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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 auto 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 |
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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 PaybackŪ
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 PaybackŪ
programs keep drunk drivers out so good drivers can get low rates and
exclusive financial rewards.
When you insure your car with Sentry's PaybackŪ
policy you will earn cash rewards for remaining claim-free. Since 1991,
Sentry has paid over $87 million to PaybackŪ 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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