Author Topic: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?  (Read 13012 times)

Future Lazy

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Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« on: October 22, 2014, 05:02:38 PM »
Hello all!

I recently tackled and reduced my phone bill, and now I'm moving on to my car insurance bill. Whee.

We currently have insurance through Progressive, on a 2001 manual PT Cruiser. Our state is Colorado, our neighborhood is really safe (yuppies, woo), and our driving stays under the avg 10k a year, and will likely get to be less as we grow our frugality muscles. Only driver is my husband: Male, married, 21 years old, good driving record (one speeding ticket). Insurance is liability only, since we own our car. What I've been told by my elders is that we have to suck up car insurance costs until my husband is over 24 years old, but I have a hard time believing that the buck stops there. Right now we pay between $115 and $122/mo for this, but I'd like to cut that down (way down, if I can).

I searched the forums, but the only thing I found was MetroMile, which isn't available in my state - Colorado. Bummer.

Does anyone have some hand guides or resources, or innovative suggestions for cutting this expense?
Thanks!

I haven't been able to find any other resources on tips to cut car insurance hardcore.
« Last Edit: October 22, 2014, 07:04:22 PM by KaylaEM »

Beric01

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2014, 05:06:16 PM »
Can you provide the coverage level of the insurance?

I recently sold my car, in part to avoid the outrageous insurance. I bike everywhere now. That's the truly hardcore way to reduce the cost - cut it entirely. ;)

nereo

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2014, 05:06:30 PM »
Yes - call them and actually talk to an agent.  Tell them what other companies are offering and ask them to do better by 5-10%.  It works a surprising amount of times.

Also, consider how much coverage you really need.  Every 'line' of insurance is earning your insurance company a small profit. 

forummm

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2014, 06:50:37 PM »
Call the insurer and ask if there are any other discounts available, such as good student (if in school), defensive driver training class, etc.

Also get quotes from other insurers to see if they can beat the price.

When I was around that age (in the prior millennium) my insurance cost $150 per month for just me, and that was after the good driver, good student, and driver training discounts. It's just hard being in that demo.

Primm

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2014, 06:56:07 PM »
Yep, there's a lower price limit for that demographic. Unfortunately it's because males under 25 are statistically more likely to wreck their car than other people. Works for the group, sucks for the responsible individual.

Only way out of it completely is to age up, sorry.

Beric01

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #5 on: October 22, 2014, 07:05:06 PM »
Yep, there's a lower price limit for that demographic. Unfortunately it's because males under 25 are statistically more likely to wreck their car than other people. Works for the group, sucks for the responsible individual.

Only way out of it completely is to age up, sorry.

FYI - I find it interesting that it's legal to discriminate against men in auto insurance due to increased risk, but now illegal to discriminate against women in health insurance due to increased risk. But that's just another double standard. Yay for statistical discrimination!

When I was still driving, I was one of the most responsible drivers on the road (NEVER got a ticket, for example). Didn't count for much against the fact that I was born male, nor did I have any choice to not purchase insurance. IMO going carless was a major hit against the unfair system.

Dan_at_Home

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #6 on: October 22, 2014, 07:11:20 PM »
you could stop driving altogether sell the car (or permanently put it in storage) and use your bike to get around; otherwise, if you have to drive you have to have insurance, there is no other way around it; you have pretty got the premium as low as you can for now; that is why a car is called a liability!
« Last Edit: October 22, 2014, 07:12:51 PM by Dan_at_Home »

Future Lazy

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #7 on: October 22, 2014, 07:12:22 PM »
Yep, there's a lower price limit for that demographic. Unfortunately it's because males under 25 are statistically more likely to wreck their car than other people. Works for the group, sucks for the responsible individual.

Only way out of it completely is to age up, sorry.

FYI - I find it interesting that it's legal to discriminate against men in auto insurance due to increased risk, but now illegal to discriminate against women in health insurance due to increased risk. But that's just another double standard. Yay for statistical discrimination!

When I was still driving, I was one of the most responsible drivers on the road (NEVER got a ticket, for example). Didn't count for much against the fact that I was born male, nor did I have any choice to not purchase insurance. IMO going carless was a major hit against the unfair system.

I really have to agree with this whole train of thought, knowing how safe of a driver my husband is, even at a young age. And knowing what a crappy and unsafe driver my father is, even after age 50. Gross, but whatever. I know time will help us age out of it, but I'm looking for immediate solutions as well.

Can you provide the coverage level of the insurance?

I recently sold my car, in part to avoid the outrageous insurance. I bike everywhere now. That's the truly hardcore way to reduce the cost - cut it entirely. ;)

Liability only, I don't really know the details. Bare bones, though. Modified the original post to include this! As far as bike transportation goes, we're headed in that direction, but both of us our out of shape and a 10mi bike commute every day is too much for me - which is why I was so interested in something like MetroMile, where the charge is based on actual use of the car, since we live close to our jobs and social lives, and drive less than average as it is.

