Thrifty Thursday - Shop Around On Insurance

This week for my Thrifty Thursday post, I'm reminding you again to shop around for car and home insurance.

Every year, you should ask for a new review from your provider. You should also ask other providers for a quote to see if maybe there is a cheaper option - just because one insurance company was cheaper a year ago, doesn't mean it still is. Life changes, and if you are still driving the same car for instance, it's a little older, and your premium costs may have gone down.

Does your insurance company offer a discount if you have both auto and home (or renter's) insurance through them? Sometimes you have to ask to get it!

Go over what your insurance covers. Does it cover towing in case of an accident? If you're also paying for AAA, or another auto club membership, chances are you're paying overkill - you don't need both! Make sure that the coverage you are paying for is exactly what you need. Does one company offer an extra service included in their costs that are worth it? As an example, I know we pay a little more for Progressive than others have quoted, but included in our coverage is that if we are ever in an accident with our dogs in the car, our vet bills are covered. Since the dogs go with us much of the time, we found it worth the extra $20 every year for this, but if you don't, why would you pay for it?

If you drive a car older than 10 years, remember that the replacement value isn't very much. You're better off taking the extra money saved from paying for that part of the insurance and putting it into a savings account. You can also raise your deductible as an option to save money if you need to, but I recommend you take any money saved and put it in your savings account too just in case you are in an accident and need it. (At least, you'll be making a bit of interest off of it)

Check ValPak and other coupon mailers sent to your home as well. Sometimes you will see coupons in it for a rate quote. Recently, we received one for two free movie tickets if we asked for a quote. Since it was time, and we shop around, it was a great offer to be able to take advantage of!