How to Lower Your Car Insurance

Title: How to lower your car insurance

After increasing by more than 50% from 2022 to 2025,^[1] car insurance rates decreased an average of 4.1% from June 2025 to June 2026.^[2] Despite showing signs of easing, auto insurance premiums remain highAfter climbing more than 50% from 2022 to 2025,^[1] car insurance rates finally eased last year, falling 4.1% between June 2025 and June 2026.^[2] That’s modest relief on a bill that already claimed 1.5% of the typical household’s income per vehicle before the steepest increases hit.^[3]

Your car insurance premium depends on more factors than you might think, plenty of them within your control.

Why is your car insurance so expensive?

Insurance providers use multiple criteria to determine rates. Common reasons you may be paying more for car insurance than you’d like include:

• Your age. Teens can pay two to four times more for car insurance than experienced drivers. That’s because they’re more likely to engage in risky habits, with drivers under 20 nearly four times as likely to get into an accident as older drivers.^[4]

• Where you live. People generally pay more for coverage in areas where accident rates, traffic density, and auto theft are higher, because insurers are more likely to experience losses there.

• Increased repair costs. With advances in technology, a minor fender bender can cost more than $2,000 to repair because of pricey sensors in the bumper.^[5] More serious accidents have even higher price tags, and a persistent technician shortage is keeping repair costs elevated.^[6]
  

• Severe weather. Weather-related losses have risen steadily over the last four decades, totaling $7.4 trillion from 1980 to 2025, according to Munich RE.^[7]

• Credit-based insurance scores. Most states allow insurance providers to consider your credit-based insurance score when determining how much you’ll pay for a policy.^[8] These scores help insurers determine how likely you are to file a claim. Like credit scores lenders use to determine whether you qualify for a loan, credit-based insurance scores are calculated using information from your credit reports.

• Your driving record. Drivers with clean records generally pay less for coverage than those with a history of moving violations because they represent a lower risk.

• Your car. The car you drive matters too. Expensive repairs, poor safety ratings, and high theft rates all push premiums up, which is one reason two drivers with identical records can pay different rates.^[9]
  
  
• Your coverage level and deductible. More coverage and higher limits raise your premium, as do lower deductibles, since you’re asking the insurer to cover more of the claim.

10 Ways to Lower Your Car Insurance Rates

No single change will cut your premium in half. But stacked together, these 10 moves can add up. At least one — comparing quotes — costs nothing but time.

1. Shop around at least once a year

Car insurers analyze many things when determining the premiums you pay. Because they each weigh each factor differently, rates can vary significantly among insurers for the same coverage. Shopping around and comparing quotes from multiple providers at least once a year around your policy renewal can help you find lower rates.

Don’t just check insurance companies, brokers, and agents. Car insurance comparison sites allow you to compare multiple providers from one spot. Just be sure to get quotes for the same types of coverage with the same deductibles and policy limits from each insurer.

Before purchasing a policy, research the company’s reputation, financial stability, and customer satisfaction to help you determine if it’s the right fit for your budget and driving habits.

Curious what you should be paying? Kikoff’s auto insurance calculator gets you a ballpark in under a minute.

2. Raise your deductible

Your deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket before your insurance kicks in. Not all car insurance coverages have one, but raising your deductible on those that do may help you save.

Raising your deductible lowers what you pay for comprehensive and collision, though the savings shrink as you push higher: The jump from $250 to $500 typically does more for your premium than the jump from $1,000 to $2,000.

The savings are real, but they’re only worth taking if you can cover the higher amount out of pocket after an accident or emergency.

3. Ask about discounts you qualify for

Many insurers offer discounts to help drivers save. One of the most popular is bundling, which reduces your rate when you purchase your home and auto insurance policies from the same insurer.

Other common discounts include autopay, paperless billing, pay-in-full, multicar, safe driver, and bundling your auto insurance with renters or homeowners. Some insurance companies also offer driver-specific savings, such as good student, senior, and affiliation discounts.

Yet the company with the most discounts doesn’t always offer the best overall price. To understand how premiums stack up between insurers, compare the final cost of the policies you’re considering, not the discounts each provider offers.