Yes - call them and actually talk to an agent.  Tell them what other companies are offering and ask them to do better by 5-10%.  It works a surprising amount of times.

Also, consider how much coverage you really need.  Every 'line' of insurance is earning your insurance company a small profit. 

Any suggestions on an efficient way to do this without having to pick up a phone? I work 6:45a to 5p or later every weekday, with limited lunch and breaks, and that makes it hard to contact a lot of other business hoursy places during the week.
« Last Edit: October 22, 2014, 07:16:13 PM by KaylaEM »

Gin1984

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #8 on: October 22, 2014, 07:15:19 PM »
Yep, there's a lower price limit for that demographic. Unfortunately it's because males under 25 are statistically more likely to wreck their car than other people. Works for the group, sucks for the responsible individual.

Only way out of it completely is to age up, sorry.

FYI - I find it interesting that it's legal to discriminate against men in auto insurance due to increased risk, but now illegal to discriminate against women in health insurance due to increased risk. But that's just another double standard. Yay for statistical discrimination!

When I was still driving, I was one of the most responsible drivers on the road (NEVER got a ticket, for example). Didn't count for much against the fact that I was born male, nor did I have any choice to not purchase insurance. IMO going carless was a major hit against the unfair system.
You are in Ca right?  You do have a choice then, you can give them a $50,000 bond.  Well at least you could when I was young.  I do wish they would have something like this for health insurance.

Gin1984

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #9 on: October 22, 2014, 07:16:38 PM »
Yep, there's a lower price limit for that demographic. Unfortunately it's because males under 25 are statistically more likely to wreck their car than other people. Works for the group, sucks for the responsible individual.

Only way out of it completely is to age up, sorry.

FYI - I find it interesting that it's legal to discriminate against men in auto insurance due to increased risk, but now illegal to discriminate against women in health insurance due to increased risk. But that's just another double standard. Yay for statistical discrimination!

When I was still driving, I was one of the most responsible drivers on the road (NEVER got a ticket, for example). Didn't count for much against the fact that I was born male, nor did I have any choice to not purchase insurance. IMO going carless was a major hit against the unfair system.

I really have to agree with this whole train of thought, knowing how safe of a driver my husband is, even at a young age. And knowing what a crappy and unsafe driver my father is, even after age 50. Gross, but whatever. I know time will help us age out of it, but I'm looking for immediate solutions as well.

Can you provide the coverage level of the insurance?

I recently sold my car, in part to avoid the outrageous insurance. I bike everywhere now. That's the truly hardcore way to reduce the cost - cut it entirely. ;)

Liability only, I don't really know the details. Bare bones, though. Modified the original post to include this! As far as bike transportation goes, I'm headed in that direction myself, and might get my husband to come along - which is why I was so interested in something like MetroMile, where the charge is based on actual use of the car, since we live close to our jobs and social lives, and drive less than average as it is.

Yes - call them and actually talk to an agent.  Tell them what other companies are offering and ask them to do better by 5-10%.  It works a surprising amount of times.

Also, consider how much coverage you really need.  Every 'line' of insurance is earning your insurance company a small profit. 

Any suggestions on an efficient way to do this without having to pick up a phone? I work 6:45a to 5p or later every weekday, with limited lunch and breaks, and that makes it hard to contact a lot of other business hoursy places during the week.
You can get quotes online, and geico (my insurance) is open on weekends.  One thing that might help, put yourself as the primary driver.

Future Lazy

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #10 on: October 22, 2014, 07:19:39 PM »
You can get quotes online, and geico (my insurance) is open on weekends.  One thing that might help, put yourself as the primary driver.

Since I don't drive and don't have a driver's license, I'm fairly sure I can't be a primary driver. We've considered that, though - and if I'm wrong, someone please correct me.

Beric01

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #11 on: October 22, 2014, 07:25:02 PM »
Yep, there's a lower price limit for that demographic. Unfortunately it's because males under 25 are statistically more likely to wreck their car than other people. Works for the group, sucks for the responsible individual.

Only way out of it completely is to age up, sorry.

FYI - I find it interesting that it's legal to discriminate against men in auto insurance due to increased risk, but now illegal to discriminate against women in health insurance due to increased risk. But that's just another double standard. Yay for statistical discrimination!

When I was still driving, I was one of the most responsible drivers on the road (NEVER got a ticket, for example). Didn't count for much against the fact that I was born male, nor did I have any choice to not purchase insurance. IMO going carless was a major hit against the unfair system.
You are in Ca right?  You do have a choice then, you can give them a $50,000 bond.  Well at least you could when I was young.  I do wish they would have something like this for health insurance.

