When I first moved to Pittsburgh, I was a little shy about declaring official residency. It was uncertain how long I would be staying, and I did not want to go through all the hassle of changing license, car registration, etc. only to move back to Ohio with my tail tucked between my legs 3 months later. But, finally, I did decide to get my drivers licence and car insurance switched over, in order to be a legal driver and all.
Imagine my surprise when I met with my local insurance agent only to find my policy was being dropped. Apparently, I had reached the maximum number of citations that a person can have for fender benders and such before insurance would drop me. Ah, the folly of youth.
So, here I was, stuck, searching for cheap auto insurance rates and quotes. Turned out, I was pretty high risk with all those fender benders, so only two insurance companies would take me, and both were ridiculously expensive. But I had to do it. I cut out everything unnecessary on the policy, like car rental and towing, and had the minimal amount of full coverage required by law, and it was still about $250 a month. So, here I was, paying more for insurance each month than I was for my car. Car payment and insurance together were more than my rent. Something was clearly wrong with this picture. I became a much more conscientious driver, you bet your buttons.
That was five years ago, and my rates have dropped substantially. I have even gotten a loyalty discount for being a long term customer of that insurance company. Recently, Hubby and I added each other to our policies, but we are with two different agencies. I never updated my policy to add in the extras, and when I recently had to pay to have my car towed, I realized, it might be time to make a change. I decided to have him see if it would make more sense for me to switch to his company. Lo and behold, we will be saving a ton of money by making the switch. Yet another perk of being married!
I encourage everyone, in times like this, do your homework! Search online, use technology to your advantage, and see if there are better agencies or companies out there to represent your insurance needs. There are lots of ways to save a little money here and there, and believe me, it adds up!
