24 car insurance discounts that are worth asking your insurer about today
With inflation high and interest rates rising, it can feel impossible to save money. But when every dollar counts, re-evaluating where and how much you spend every month can go a long way.
One of the areas where you could potentially cut costs is your car insurance payments and we found several ways for you to save on your premiums.
Several of the biggest car insurers in the U.S. give out discounts for all kinds of reasons from being a loyal customer to driving safely.
We gathered information from the largest 10 insurance companies in the U.S. (Allstate, Farmers, American Family, Geico, Travelers, USAA, State Farm, Nationwide, Liberty Mutual, Progressive) and compiled their discounts in one list so you don’t have to.
To make every dollar count, make sure you are getting every discount available to you.
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1. Multiple policy discount
Offered by: Allstate, American Family, Farmers, Geico, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, State Farm, Travelers, USAA
It’s one of the most common discounts offered by insurers.
If you have multiple policies with an insurer, such as home, auto, small business, renters or condo insurance, you’ll get a better rate.
With some providers, you can save up to 13% by bundling your insurance.
2. Multiple vehicle discount
Offered by: American Family, Farmers, Geico, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, State Farm, Travelers, USAA
If you have more than one vehicle that needs insurance you could qualify for a significant discount. Most of the large providers will give you a discount if you have multiple vehicles with the same company.
For example, Geico will give you up to 25% off most of your car insurance coverages when you extend your coverage to two or more vehicles.
3. Sign up early
Offered by: American Family, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, Travelers
If you’re looking for a new provider or policy, make sure you sign up before your current policy runs out, it could save you a lot.
Switching to a new company before your current policy runs out, or at least 7 days before you need the new policy to come into effect, and you’ll qualify for a discount.
How much you will save can depend on the state you live in, but if you’re looking for change, this is an easy win.
4. Paying in full discount
Offered by: Allstate, American Family, Farmers, Progressive, Travelers
Being willing to pay the full policy cost upfront can actually save you money.
Several insurers will give you a discounted rate if you pay your full premium all at once at the time of purchase instead of in installments.
It can be a big upfront cost, but it could save you as much as 10% overall.
5. Pay electronically or sign up online discount
Offered by: Allstate, American Family, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, Travelers
Signing up to make your payments automatically is convenient and could go a long way in saving you money.
Several insurance providers have automatic payment systems and will give you a discount when you sign up for paperless payments.
6. New car discount
Offered by: Allstate, Geico, Travelers, USAA
There are benefits to owning a new car that go beyond the smell.
Several providers will offer you a discount on your insurance if you are your car’s first owner, if your car is a current model year or it’s less than three years old.
7. Responsible payer discount
Offered by: Allstate, Farmers
If you pay your insurance bill on time each month, and haven’t received a cancellation notice for non-payment within the last year, then you probably qualify for this discount.
Check with your provider when you’re renewing your policy to ensure the discount is applied.
8. Loyalty discount
Insurer: American Family, Travelers, USAA
Being loyal to your insurance provider could save you some money.
The amount of the discount you will get depends on how long you’re with the company and whether you have any gaps in your time as a customer.
And you can get an additional discount from American Family for being a second-generation customer. If your parents are also with the company, you could save.
9. Switching providers discount
Insurer: American Family, Progressive, USAA
Unlike saving because you’ve stayed with a company for a long time, you can save if you switch to the competition.
How big the discount is could depend on what state you live in or how long you were with your previous provider.
If you are comparing providers, make sure to ask them if they offer any incentives of this kind.
10. Good driving discount
Offered by: Allstate, American Family, Farmers, Geico, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, State Farm, Travelers, USAA
A clean driving record is one of
Most of the biggest car insurance providers will give you a discount for being a good driver.
For example, if you haven’t had an accident in five years, you could get up to 22% off from Geico.
11. Seat belt discount
Insurers: Geico
At least one insurer will give you a discount if you and everyone in your vehicle always buckles up.
With Geico, you could get a discount on the medical payments or personal injury part of your premium.
