How much do you pay for car insurance? The average Arizona driver pays $725 for full coverage and $300 for minimum coverage on a six-month policy.
"I think people are either over-insured or they don't have any insurance at all," says Jill Gonzalez, an insurance writer with Wallethub.com.
In Arizona, only liability insurance is required. It pays for damage and injuries for the other driver if you cause an accident.
The minimum coverage is 25/50/15. That means $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage.
If you're driving a lot, you may need to increase those levels since your exposure is great.
The real costs come while trying to protect your own car.
Collision insurance covers damage from accidents and comprehensive insurance covers mostly non-driving issues, like damage from theft or weather.
I compared full insurance coverage with two popular insurers, State Farm and Progressive.
I used the same car and as close to the same coverage as I could find.
The State Farm online quote was $1,723 for six months.
The Progressive online quote was $543.
Though those prices may have changed if I completed the process, the difference was a huge $1,200 for six months.
When comparing minimal liability coverage, again State Farm's quote was much higher — $654 compared to Progressive at $276 for six months.
So, the number one money-saving auto insurance rule is: shop around.
Also, consider raising your deductible. It's what you pay before comprehensive or collision insurance kicks in.
Higher deductibles mean lower policy costs.
If you're not in accidents, raising a $500 deductible to $1,000 could be worth it.
And can you drop insurance? Know your car's insurance value or Actual Cash Value.
"What you're looking for is the potential payout if there is a complete loss of the car," Gonzalez says.
Insurers determine a car's worth and only pay that much for repairs before totaling it.
They determine worth by taking the current value (before an accident), subtracting the deductible amount, and then taking off an amount for depreciation determined by them.
If you're left with a low amount that insurance will pay, buying collision or comprehensive coverage may be a waste of money.
Depending on the expert, I've heard you should consider dropping insurance on your car if it's 10 years or older.
I've also heard to drop collision coverage when you're paying 10% of the car's value yearly.
That means if you pay $300, and the car's worth is $3,000, it would be time to stop the coverage.
All of this depends on the car, the payment and more.
And with values so high right now, it may not be worth dropping, but you should at least do the calculations and look into it.
Learn more about auto insurance needs in Arizona from WalletHub here.
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