Looks like it's a 35K bond right now. Problem with that route is the opportunity cost of the bond - you could be getting better returns elsewhere. And in the case of health insurance, my bond is my Vanguard account - hence why I'd be fine with an extremely high deductible plan.

Gin1984

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #12 on: October 22, 2014, 07:28:44 PM »
You can get quotes online, and geico (my insurance) is open on weekends.  One thing that might help, put yourself as the primary driver.

Since I don't drive and don't have a driver's license, I'm fairly sure I can't be a primary driver. We've considered that, though - and if I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
It may be cheaper for you to get your license (have your husband teach you) and then move it.  Both cars are in my name and the insurance is as well because it is much, much cheaper even over 24, for males.   For women the rates drop at 21 instead.

Future Lazy

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #13 on: October 22, 2014, 07:47:49 PM »
You can get quotes online, and geico (my insurance) is open on weekends.  One thing that might help, put yourself as the primary driver.

Since I don't drive and don't have a driver's license, I'm fairly sure I can't be a primary driver. We've considered that, though - and if I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
It may be cheaper for you to get your license (have your husband teach you) and then move it.  Both cars are in my name and the insurance is as well because it is much, much cheaper even over 24, for males.   For women the rates drop at 21 instead.

I know how to drive, but I choose not to because of psychological health reasons - driving (and sometimes riding, if the driver is dangerous or reckless) can induce panic attacks in me, and I am very jumpy which makes me a dangerous person behind the wheel of a car, so I choose not to drive. I'm in therapy for this and other things related to my anxiety, but still haven't overcome this fear.

Not that you aren't completely right, that would be the fastest and most effective way to reduce our car insurance costs, but it's not something I'm able to do, so I'm looking for ways to reduce the husband's insurance on other ingenuities.

Beric01

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #14 on: October 22, 2014, 08:05:23 PM »
You can get quotes online, and geico (my insurance) is open on weekends.  One thing that might help, put yourself as the primary driver.

Since I don't drive and don't have a driver's license, I'm fairly sure I can't be a primary driver. We've considered that, though - and if I'm wrong, someone please correct me.
It may be cheaper for you to get your license (have your husband teach you) and then move it.  Both cars are in my name and the insurance is as well because it is much, much cheaper even over 24, for males.   For women the rates drop at 21 instead.

I know how to drive, but I choose not to because of psychological health reasons - driving (and sometimes riding, if the driver is dangerous or reckless) can induce panic attacks in me, and I am very jumpy which makes me a dangerous person behind the wheel of a car, so I choose not to drive. I'm in therapy for this and other things related to my anxiety, but still haven't overcome this fear.

Not that you aren't completely right, that would be the fastest and most effective way to reduce our car insurance costs, but it's not something I'm able to do, so I'm looking for ways to reduce the husband's insurance on other ingenuities.

Just curious - are there no mass transit or carpooling options available? Can you use car-sharing options when needed? I would price these options out and see how the total cost compares with car ownership.

I acted like I had no car for 2 months and realized I didn't miss it. At that point I decided I could be confident enough to get rid of it entirely. You may want to consider a similar path at some point. It really is freeing to not have a car!

Hotstreak

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #15 on: October 22, 2014, 08:06:19 PM »
From your first post, it looks like you're paying monthly, is that correct?  There's usually a pretty good discount for paying 6 months ahead.  If you decide to change part way through, they refund you the unused portion.


If you have renters insurance, homeowners, etc., see what package discounts you're eligible for.



Also look in to one-time sign up bonuses.  My previous insurer gave $50 off to sign up for a new policy online, so every 6 months I signed up for a new policy and canceled my old one.  Because there was no actual break in service I got the "perks" for being a long time customer.


Last thing, go through and reduce coverage levels ($$ amounts) for each insured category, as low as you are comfortable with.

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #16 on: October 22, 2014, 09:47:26 PM »
From the title, I was going to say, "Well, getting married should help, but it's a little drastic," but I see you've already tried that :-). Mr. FP and I were young newlyweds and we got a big refund on our car insurance when we tied the knot--but we did pay six months ahead. Do look into that option!

Jmoody10

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #17 on: October 23, 2014, 07:02:46 AM »
I am a young male and pay $32 a month with geico. I max out all of the discounts and even called to find out how I can reduce my cost further.

Geico let's you do an online defensive driver discount. Saved $10 a month. Cost was $50 total.

I pay with auto pay and twice a year. I installed an anti theft switch on my car for $7. Etc.