12. Auto safety features discount
Offered by: American Family, Geico, USAA, State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, Liberty Mutual
Does your vehicle have air bags? What about anti-lock, or anti-theft systems? Daytime running lights? These features can save you money with several insurers.
You could get up to 40% off on your medical-related coverage.
You may have to prove you have certain systems installed.
13. Young volunteer
Offered by: American Family
Insurance coverage tends to be high for younger drivers, luckily there are quite a few discounts that could apply to them.
Giving back to your community could also save you money when it comes to your auto insurance.
You can save money with at least one provider if you’re under 25 and do 40 hours of volunteer work a year at a non-profit.
14. Student discount
Offered by: AllState, American Family, Farmers, Geico, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, Travelers, USAA
Here’s one more reason to study, most providers will give you a discount for keeping your grades up.
As long as you’re under 25 and maintain at least a B average, you’re likely a shoe-in for this discount.
Getting on the Dean’s list or in the top 20% of your class could help you save up to 15% on your premium.
15. Student living away discount
Offered by: American Family, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, Travelers
Having your child move away for school might be hard but it could save money on your car insurance policy.
If your child is still on your policy, under the age of 25, living more than 100 miles away and only occasionally drives your vehicle, then you could qualify for a discount.
16. Family discounts
Offered by: Farmers, Progressive, State Farm
Young drivers are typically more expensive to insure, but some providers will help you save on that.
Some providers will give a discount for having a teenager, a new driver or a driver that’s under 25 on your policy.
Are your kids asking to use the car all the time? If you have at least one driver in your household that is younger than 20 and you have more active drivers than vehicles, you could get a discount applied to every vehicle on your policy.
17. Homeowner discount
Insurer: Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Progressive, Travelers
Owning a home comes with a lot of benefits and one of them is getting cheaper car insurance.
Plenty of providers will give you a discount for owning a house or condo even if that house isn’t insured by that company.
18. Driver education discount
Offered by: Geico, Travelers, USAA
Here’s an instance where a little education can go a long way.
If you have a young driver on your policy ensure they’ve done driver’s education training. If you, or a driver on your policy, has completed an approved education course, you could get a discount.
19. Defensive driver discount
Offered by: American Family, Farmers, Geico, Nationwide, State Farm, USAA
If you’re over 55 years old you might want to consider doing a defensive driving course. Many of the courses can be done online.
Not only will it help keep your skills fresh, it could save you money with several insurance providers.
How much you’ll save once you’ve done the course can depend on what state you live in.
20. Program discount
Offered by: American Family, Liberty Mutual, State Farm, Travelers
Several of the big providers will offer you a discount if you sign up and qualify for certain programs, such as Know Your Drive and Intellidrive Drive.
However, some of these programs capture data on your driving and, if you’ve diven unsafely, it could result in you paying more for your insurance.
21. Lower mileage
Offered by: American Family, Nationwide, USAA
You don’t have to do much to get this discount, the less you drive the less you pay.
A few providers will give you a discount for having a low mileage, which is less than 7,500 miles per year, according to American Family.
Additionally, if you’re storing your vehicle you could get up to 60% off with USAA.
22. Alternative fuel discount
Offered by: Farmers, Travelers
Going green could save you some green when it comes to your insurance.
If you’ve opted for a vehicle that runs on something other than gasoline only, such as a hybrid, electric or even propane, you’ll qualify for a discount.
In the case of Farmers, the discount is only available in California.
23. Military discount
Offered by: Farmers, Geico, State Farm, USAA, Liberty Mutual
Members of the military, National Guard or Reserves, including retired members, will qualify for discounts from several of the major providers. With Geico you can get up to 15% off the cost of certain coverages.
You can also qualify for 25% more in discounts if you’re part of an emergency deployment. And if you are heading out on deployment and storing your vehicle, there are discounts available for that.
24. Affinity discount
Offered by: Farmers, Geico, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Travelers
Even if you’re not in the military, there are still more discounts to be had for other professions and the affiliations you have.
For example, Travelers offers savings to members of certain businesses and credit unions, while Geico has discounts for federal government employees and a list of more than 500 groups that qualify for savings.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
