Reddit's Guide to Buying Car Insurance

Reddit might be where you crowdsourced what type of car to buy or good neighborhoods to move into – why not trust them to get the best car insurance tips?

"The key is to constantly shop around and switch even though it is a huge pain in the ass. Companies know that you don’t have the time or want to shop for something so they slowly boil you in a pot of water and then after 5 years you suddenly look at your bill and can’t believe what you are paying."

"Don’t lie about your garaging address. That is material misrepresentation and could get any potential claims denied if they find out. The insurance companies are getting more aggressive about confirming information listed on the application at time of purchase and if they think you intentionally misrepresented anything on the application they will deny your claim and immediately terminate your policy. With the current state of the insurance industry in CA, I would not advise risking your coverage to save a few bucks. You’ll end up paying way more in the long run."

"I shop around every six months for our auto insurance. For the last 2+ years it has consistently increased but no one has been able to beat Progressive for us in that time. I also recommend, if you can, to pay the six month premium upfront. It can save you HUNDREDS. I pay with a 0% interest promo rate on one of my credit cards then pay it off monthly. Also, you’ve learned a valuable life lesson. Before buying any vehicle you ALWAYS get insurance quotes first. You always need to factor that in with the new car payment."

"Shop around. Ask your agent if they're applying all discounts. Remove comp and collision on an older car if you've paid it off and can save some of the money. Car insurance is one of the last things you want to skimp on. If the monthly payment is bad, then causing a fender bender and getting sued is even worse. Or getting pulled over and impounded and losing your job. Or getting hit by someone with no insurance and being hospitalized."

"Perhaps the biggest lesson here - I did not realize how badly underinsured I was until I really started shopping around. When I was 22 I was looking for bare bones, cheap insurance. I was a broke college kid trying to get off my parents plan, so I took 25K property damage and 50K personal injury (woefully inadequate) but also took things I honestly didn't need like supplemental health, accidental death and loss of income benefits...Every time I shopped around for insurance in the past 10 years, I sent other insurers my standing policy and they basically tried to quote me equivalent or lower than that, cause they were trying to win me over on price. Nobody stopped to actually discuss my situation and how underinsured I was - and you know what? That's my fault. I was being negligent."

"When you can afford to replace your car out of your emergency fund. (Or better yet, your new car fund.) You could jack up the deductibles instead if you can afford to cover them out of your emergency fund. That would lower your bill, but still protect you, and you would still get service from your insurance company in case of an accident."

"My auto policy covers $250K in single-person injury claims. If I cause a terrible accident and severely injure someone, the claim could exceed $250K and the remainder would come out of my pocket. With an umbrella policy, I get an additional $1M of protection. It is called "umbrella" because it covers many things. My homeowner's policy limits are also covered by it, and other things like boats would be if I owned one."

"One bad at fault wreck could clear out your entire brokerage account. If you have "state minimums", and most people do it means you are on the hook for anything above and beyond that. Your house and retirement accounts are usually safe from lawsuits, your 500k taxable brokerage accounts are NOT. This puts FIRE people at more risk then most others. Imagine driving on the highway and you get hit with a violent sneeze, you hand slips off the wheel and you cause a 6 car pile up. Could happen to anyone. Total damages and medical bills end up at 800k. Your insurance only covers 200k. Only unlike most people you have assets worth going after in court. Goodbye savings, goodbye retirement."

"You know what really sucks about not owning a car and not carrying auto insurance? When you ride your bike everywhere and you get hit by a car and they flee the scene or they don't have insurance and you are told to go pound sand and [are] left holding medical bills, left to deal with no income because you can't work due to injuries. I would never sell my car and not own one simply because I need to coverages that auto-insurance provides me should anything bad happen. Plus never drive any vehicle without auto insurance. If you don't carry insurance don't drive a friends car and don't get a rental car. FYI You can own non-vehicle specific auto policies that cover you. Please do this."