VirginiaBob

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #18 on: October 23, 2014, 07:17:06 AM »
Not sure if you have already done this, but give them a call and say you want the highest legal deductible and lowest legal insurance coverage.  And shop around.  If you have a house, try for a multi-policy discount.  Not sure what else you can do.

YoungInvestor

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #19 on: October 23, 2014, 08:07:35 AM »
Call several companies. Some want to attract younger drivers (For the potential long-term value of their business) and are ready to statistically make no (or very little) profit on this age group.

Get quotes online, then call the best few companies. Tell them you're shopping around and the best price so far is X, but they're close.

You'll probably notice that one or two insurers may be far lower than the others. Again, this chalks up to underwriting guidelines and how you fit in with their business distributions. If they're already insuring every other driver in your city, they may be less interested than if they're opening up a new market and want market share, even at the expense of profit.

I do find it pretty interesting that the same state allows rating based on the gender for auto insurance and not for health insurance, if the above posts are correct.

merula

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #20 on: October 23, 2014, 08:18:19 AM »
+1 to all of the suggestions to call for discounts, increase your deductible, decrease your limits, multi-policy discounts, etc. One thing I haven't heard is to call an independent agent, which I'd definitely do. You can ask for quotes to beat your current price; if they don't find anything you don't have to switch.

FYI - I find it interesting that it's legal to discriminate against men in auto insurance due to increased risk, but now illegal to discriminate against women in health insurance due to increased risk. But that's just another double standard. Yay for statistical discrimination!

When I was still driving, I was one of the most responsible drivers on the road (NEVER got a ticket, for example). Didn't count for much against the fact that I was born male, nor did I have any choice to not purchase insurance. IMO going carless was a major hit against the unfair system.

Women's healthcare costs more because of the cost of pregnancy care. Last I checked, no woman has ever needed that without some involvement on the part of a man. I don't see an issue with sharing the monetary costs of offspring across both sexes.

Gone Fishing

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #21 on: October 23, 2014, 08:19:50 AM »
I wouldn't think a PT Cruiser would be considered a "sports" car, but crazier things have happened.  Talk to your agent and see if the PT is considered a high risk vehicle.  If it is, another company might not think so, but if you find it to be true across the board, it might be worth it to sell the PT and buy a different model with a lower risk profile.

Future Lazy

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #22 on: October 23, 2014, 08:30:56 AM »
Just curious - are there no mass transit or carpooling options available? Can you use car-sharing options when needed? I would price these options out and see how the total cost compares with car ownership.

I acted like I had no car for 2 months and realized I didn't miss it. At that point I decided I could be confident enough to get rid of it entirely. You may want to consider a similar path at some point. It really is freeing to not have a car!

Funny that - I used to take the bus home very often, although it was a 45min-1hr bus ride (but a 10 minute drive??? I don't make the rules...). When RTD built the W lightrail, they closed my bus route when they opened the train, and now the bus that passes closest to my business park is more than 5 miles away, and also stops 2 miles from my house. If I was more fit and able to handle that much biking, I would simply bike the whole way, since it's silly to hop on a bus for only 2-3 miles. As far as commuting, the better choice would be to move into a better apartment where my employer will allow me to telecommute, but that's still a bit of a ways off.

I wouldn't think a PT Cruiser would be considered a "sports" car, but crazier things have happened.  Talk to your agent and see if the PT is considered a high risk vehicle.  If it is, another company might not think so, but if you find it to be true across the board, it might be worth it to sell the PT and buy a different model with a lower risk profile.

It's actually considered a truck, which could change the costs, but I'm not sure. However, my stash is really tiny (emerg fund only) and my husband is currently in the debt paydown stage of life. We've been thinking of switching, but selling the PT wouldn't bring enough cash to buy anything else more worth having without debt behind it. We've also put about 4k of work into it, which is partially where the debt is held. So we're holding off on that, it doesn't fit our 22 year old paychecks yet.

To all others:
Thanks everyone for the excellent suggestions, most of which just involve picking up the phone and bothering people for lower rates. I did check a few online quotes last night, and it does seem that our current rate is the lowest we're going to get, if we go that way. I'll try to get the husband to make some calls, but he's pretty phone averse, so we'll see how it goes.

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #23 on: October 23, 2014, 08:42:19 AM »
I think adding you would probably help even if you never drive.  Also when you talk to agents, ask about specific discounts for your husbands profession (or yours, if you add yourself).  The ones that require proof may be best- for example I was with Geico who gave me a discount for being an engineer and I'm now with Farmer's which is actually cheaper for me, and I suspect part of that is that with Geico anyone could say they're an engineer, whereas Farmer's required a photocopy of my degree or transcript.

Scandium

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #24 on: October 23, 2014, 09:06:27 AM »
Can you opt in to the Progressive spyware GPS tracker? They claim this will lower your premium, if you drive safely that is..

