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Just when you thought you'd taken advantage of every discount and shrunk your auto insurance premium to its tiniest, auto insurers are offering more ways to make your bill smaller than ever.
Almost every insurance company gives you a discount if you've had no accidents or tickets in the last three to five years, or if you buy a homeowners or renters insurance policy with the same company (multiline discount), insure more than one car on your auto insurance policy (multivehicle discount), or own a car that is equipped with air bags. But some companies will also reward you for your profession, your age, and using the Internet.
| Discounts available from 21st
Century for bachelor's degrees in: |
aeronautical engineering |
astronomy |
aerospace engineering |
biochemistry |
chemical engineering |
chemistry |
civil engineering |
cybernetics |
electrical engineering |
geology |
geophysics |
mathematics |
meteorology |
nuclear engineering |
physics |
petroleum engineering |
planetary systems |
structural engineering |
21st Century Group has found that drivers with degrees in engineering are lower risks than other drivers. If you have a bachelor's degree in any number of engineering or science-related fields — biochemistry, mathematics, or mechanical engineering, for example — you can get a discount on your auto insurance premium if you buy from them.
21st Century sells auto insurance in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, and offers the "engineering and scientist" discount in all of those states. If you're a scientist or an engineer with a good driving record, you can save between 10 and 30 percent on the company's base rate, according to Ric Hill, vice president of corporate relations.
A base rate is the average amount of claims paid plus the insurance company's claims-processing fee. For example, if the company's base rate is $400, you could save between $40 and $120.
"Our company's founder saw that educators, scientists, and engineers have lots of characteristics that seem to show that they're the best drivers," says Hill. "Engineers, for example, being accustomed to dealing with fine details, are somewhat meticulous, which means they take good care of their automobiles." 21st Century found that the same holds true for teachers and other scientists.
21st Century offers teachers a break on car insurance premiums, but only if you're certified by the State of California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, or if you are a full-time college or university professor. Savings for this program range from 10 percent to 30 percent on the company's base rate.
| Membership in military organizations for which GEICO offers a discount |
| Air Force Association |
| Air Force Sergeant's Association |
| Association of United States Army |
| Chief Petty Officer's Association |
| Fleet Reserve Association |
| Marine Corps League |
| National Military Family Association |
| Navy Federal Credit Union |
| Pentagon Federal Credit Union |
| NOTE: The discounts are not available in Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas |
GEICO offers a 2 percent to 15 percent discount to active and retired members of the military. The military discount is available in all states except Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas. GEICO, which stands for, Government Employees Insurance COrporation, has always taken pride in serving U.S. military personnel and their families.
Another benefit of buying your auto insurance with GEICO if you're in the military is your ability to drop all coverages but comprehensive if you're shipped overseas. "Most armed service personnel will put their vehicles in storage and we allow them to drop their liability and other coverages while they're out of the country," says Richard Kidd, a retired Sgt. Mjr. of the Army and assistant vice president for military services at GEICO. Additionally, if Uncle Sam sends you to a country in which the government offers hostile-fire pay, GEICO will knock 25 percent off your comprehensive bill while your car is in storage.
Remember when a nickel was worth a dime? If so, you're probably eligible for some deep discounts on your auto insurance. The Hartford's AARP Auto Insurance Program offers AARP members the chance to chop their auto insurance bills by as much as 45 percent.
The AARP program offers drivers a 20 to 25 percent (up to $300 per year) discount for insuring multiple cars on one policy, a 10 percent discount for holding both a homeowners and auto insurance policy with The Hartford, and 5 percent savings for staying with the company for more than five years and not having any violations on your driving record.
The Hartford also guarantees that drivers who buy auto insurance through the AARP program will never have their policies canceled except for nonpayment of premium, DUI conviction, or loss of license.
Eligible drivers can save up to 10% on certain MetLife Auto policy coverages when they successfully complete courses, such as that offered by the National Safety Council (NSC).
As a MetLife Auto & Home customer, you can purchase the NSC Driver Safety Course Kit, which includes a 54-minute training video or CD-ROM, a workbook, and an open-book test answer sheet, plus processing. Or, you can take the entire course and exam on the Internet for the same total cost, about $34.95, without ever leaving home. These VHS, CD-ROM and Internet home study Driver Safety Courses are adapted from NSC’s Defensive Driving Courses, arguably the world’s standard of excellence in driver improvement.
Other eligible drivers in your household, on your MetLife Auto policy, can also earn the discount by ordering additional certification workbooks and by successfully completing the course.
ING Insurance will be offering Ontario drivers its new Responsible Driver Guarantee, beginning in 2005, allowing them to claim their first at-fault accident without any impact on their premiums or their driving record. Most Ontario drivers who have been without an "at-fault" accident in the last six years will qualify for the ING Responsible Driver Guarantee, which will be available on July 1.
According to Debbie Coull-Cicchini, ING Insurance Chief Operating Officer for Ontario, "At ING Insurance, we don't believe that one bad day makes a bad driver, and we want to reward all our customers who have achieved a great driving record -- that's what this new Responsible Driver Guarantee is all about."
The ING Insurance Responsible Driver Guarantee will mean that the first time a customer has an at-fault accident, they can make a claim knowing that their premiums and good driving record will not be impacted. "It's as if the accident never happened -- customers will even keep their claims-free renewal discount!" said Coull-Cicchini. "And if they are involved in a second at-fault accident, we will treat it as if it was their first."
Web surfers who want to purchase insurance online can benefit from discounts offered by companies such as Kemper Auto and Home Insurance Co. Kemper will shave $50 off your auto insurance premium if you purchase a policy directly from Kemper's Web site.
In addition, Kemper also offers you a 10 percent discount to four-year college graduates under the age of 30. Both discounts are only available in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Sentry Insurance offers a Payback® Rewards Auto insurance policy that rewards claim-free policyholders with cash. If a driver maintains a clean driving record with no claims for five years, each year after Sentry will refund up to half of the annual insurance premium. Sentry believes responsible drivers shouldn't have to subsidize the mistakes of drunk drivers. Their Payback® programs keep drunk drivers out so good drivers can get low rates and exclusive financial rewards.
When you insure your car with Sentry's Payback® policy you will earn cash rewards for remaining claim-free. Since 1991, Sentry has paid over $87 million to Payback® policyholders.
Because of cutthroat competition in the auto insurance market, all you have to do is sniff around a little bit for good deals like these. And although you might not be a professor, teacher, engineer, or geologist, you can still save on your auto premiums by being a good driver, having good grades, or insuring more than one car.
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