Yeah, I looked into raising my deductible too, but honestly it made me nervous. Knowing my luck, I'd probably back into a pole the day after changing it... Decided to stick with bundling renter's and auto instead—surprisingly decent savings there. Also found that setting up auto-pay knocked off a few bucks each month. Not huge, but every little bit helps when you're counting pennies.
"Knowing my luck, I'd probably back into a pole the day after changing it..."
Haha, I feel this so much. I'm considered high-risk (thanks to a couple of unfortunate run-ins with curbs and parking lot pillars... sigh), so raising my deductible is a definite no-go for me. Did you notice if bundling made a big difference even with a less-than-perfect driving record? I've been hesitant to switch things around too much, but auto-pay sounds doable. Does that discount usually apply even if your driving history isn't exactly stellar?
Bundling helped me a bit, even with a couple of dings on my record. But honestly, the biggest savings came from shopping around and playing the companies against each other a little. I remember when I first got my classic Mustang insured, they quoted me something ridiculous because of one minor fender-bender. After calling around and mentioning competitor quotes, suddenly the rates dropped significantly... funny how that works. Auto-pay discounts seem pretty universal though, regardless of driving history. Worth a shot at least.
You're spot on about shopping around—companies definitely pay attention when you mention competitors. Another thing that helps is tweaking your deductibles. A slightly higher deductible can shave quite a bit off your premium, especially if you're younger or have a few dings already... just make sure it's something manageable if you ever need to use it.
Good point about deductibles—I've seen that work well for a lot of folks. When I was fresh out of college, I bumped my deductible up to save some cash. It definitely helped lower the monthly bill, but then I had a minor fender-bender and had to scramble a bit to cover it. Lesson learned: always keep enough set aside just in case... balancing savings with peace of mind is key.