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #25 on: October 23, 2014, 09:10:49 AM »
Yep, there's a lower price limit for that demographic. Unfortunately it's because males under 25 are statistically more likely to wreck their car than other people. Works for the group, sucks for the responsible individual.

Only way out of it completely is to age up, sorry.

FYI - I find it interesting that it's legal to discriminate against men in auto insurance due to increased risk, but now illegal to discriminate against women in health insurance due to increased risk. But that's just another double standard. Yay for statistical discrimination!

When I was still driving, I was one of the most responsible drivers on the road (NEVER got a ticket, for example). Didn't count for much against the fact that I was born male, nor did I have any choice to not purchase insurance. IMO going carless was a major hit against the unfair system.

That's the rub, isn't it. You may go your entire life and never use your car insurance, the vast majority of people will leverage heath care. Note I said care and not insurance.

Insurance vehicles are typically lower-risk things you don't ever want to leverage. Much better to be the person that never had a claim on their home than the guy who had a tree fall through it. Much much better to pay a term life insurance policy for years and never leverage it. And, of course, better to have never been in an auto accident as well. As for health care, most of us are going to leverage that, and some of us will leverage it rather hard. The rub is insurance companies can and should be able to price by demographics. Beric's life insurance is going to be much cheaper than mine all things being equal because I am twice his age. Is that "unfair" that I pay more for life insurance? Not at all, the insurance company is under zero obligations to be fair. When we buy life insurance we are quite simply making a bet with the insurance company. My insurance company is currently betting me $40 a month for twenty years that I won't die. I rather hope to keep losing that bet! My insurance company gets to set the rate because they are incurring all of the risk. It's very fair. It's absolutely no different with auto insurance.

As for health care, insurance companies have to make a buck there as well. And if we simply allowed insurance companies to set rates based on the actual health and age of the patient, well guess what, insurance companies quite simply would not offer policies to clients they were reasonably sure would cost them buckets of money. In EXACTLY the same way insurance companies won't issue life insurance policies to someone with cancer or auto insurance to someone with three DUIs on their record. Not because insurance companies are cold-hearted, but because the nature of insurance is based on calculated gambles that favor the "house" (the insurance company) over a broad spectrum.

This is what is fundamentally broken in US health care. We think of our health insurance like other insurance vehicles when it quite clearly isn't. We as a society do not want to offer different rates - or none at all - to people who are simply unhealthy, go through maternity, or are older and unwell.

The sooner we Americans come around to the notion that health care is just another service, like the police department, fire department, public schools, roads, etc. and everyone both funds and leverages it as required, the better off we will be. 

AKA single payer.   

 

skunkfunk

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #26 on: October 23, 2014, 09:14:04 AM »
Good grief, I payed less than that every 6 months for 2 cars when I was that age just a few years ago. Does it have to do with the car? Driving record? You might call and ask WTH is going on. Shop around.

I know my old-ass cars cost next to nothing. At that time they were 40 years and 38 years old, so that might of had something to do with the low cost. You might check on that, a car ten years older could be quite a bit cheaper. At $122 a month, depending on how much you drive it might even be worth it to get zipcar or something instead.

Future Lazy

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #27 on: October 23, 2014, 09:39:06 AM »
Good grief, I payed less than that every 6 months for 2 cars when I was that age just a few years ago. Does it have to do with the car? Driving record? You might call and ask WTH is going on. Shop around.

I know my old-ass cars cost next to nothing. At that time they were 40 years and 38 years old, so that might of had something to do with the low cost. You might check on that, a car ten years older could be quite a bit cheaper. At $122 a month, depending on how much you drive it might even be worth it to get zipcar or something instead.

Driving record is 100% clean at this time, so that shouldn't be a contributing factor.
Car is technically a Chrysler truck, but it's physically a minivan or large hatchback, so calling it a truck is kind of dumb. I don't know 100% on how this plays in, though. That being said... Wouldn't an older car be more expensive on insurance, since it's more dangerous for the driver inside etc? And a newer car is more safe, so less expensive? Hmm..

skunkfunk

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #28 on: October 23, 2014, 09:46:04 AM »
Good grief, I payed less than that every 6 months for 2 cars when I was that age just a few years ago. Does it have to do with the car? Driving record? You might call and ask WTH is going on. Shop around.

I know my old-ass cars cost next to nothing. At that time they were 40 years and 38 years old, so that might of had something to do with the low cost. You might check on that, a car ten years older could be quite a bit cheaper. At $122 a month, depending on how much you drive it might even be worth it to get zipcar or something instead.

