There are four major categories of discounts offered by major insurers that can save you money on your insurance bill:
Here are some of the specific discounts we found for six of the largest auto insurers (as of May 2020):
Military or Employer | Anti-Theft Features | Loyalty | Driver History |
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You’ve done all your research and you’ve examined which insurers provide the cheapest car insurance, plus offer the best services to fix your car if something goes wrong. But are you really getting the best deal? Definitely not, if you’re not digging into the labyrinth of discounts that an insurer offers.
We’ve listed the “big four” above, but as with everything insurance-related, there’s always fine print:
There are other significant discounts that you should be aware of before you go signing up with one insurer.
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in almost every insurance company offering some kind of rebate or discount on their services. Mostly, these rebates were automatic. You either got a check in the mail, or had a discount applied to upcoming months, but if you didn’t see any kind of reduction, be sure to contact your insurer. Here’s a sampling of what discounts were provided this year:
Allstate customers should’ve received a 15% rebate of their April and May insurance premiums, during the most impactful months of the crisis.
Farmer’s Insurance provided a 20% credit on monthly premiums.
GEICO provided a 15% kickback not only to its auto customers, but to motorcycle policy holders as well.
Nationwide provided a one-time $50 check, which -- depending on how much your premium is -- amounted to about a 15% discount for two months.
Progressive spent about a billion dollars kicking back 15 percent of premiums for the months of May and June.
State Farm provided some of the biggest discounts, about 25% of premiums from March 20 through May 31, 2020.
Travelers kicked back 15% of premiums in April and May.
USAA paid it forward by offering existing policyholders a 20% discount on two months of upcoming premiums.
If you’re a member of anything, have graduated from anywhere, or paid dues to some club, there’s a pretty good chance that you can get some nominal discount off of your insurance. Sometimes you can bundle these discounts, but you’re usually offered the one that takes the most off the top. To give you an idea of what kind of discounts are available, we took a look at one insurer -- GEICO -- to find out just how many organizations were applicable for some kind of discount. The answer is: Hundreds. Thousands even. We’ve listed all of those organizations here, but keep in mind, this is for ONE insurer. It would behoove you to ask the next time you need to buy insurance whether or not the Loyal Order of Water Buffalo lodge that you belong to might provide you with some kind of discount on your insurance.
As of May 2020, you can get a GEICO insurance discount if you have any of the following associations:
Compare quotes from multiple providers to get a good deal.
Most savvy insurers are going to ask you if you belong to any professional organizations or other membership clubs, but it’s your job to have these examples in mind. We’ve provided a starting place for you, but think about where you work, where you went to college, what clubs you belong to, even what hobbies you have, and there may be some discount you can apply.
That answer depends on hundreds of factors including your age, the city you live in, the car you drive, your gender, your marital status, your credit history and more. To determine which insurers are more likely to offer a better deal, see our main insurance story.
Sure, just the way that you can negotiate the cost of cable television. For the most part, you’re over a barrel, but if you threaten to take your business to another vendor, suddenly there may be some discounts you didn’t realize applied to you.
That depends, both on the insurer and the state where your vehicle is insured. Some states don’t allow for discounts, while others let you pile ‘em on like chicken wings at a buffet.
Most definitely. If you have anti-theft equipment, airbags or anti-lock brakes, there’s probably a discount somewhere with your insurer. There are also discounts for things like daytime running lights, which have been mandatory for years.
Yes. Most insurers offer discounts for good grades. The student needs to carry a B average and needs to provide transcripts to the insurer to prove the grades. The other discount you can take advantage of is an “away from home” discount. If your college student goes away to school without a car, you can often realize a discount for the months that they’re not doing a lot of driving.
Yes. Most insurers will provide a discount -- sometimes automatically -- if you don’t drive much. Most of us got some kind of discount without even asking for it during the Coronavirus lockdown, where tens of millions of us weren’t driving at all for months at a time. If you’re retired and not driving to work every day, it may be worth your while to call and ask whether there’s some kind of discount for not putting as many miles on your vehicle.