How to Lower Your Car Insurance Rate

Not every method works for every driver, but most people qualify for at least three of these. The first four can be done in a single phone call or less than an hour online, with savings showing up on your next bill. The last five take more time or depend on your household situation, but they tend to produce the largest long-term reductions. 

1. Switch to a cheaper insurer: saves $520 to $890 per year
2. Stack your discounts: saves $285 to $520 per year
3. Raise your deductible: saves $150 to $400 per year
4. Adjust your coverage: saves $100 to $500 per year
5. Bundle home and auto insurance: saves $485 to $715 per year
6. Insure multiple cars on one policy: saves $680 to $945 per year
7. Improve your driving record: saves $200 to $800 per year
8. Improve your credit score: saves $125 to $900 per year
9. Shop online instead of through an agent: varies by insurer and state

Car insurers don't reward loyalty. They compete for new customers with lower prices, and your current insurer has no financial incentive to give you their best rate. Switching car insurance companies is the single highest-impact move most drivers can make, and it costs nothing but time. Our analysis found that 82% of drivers could pay less by switching to a cheaper car insurance company.

How Much You Can Save

Switching a full coverage policy saves $520 to $890 per year on average, based on our rate analysis across 67 insurers.

Best For

Any driver who hasn't compared quotes in the past 12 months. This is the most reliable option regardless of driving history or credit.

Most drivers qualify for more discounts than their insurer has applied. Insurers don't always add discounts automatically, so you have to ask. Stacking three to five discounts saves more than the sum of each part because every discount applies to the already-reduced premium, not the original. 'It saves you slightly less than 25%.

How Much You Can Save
Stacking three to five discounts saves $285 to $520 per year. Individual discounts save 5% to 15% each.
Best For
Drivers who have been with the same insurer for a year or more and haven't reviewed their discount profile. Low-mileage drivers and students benefit most from this one.

Bundling home and auto insurance lowers your rate on both policies at once. Most major insurers offer a multi-policy discount of 10% to 25% when you insure your home and car together. The key caveat: bundling only saves money if you're switching to an insurer with genuinely competitive bundled rates. Bundling home and auto with an already overpriced insurer locks in two bad rates instead of one.

How Much You Can Save
Bundling saves $485 to $715 per year on average. State Farm's bundle discount averages $847 in combined savings compared to separate policies. Our data shows a range of $124 to $1,889 per year depending on the insurer and coverage levels.
Best For
Homeowners or renters who are already shopping for car insurance. If you're renewing both policies at different times, align them to the same insurer when the next renewal comes up.

Households with two or more vehicles can pay less per vehicle by placing all cars under one policy with the same insurer. Multi-car discounts reach up to 48% at some insurers, such as Farmers, and each additional vehicle added brings the per-car cost down further.

How Much You Can Save

Most households save $680 to $945 per year by consolidating multiple vehicles under one policy.

Best For

Any household with two or more vehicles currently insured separately or with different insurers. The more cars involved, the larger the savings.

Your deductible is the amount you pay out of pocket before your insurance covers the rest of a claim. Raising it from $500 to $1,000 cuts your collision and comprehensive premium by 15% to 20%. You take on more financial exposure per claim, but you pay less every month whether or not you ever file one. For drivers with a clean record and emergency savings, it's a straightforward tradeoff.

Does this make sense for you?

Yes, if you have $1,500 or more in emergency savings, a clean driving record and low accident risk.

No, if you have limited emergency funds, a history of at-fault accidents or a financed or leased vehicle where the lender sets a deductible floor.

How Much You Can Save

Raising your deductible from $500 to $1,000 saves $150 to $400 per year.

Best For

Drivers with a clean record, stable emergency savings and older paid-off vehicles.

Matching your coverage to what you actually need can cut your premium without leaving you exposed. This one has two parts: reviewing your liability limits relative to your assets, and deciding whether full coverage still makes financial sense for your vehicle. Most drivers set these levels once and never revisit them, which means many are paying for more coverage than their situation requires.

How Much You Can Save
Adjusting coverage and limits saves $100 to $500 per year depending on current coverage levels and vehicle value.
Best For
Drivers with older paid-off vehicles worth under $8,000 and drivers whose assets don't match their current liability limits.

A clean driving record is one of the most powerful long-term rate factors insurers use. Violations and at-fault accidents raise your premium for three to five years depending on your state and the severity of the incident. Once an incident ages off your record, your rate drops, sometimes by hundreds of dollars. This isn't a quick fix, but it's one of the highest-payoff changes you can make over time.

How Much You Can Save

Driving record improvements save $200 to $800 per year once incidents age off. See lowest rates after an accident if you're shopping now with a recent violation.

Best For

Drivers with one or more incidents in the past three to five years. Also valuable for drivers who were recently in an accident. Shopping around immediately after a rate increase often turns up a better price than waiting.

In most states, insurers use a credit-based insurance score to help set your premium. A poor credit score can raise your rate as much as a DUI in some states. Improving your credit takes months, but the savings can be among the largest on this list. Note that California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan prohibit insurers from using credit scores when setting car insurance rates. This doesn't apply if you live in one of those states.

How Much You Can Save

Improving your credit score saves $125 to $900 per year depending on your starting score and how much it improves. See our guide to the best rates for drivers with a low credit score if you're shopping now.

Best For

Drivers in the 47 states where credit-based pricing is allowed, particularly those with scores below 650 where the rate impact is largest.

Shopping directly with insurers online consistently produces lower rates than going through an agent. Insurance agents earn 5% to 15% commissions on the policies they sell, and companies that rely on agent networks build those costs into their pricing. When you shop online, you access the full range of direct-to-consumer insurers, which tend to price more competitively because they're not carrying agent commission overhead.
Working with a captive agent also limits your options to the insurers that agent represents. An independent agent has more flexibility, but online shopping still gives you the widest market view.

How Much You Can Save
Savings from online vs. agent shopping vary by insurer and state, but the gap is built into the pricing structure of agent-dependent carriers.
Best For
Any driver shopping for a new policy or approaching renewal. This approach costs nothing extra and takes the same amount of time.

No single method gets you to maximum savings on its own. The biggest reductions come from combining strategies. Switching insurers while stacking three to five discounts and bundling your home policy can push total annual savings past $1,500. Adding a deductible adjustment on top takes it further. Our analysis confirms that drivers who layer these changes consistently outperform those who use only one. Start with switching, which has the highest baseline impact, then add discounts, bundling and coverage adjustments from there.

Lowering your car insurance rate doesn't require a perfect driving record or great credit. Start by comparing quotes from at least five insurers. That single step saves most drivers $520 to $890 per year. From there, stack discounts, adjust your deductible and revisit your coverage levels. Drivers who combine three or more of these routinely cut $1,000 or more from their annual bill. Our analysis found that 87% of drivers are currently paying more than they need to.