Driving record is 100% clean at this time, so that shouldn't be a contributing factor.
Car is technically a Chrysler truck, but it's physically a minivan or large hatchback, so calling it a truck is kind of dumb. I don't know 100% on how this plays in, though. That being said... Wouldn't an older car be more expensive on insurance, since it's more dangerous for the driver inside etc? And a newer car is more safe, so less expensive? Hmm..

One would think, but that's not how it works. I think that my agent explained that it was because the older cars are less likely to get wrecked in the first place. I figure this is likely because people do not drive them as much as a newer car. My current ride is a 1991 model pickup, not the safest thing around, and it is just under $29/month liability and I do even have one at-fault accident on my record in which I destroyed another car with one of those old cars that is no longer with us.

geek101

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #29 on: October 23, 2014, 10:40:08 AM »
My hack for this as a young male has been to stay on my parents insurance. I'm 24 now. Since you're married some companies won't allow this, but other's will. The main eligibility requirement is to keep the title of your vehicle in your parents name. Whether you are moved out or married depends on the insurance company, but some do allow children to stay on the parents insurance after marriage.

We also have Progressive, and they don't care about who the primary driver is for each vehicle when you have multiple driver's on the same plan. We do the pay twice a year option, and after using the Snapshot program we got significant discounts on the three vehicles in the plan.

Because of the lack of primary driver designation, I'm probably increasing the premiums on my parents cars a little, but the monthly liability/comprehensive for just my '04 Civic is an amazing $23.33. And that's 100/300 liability. Just basic state minimum liability for me on my own would be $45/mo. There are a lot of factors that help me out to get that low premium but it's possible as a young male. Staying on my parent's and driving a small car are the biggest.

kimmarg

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #30 on: October 23, 2014, 10:45:50 AM »


Any suggestions on an efficient way to do this without having to pick up a phone? I work 6:45a to 5p or later every weekday, with limited lunch and breaks, and that makes it hard to contact a lot of other business hoursy places during the week.
Geico, for example, is open 24/7 ... I've had several nice conversations with them at 1am

Future Lazy

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #31 on: October 23, 2014, 10:59:29 AM »
My hack for this as a young male has been to stay on my parents insurance. I'm 24 now. Since you're married some companies won't allow this, but other's will. The main eligibility requirement is to keep the title of your vehicle in your parents name. Whether you are moved out or married depends on the insurance company, but some do allow children to stay on the parents insurance after marriage.

We also have Progressive, and they don't care about who the primary driver is for each vehicle when you have multiple driver's on the same plan. We do the pay twice a year option, and after using the Snapshot program we got significant discounts on the three vehicles in the plan.

Because of the lack of primary driver designation, I'm probably increasing the premiums on my parents cars a little, but the monthly liability/comprehensive for just my '04 Civic is an amazing $23.33. And that's 100/300 liability. Just basic state minimum liability for me on my own would be $45/mo. There are a lot of factors that help me out to get that low premium but it's possible as a young male. Staying on my parent's and driving a small car are the biggest.

This is also probably a really great hack, and I think if anyone else is reading this thread trying to solve their own similar issue, it's a great idea. To that person: If you can try this, you should.

Unfortunately, my husband is an orphan, so no parents to mooch off of there. My father lives in Africa and my mother has huge debt/job instability/crap credit and isn't someone I'm willing to share bills with due to her strong track record of irresponsibility and bloated spending. D: That's kind of a bummer because I hadn't even considered piggybacking on a parent's insurance as cheaper... Then again, this is probably why I hadn't considered it haha.

Sid Hoffman

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #32 on: October 23, 2014, 11:16:18 AM »
Insurance is liability only

Did you verify if you have any medical coverage for accidents?  Don't say "Oh, our medical insurance will pay for it" unless you have called them and verified that as fact.  A good friend of mine lost a ton of money when he got hit by an uninsured driver.  Lost his car, had to pay all his medical bills and physical therapy out of pocket (or rather, simply run up a lot of medical debt he was never able to pay) and lost a ton of money by being out of work for months.

There's a lot of uninsured drivers in the SW USA especially, hence why I bring it up.  Just yesterday I was reading craigslist ads for cars and found one place that says they will rent you a car with only a deposit: no ID or driver's license required.  For companies to advertise that means they know full well that these are people who have no license and no insurance.  Again, it's a SW USA thing.  I know quite a lot of people who've been hit by uninsured drivers and I myself was very nearly hit by one a few years ago.  I was able to call the police and they pulled him over; I later found out from the official police report he didn't have a valid driver's license either.  It's a genuine risk.

Scandium

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #33 on: October 23, 2014, 01:08:26 PM »
Insurance is liability only

Did you verify if you have any medical coverage for accidents?  Don't say "Oh, our medical insurance will pay for it" unless you have called them and verified that as fact.  A good friend of mine lost a ton of money when he got hit by an uninsured driver.  Lost his car, had to pay all his medical bills and physical therapy out of pocket (or rather, simply run up a lot of medical debt he was never able to pay) and lost a ton of money by being out of work for months.

