Still Not Commuting? Cut Your Car Insurance Tab by Hundreds With These Strategies

With work-from-home policies in effect for several months already — and likely continuing through the end of the year or beyond — millions of people had their commutes disappear.

Gone are the 10-mile carpools up the interstate, the 25-minute bike rides through downtown and the hour-and-a-half trains into the city. The new average commute time is the 30 seconds it takes to roll yourself out of bed and into your desk chair. Add two minutes if you stop for coffee in the kitchen.

For those who primarily drove their own cars back-and-forth to work each day, the amount of miles they’ve put on their cars is a fraction of what it was last year. Even weekend-only drivers are wondering why they bothered to have a car this year. All the payments are the same — yet the usage is next to nothing.

But although your car financing or leasing payment is pretty set in stone, your car insurance costs are thankfully not. The good news is there are ways to lower your current bill or find cheaper options out there, without sacrificing coverage.

Here are our tips for cutting your bill while staying fully covered:

1. Straight up Ask for Discounts

You can start cutting your payments by going straight to the source.

Ask your current auto insurer about a low-mileage discount. If you’re driving less, that means you are less likely to be in an accident, making you a lower risk for them. That could be an incentive for your insurance to lower your rate — but you won’t know unless you ask.

And if your policy is up for renewal, ask about a discount for paying in full. You can usually save about 10% by doing this, which could be some major cash back in your pocket.

Here are some other common discounts you should ask your agent if you qualify for:

• Senior
• Good student
• Low-income
• Multi-car (include more than one car on your policy)
• Safe driver
• New car
• Anti-lock brakes
• Airbag (usually for older cars made before 1990)
• Anti-theft devices
• Paperless (view your bill online)

2. Cancel Your Car Insurance

Here’s the thing: your current car insurance company is probably overcharging you. But don’t waste your time hopping around to different insurance companies looking for a better deal. 

Use a website called EverQuote to see all your options at once. 

EverQuote is the largest online marketplace for insurance in the US, so you’ll get the top options from more than 175 different carriers handed right to you. 

Take a couple of minutes to answer some questions about yourself and your driving record. With this information, EverQuote will be able to give you the top recommendations for car insurance. In just a few minutes, you could save up to $610 a year.

3. Only Pay for What You Use

Instead of going with the traditional car insurance, a pay-per-mile policy could be the right choice if your car is collecting dust in your garage.

It may initially sound shady — some things seem too good to be true — but pay-per-mile insurance is still full-coverage auto insurance. You still get collision and comprehensive coverage, uninsured motorist coverage, and roadside assistance. If it’s available in your state, you just literally pay per mile. The less you drive, the more affordable it becomes.

In order to calculate how many miles you drive, you’re probably going to have to plug a device into your car to track your usage. These devices (or apps) also track driving habits, which can lead to more discounts later.

Pay-per-mile policies are sold by the major insurers, like Milewise by Allstate and SmartMiles by Nationwide. There are also other companies that specialize in these specific policies, like Metromile. Check them all out to see which offers you the best coverage for your money.

So if you’re still paying the same amount for car insurance as you were back in January, it’s time to take some steps to reduce that monthly bill!