4. Rethink your vehicle

Next time you need a new set of wheels, get insurance quotes before you buy to see how the car you choose influences your insurance rates. You’ll generally pay more to insure luxury vehicles, cars with poor safety ratings, makes and models that are more likely to be stolen or have higher repair costs.

On the flip side, a modest, well-rated vehicle is usually the cheapest to insure. You can check the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s crash ratings before you step foot on a lot, getting quotes on your two to three models while you’re still deciding.

5. Reconsider your policy limits

Coverages like liability, uninsured/underinsured motorist, medical payments, and personal injury protection come with limits. Those limits are the maximum your insurer will pay on a claim.

Lower limits mean a lower premium, yet it can be a small win with a big downside. State law requires drivers to carry at least the minimum coverage limits, but those minimums may not be enough to protect your finances in a serious accident. If your state requires as little as $25,000 in property damage coverage and you total a $60,000 vehicle, you’re on the hook for the remaining $35,000 — and the other driver can sue you for it.

Savings are usually modest, so it’s worth checking your limits. For most people, it’s just not the best place to cut first.

6. Improve your credit

More than 90% of car insurers factor credit-based scores into rates, according to Nationwide, with poor credit doubling or even tripling what you pay.^[10] Insurers typically check your credit when you apply, then refresh it every three years or so, though many pull it more often.^[11]

Paying your bills on time, keeping under your credit limit, reducing your debt and keeping new credit to a minimum may help you build a stronger credit profile and eventually qualify for a lower rate.

7. Reduce coverage on older vehicles

Lenders typically require comprehensive and collision coverage if you get an auto loan or have a lease, and it can be a good idea to maintain this coverage if your car’s worth more than a few thousand dollars, even if you own it outright. But if you drive an older vehicle with limited value, you may be paying for coverage you don’t need.

Collision or comprehensive pay out based on your car’s actual market value (what it’s worth right now, and not what you paid for it) minus your deductible. If your car is worth $2,000 and you have a $500 deductible, $1,500 is the most you can collect. Once repairs cost more than the car is worth, your insurer won’t fix it at all.

Add up what collision and comprehensive cost you annually and compare it to that maximum payout to see whether that coverage is earning its keep.

8. Limit extras

Car insurers offer many benefits outside of core coverage that may not be worth the cost.

For example, you might not need your provider’s roadside assistance if you already have a standalone plan through an organization like AAA. Gap insurance may be worth skipping if you have healthy cash reserves and can cover the difference between what your car is worth and what you owe.

When choosing add-ons, think about how likely you are to need it, your risk tolerance and your financial health. And check your renewal statement for extras you’re carrying without thinking about them.

9. Drive less or enroll in usage-based programs

You’re more likely to get in an accident the longer you spend behind the wheel, and it means drivers who put fewer miles on their cars typically pay less for coverage. If you don’t put a ton of miles on your car each year, consider pay-per-mile plans that charge based on how much you drive.

Other types of use-based programs allow your insurer to track your driving through an app or a device you install in your car. If your insurer considers you a safe driver based on the data it collects, you might qualify for lower rates. But risky behaviors can result in rate hikes, so weigh the benefits and drawbacks of these programs carefully.

10. Maintain a clean driving record

You already know that speeding tickets and accidents push up your premiums. What’s easier to miss is how long they follow you: a single incident can sit on your record for years, quietly increasing rates at every renewal. That makes a clean record one of the most valuable factors on your policy.

You can also earn some credit for keeping it. Many states require insurers to discount your premium when you complete an approved defensive driving or safe driving course. In New York State, it’s 10% off your base rate that lasts for three years.^[12]

Check whether your state runs a similar program, then confirm with your insurer how to claim it. The discount is worth taking, but the habits you’ll learn could be the real payoff.

A cheaper policy starts with better credit

A stronger credit history is one of the few ways to pay less on your auto insurance without giving up coverage. Kikoff reports your on-time payments to the major credit bureaus, helping to build the kind of profile insurers reward. And because you can ask your insurer to re-rate your policy after your credit improves, lower rates can show up on your next bill rather than years from now.

Read on to learn what affects prices and how you can lower your car insurance rates.