There's a lot of uninsured drivers in the SW USA especially, hence why I bring it up.  Just yesterday I was reading craigslist ads for cars and found one place that says they will rent you a car with only a deposit: no ID or driver's license required.  For companies to advertise that means they know full well that these are people who have no license and no insurance.  Again, it's a SW USA thing.  I know quite a lot of people who've been hit by uninsured drivers and I myself was very nearly hit by one a few years ago.  I was able to call the police and they pulled him over; I later found out from the official police report he didn't have a valid driver's license either.  It's a genuine risk.
Why wouldn't your health insurance cover you if you're hit by an uninsured driver? Is this really the case?

Dicey

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #34 on: October 23, 2014, 01:54:04 PM »
Sometimes it just sucks to be young. BTW, that speeding ticket is going to be your Achilles' heel as much as his age. Is it recent? Would traffic school still be an option? Insurers charge young men more because they are statistically riskier drivers, as evidenced by indicators such as oh, say, speeding tickets.

I have no "tricks" to offer. I will only say that there are a lot of insurers out there that no one except their policyholders has ever heard of. Any US dwellers recognize the name Wawanesa, for example? A fine Canadian company that does limited business along the far west coast of the US. Wonderful outfit. My sister found out about them from someone she knows at a car dealership. Do you, DH or your parents have any group affiliations? Worth exploring. I once bought super cheap term life insurance through WAEPA (another catchy name) because my dad is a veteran. So, start digging. Ask everyone and search the internet. Also consider an independent insurance agent. Costs you nothing to ask them for help. We are now insured with another crazy-alphabet-soup-named-never-heard-of-them insurance company because my husband works for a public utility. His company had never heard of them either, but an insurance agent dug them up and we get terrific rates. Basically, if an insurance company is charging you enough that they can afford expensive mass advertising (Hello Flo and Gecko), they might well charge you more than someone you've never heard of, cause those catchy ads everywhere you look do not come cheap.

gimp

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #35 on: October 23, 2014, 01:59:12 PM »
I've had good success with emailing agents. They have sales goals and a lot of ability to move prices. It especially helps if you have eg renter's insurance.

Quote
Why wouldn't your health insurance cover you if you're hit by an uninsured driver? Is this really the case?

It gets complicated. Make sure your auto insurance had medical coverage as well, is my opinion.

Future Lazy

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #36 on: October 23, 2014, 02:02:25 PM »
Insurance is liability only

Did you verify if you have any medical coverage for accidents?  Don't say "Oh, our medical insurance will pay for it" unless you have called them and verified that as fact.  A good friend of mine lost a ton of money when he got hit by an uninsured driver.  Lost his car, had to pay all his medical bills and physical therapy out of pocket (or rather, simply run up a lot of medical debt he was never able to pay) and lost a ton of money by being out of work for months.

There's a lot of uninsured drivers in the SW USA especially, hence why I bring it up.  Just yesterday I was reading craigslist ads for cars and found one place that says they will rent you a car with only a deposit: no ID or driver's license required.  For companies to advertise that means they know full well that these are people who have no license and no insurance.  Again, it's a SW USA thing.  I know quite a lot of people who've been hit by uninsured drivers and I myself was very nearly hit by one a few years ago.  I was able to call the police and they pulled him over; I later found out from the official police report he didn't have a valid driver's license either.  It's a genuine risk.
Why wouldn't your health insurance cover you if you're hit by an uninsured driver? Is this really the case?

This just depends on your insurance. Some do, some don't. Like, mine, for example, has 70% out of network costs covered (yay), but many people have 0% coverage on that, and so if an out of network ambulance takes you to an out of network hospital where and out of network trauma surgeon does an emergency brain surgery to save your life... Congrats, none of that was covered and you really should have gone to a hospital in network. You've got 200k+ in debt! So, yes, this could be the case. It's really important to read the entire document that says what is and what isn't covered on your health insurance, because they use complicated sneaky wording.

Or, that's my interpretation of their sneaky wording. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Sometimes it just sucks to be young. BTW, that speeding ticket is going to be your Achilles' heel as much as his age. Is it recent? Would traffic school still be an option? Insurers charge young men more because they are statistically riskier drivers, as evidenced by indicators such as oh, say, speeding tickets.

Recent enough that his court date is on Nov 1st, haha. But he earned it, fair and square, and it was a long time coming.



I'm going to start out with calling Progressive to see what can be changed on his existing ins to make it cheaper, and maybe try Snapshot.

