How often you drive also has an effect on your ability to get cheap car insurance. This is another one of those lesser-known discounts that many insurance companies actually do offer – as long as you ask for it, of course. However, it is well known that some people drive their car more than others, and there are some demographics that are more likely to put more mileage on their vehicle than others.

But if you are not driving your car as often as the next person, there is no reason why you should be paying the same amount for car insurance – and believe it or not, car insurance companies tend to agree with you on this one; as long as you can prove it. But low mileage discounts are actually quite common, though the exact size of the discount and the requirements for proving your low mileage can vary greatly from company to company.

Conversely, if you tend to put a lot of miles on your vehicle or if you are in an occupation where you spend a great deal of time on the road (as a pizza delivery driver, for example) you can expect to pay an increased auto insurance premium.

Sometimes it’s beneficial to ask where the cutoff for a certain mileage group is. If you are lucky, you might be able to make small changes that get you down to the lower mileage group.

Most drivers don’t realize how many different payment options they actually have when it comes to paying their auto insurance premium, and this is where many auto insurance companies really cash in on their customers, preventing them from getting cheap car insurance.  So many people are used to paying for their auto insurance every six months, or even on a quarterly or monthly basis – but many times, this is going to end up costing you more in the end.

The reason for this is because most insurance companies charge additional fees to those who choose to make monthly payments. Instead, ask your insurance agent how much it will cost to pay by the year. Once you take the time to figure out the math, you’ll see exactly how much money you can save by paying off your auto insurance in one payment.

But you should also make sure to ask your agent exactly how much you are being charged for fees on monthly payments, as well. Though these fees tend to get higher the more your payment structure is broken down, if the fees are low enough it just might be worth it; especially when times are tough.

The majority of drivers who own vehicles today are not even aware of what a VIN is, let alone how it can help them save money on their auto insurance premium. But making sure that your insurance agent has this information correct really can lower your auto insurance premium.

The VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is unique to your car, and can be thought of as kind of like a serial number for your vehicle. Before 1980 there was no standard format for these numbers, so VINs from this timeframe vary greatly. Vehicles made after this time commonly have VINs consisting of 17 letters and numbers, though some newer models have shorter VINs.

But many times, your VIN will not be listed correctly, and this can result in a variety of problems. Firstly, without the proper VIN, you may be missing out on some valuable discounts that can save you a lot of money. And secondly, you may even have an insurance claim denied if the VIN on your vehicle doesn’t match the one on their policy.

Furthermore, if the insurance agent has a VIN that is incorrectly listed, your car may be incorrectly “rated” i.e. a work vehicle being listed as a recreational vehicle, or vice versa. This is why it is so important to take the time and make sure that your agent has this number listed correctly on the insurance policy, if you want to be sure you are getting cheap car insurance.

In an effort to attract more customers and to stay ahead of the competition, many insurance companies have starting offering benefits such as “accident forgiveness” and “new car replacement” plans. But what many people don’t realize is that most of these “benefits” are actually doing you more harm than good, and in reality they are only good for one thing: making sure that you pay more on your auto insurance premium.

The gimmick with the “accident forgiveness” plan is that you will be paying a higher premium (as much as 15% in some cases) so that your rates will not increase in the event of an accident.  However, experts agree that this can actually cost you more money in the long run than it saves. And especially if you are already a safe driver with a clean record, this kind of protection is completely unnecessary.  Avoid such add-ons if your goal is to get cheap car insurance.

A “new car replacement” plan offers you a new car in the event that your old vehicle is totaled in an accident – however, this is a rather misleading statement. In reality, your vehicle’s value depreciates so much the very minute you drive it off the lot that in most cases your insurance company’s payout isn’t nearly enough to pay for a brand new car.

The environment has suddenly become a number one concern for many people, and rightfully so. But perhaps nobody is more concerned with the impact that vehicles are having on our environment than the automakers themselves and of course, insurance companies. They realize the need for “green” vehicles, and many companies are now willing to compensate those with vehicles that have a low impact on our environment. And of course this compensation comes in the form of decreased auto insurance premiums for you.

Today, there are many newer models of automobiles that are being released with the environment in mind. If you own one of these environmentally-friendly vehicles, make sure to inform your insurance agent of this fact. If your car is older, however, and you still wish to decrease your vehicle’s carbon emissions in order to help the environment and save yourself some money at the same time, you’re not out of luck.

Some states have a program in place where you can receive a device that plugs into your car’s standard ScanGauge diagnostic port, and doing so will reduce your vehicle’s carbon emissions. Every six months you will be required to upload the data that has been collected by the device to your insurance agent, who will then analyze this information. Doing this may mean that you are eligible to save as much as $270 on your auto insurance premiums on a yearly basis.  Talk about a nice way to get cheap auto insurance.