also suggests reviewing your policy every year to see if there are other ways to save money.