Gin1984

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #37 on: October 23, 2014, 02:11:36 PM »
Insurance is liability only

Did you verify if you have any medical coverage for accidents?  Don't say "Oh, our medical insurance will pay for it" unless you have called them and verified that as fact.  A good friend of mine lost a ton of money when he got hit by an uninsured driver.  Lost his car, had to pay all his medical bills and physical therapy out of pocket (or rather, simply run up a lot of medical debt he was never able to pay) and lost a ton of money by being out of work for months.

There's a lot of uninsured drivers in the SW USA especially, hence why I bring it up.  Just yesterday I was reading craigslist ads for cars and found one place that says they will rent you a car with only a deposit: no ID or driver's license required.  For companies to advertise that means they know full well that these are people who have no license and no insurance.  Again, it's a SW USA thing.  I know quite a lot of people who've been hit by uninsured drivers and I myself was very nearly hit by one a few years ago.  I was able to call the police and they pulled him over; I later found out from the official police report he didn't have a valid driver's license either.  It's a genuine risk.
Why wouldn't your health insurance cover you if you're hit by an uninsured driver? Is this really the case?

This just depends on your insurance. Some do, some don't. Like, mine, for example, has 70% out of network costs covered (yay), but many people have 0% coverage on that, and so if an out of network ambulance takes you to an out of network hospital where and out of network trauma surgeon does an emergency brain surgery to save your life... Congrats, none of that was covered and you really should have gone to a hospital in network. You've got 200k+ in debt! So, yes, this could be the case. It's really important to read the entire document that says what is and what isn't covered on your health insurance, because they use complicated sneaky wording.

Or, that's my interpretation of their sneaky wording. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Sometimes it just sucks to be young. BTW, that speeding ticket is going to be your Achilles' heel as much as his age. Is it recent? Would traffic school still be an option? Insurers charge young men more because they are statistically riskier drivers, as evidenced by indicators such as oh, say, speeding tickets.

Recent enough that his court date is on Nov 1st, haha. But he earned it, fair and square, and it was a long time coming.



I'm going to start out with calling Progressive to see what can be changed on his existing ins to make it cheaper, and maybe try Snapshot.
I thought it was federal, but maybe it is just my state but under emergency conditions an ER is treated as in network. 

Dicey

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #38 on: October 23, 2014, 04:15:28 PM »
Sometimes it just sucks to be young. BTW, that speeding ticket is going to be your Achilles' heel as much as his age. Is it recent? Would traffic school still be an option? Insurers charge young men more because they are statistically riskier drivers, as evidenced by indicators such as oh, say, speeding tickets.
Recent enough that his court date is on Nov 1st, haha. But he earned it, fair and square, and it was a long time coming.

Oh, that could be really good news!! Is traffic school an option in your court system? If so, DO IT at all costs! Make sure that sucker never hits his record. Don't fall for the "I'm busy, I'll just pay this one and go to traffic school if I get another one" line of thinking. In my state, you can't go if you've had another violation within 24 months, whether you've been to traffic school or not. Your first chance is your best chance, so go to court on this even if it means taking time off work.

BTW, "earning it" has nothing to do with it, unless perhaps his speed is deemed too excessive for the judge to dismiss via traffic school. Generally you will have to pay the fine, plus and admin fee plus the cost of traffic school, so it saves you nothing up front, but will pay for itself in spades with insurance costs. I see online traffic schools periodically on Groupon, so this might save you a few bucks.

BTW(2), When your husband goes to traffic court, it's a good idea not to deny speeding or make any argument at all. (Unless there is one and he's hoping to beat the ticket, but it doesn't sound like that's the case.) Just smile and politely ask permission to go to to traffic school since it's a first offense. Not that I've got any experience in this area ;-) Early in my working career as a Sales Rep, I "earned" a number of speeding tickets, all "fair & square". I went to traffic school for every one of them. This was in the days before online schools, which are still not allowed in my county, last I checked. Once, when I showed up on my designated Saturday, the officer recognized me and stated to the entire group, "I see I'll have to tell different stories today, as one of you has been in my class before." I thought I'd die, but it was worth it not to have a ticket on my record.  Please let us know how it goes on Nov. 1st. Hey, wait! Nov. 1st is a Saturday! They hold traffic court on Saturday in your area?

chicagomeg

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Re: Help reducing car insurance for a male under 24?
« Reply #39 on: October 23, 2014, 05:38:25 PM »
From the title, I was going to say, "Well, getting married should help, but it's a little drastic," but I see you've already tried that :-). Mr. FP and I were young newlyweds and we got a big refund on our car insurance when we tied the knot--but we did pay six months ahead. Do look into that option!

+1. Our Geico rates went from $120/month to $60 when we got married (at 23 for me, the lady, and 24 for my husband). Might be worth getting your driver's license.