Scroll Top

How to Save on Car Insurance in 2025!

multiple-carrier-brokerage

Phew, we survived the historic California Insurance Crisis of 2024! How about that? What did we learn and how can you prepare yourself to stay ahead in 2025? That is what this blog post is all about!

In 2024 many insurance companies completely shut down due to CA risk factor rate restrictions. Which left many consumers without “full coverage” options and some completely without insurance altogether. Many insurance agents and brokers ended up losing their jobs too, when insurance companies terminated their contracts for not following rules and/or not educating their clients on proper insurance coverages. – Our clients did not suffer and we kept our doors open all year long because we have always done insurance the right way! So, if you are reading this and you are looking for “Cheap” or wanting to “stick it” to the insurance companies, we are NOT the place for you. 

In this post I will not tell you how to cheat, lie or steal from the insurance company. In this post I will share some insights and tips to help you understand how it all works and so you can make an informed decision when shopping for new coverage.

  1. Don’t listen to the commercials on T.V.! Understand that claims have to be denied for commercials to be paid. It has been our experience that those that have the most commercials are the worst at paying claims when something serious occurs.
  2. Permissive Use coverage, can you live without it? This coverage extends your policy privileges to others. Some companies give you Full Permissive use and others take it away to save you a few dollars. If on a budget, you can opt out of this coverage if you can control who uses your vehicle.
  3. Uninsured Motorist, do you know how this works? Uninsured motorist bodily injury is by far the most important coverage on an auto policy today. This is the amount of insurance you are covered with if you are injured by someone with very little insurance or no insurance whatsoever. Consumers who choose a low amount of uninsured motorist end up having to personally sue the other driver when a serious accident occurs. While those of us that choose the highest amount of UMBI simply let our insurance cover and do all the work. UMPD is also part of this coverage and this is what waives your deductible in the situation mentioned above. – Choose the Uninsured Motorist amount that you can live with, because it can make you or break you in the time of need!
  4. Max out your Medical Payments if you have a high deductible health insurance or if you don’t have health insurance at all. Medical payments coverage pays your Ambulance, Emergency Room, Chiropractic Bill and also Pain & Suffering in many situations. Medical Payments coverage can reimburse your out of pocket or co-payments when you are injured.
  5. Liability, it pays others and it helps keep you safe from bankruptcy after a car accident. In California the average vehicle death suit can range from $250,000 to $500,000. Think about how much equity your house has, how much equity or value your assets have, what your annual salary is and that is where you should start in Liability coverage. Also, keep in mind that your liability coverage isn’t allowed to be lower than your UMBI. 
  6. Deductibles, choose them wisely! Although, none of us want to drive around in a ride that is scratched or dinged up, claiming small incidents can lead to paying high rates. Except for glass damage, we always suggest that you carry a $1K or higher deductible on Collision to keep monthly insurance costs down.
  7. If you are a safe drive, choose a plan where you are paying based on your driving habits to save some money. Mostly all insurance companies now offer plans tied to your true annual driving. This does two things for you – one, it provides you a discount year one for participating and two, it helps avoid a claim denial because you failed to provide accurate mileage.
  8. Bundle! But only if it makes sense. Understand that some companies give you a great discount on your Auto Insurance, but provide basic and overpriced coverage on your other policies. So bundling is something to look at but not always the best option. At our agency we can offer agency bundle discounts when insuring under different companies. For example: the auto might be with Mercury but the home is with Stillwater/Fidelity and you can still receive an agency bundle discount that works better than keeping it all under the same insurance company.
  9. Disclose all the household drivers and the entire household situation to avoid being denied a claim for Material Misrepresentation. Not all insurance companies cover the same and it is important that you tell us who lives at home and what future plans are. This way we can help you build an insurance plan that can evolve with you. For example; there might be a teen at home that will soon get their permit, so we place you with a company that does NOT charge for permit drivers. This allows you ample time to teach them how to drive and to prepare for the high costs of insuring a teen/new driver.
  10. Consider an Umbrella policy with Uninsured Motorist included! Always insure better than others and you’ll be prepared for when the worst occurs. I personally had to use my umbrella coverage and I wasn’t even driving. My teen son was hit by a teen driver as he crossed the road to get on the school bus. Unfortunately, the teen’s parents were not properly advised and their coverage was only able to pay 10% of the medical bills (ambulance, trauma hospital, helicopter transport ambulance, children’s intensive care hospital, plus rehabilitation). Never did I think that I would have to use it, but I had it just in case and it came into play when my world almost ended. So I advocate for this and proper teen coverage now more than ever before.
  11. Reach out to us for advise! We won’t try to sell to you a policy if all you need is proper advice. So please reach out if you find these tips useful and if you have other questions or even an insurance problem that your current provide can’t help you solve.

Blog post written by Domingo Ramos, CA Lic. 0F53636, National Producer Number 9071660 

Want us to help you with Auto Insurance?

No obligation to buy, complete the quote request below and I or one of my amazing licensed brokers will reach out.

 

Related Posts