How I cut my car insurance bill

Published 12:15 pm Tuesday, July 22, 2025

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One of the most significant cost increases affecting just about everyone today—and one that’s expected to keep climbing—is insurance. Whether it’s home, auto or life, premiums are rising fast. And it’s not just about how much you pay, but also what’s actually covered. Policies are becoming leaner, stricter and less forgiving.

If you’re feeling the squeeze, you’re not alone. While there’s no universal fix, I recently made a small change that ended up saving me nearly $600 a year on car insurance. It’s a strategy that might work for you, too.

I’m in my sixties now, and I could buy just about any reasonable car I want. But I have no interest in doing that. I still drive my 2014 Hyundai Accent, which has racked up more than 165,000 miles. It runs fine—though I did once hit a deer on Highway 108 and nearly totaled it. Fortunately, I had quality insurance at the time, and the car was magnificently restored. An “act of God,” the company called it.

Back then, my insurance rates seemed reasonable. But that was then, and this is now.

I work from home, don’t drive much, and as long as I keep oil in the engine and cold air coming through the vents, I’m happy. So when I opened my most recent insurance bill—$625 for six months of coverage—I was stunned. I’ve got a clean driving record, I’m insuring just one vehicle, and yet the rates felt excessive.

If that number caught me off guard, I can only imagine what others are paying, especially those with teenagers or multiple vehicles on the road.

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That’s when I found a workaround that made a real difference.

I live with my beloved partner. We’ve shared the same home for nearly two decades, though we’re not married. She already had an insurance policy in place covering several vehicles, along with her home and additional structures.

I asked her agent if I could add my car to her existing policy. The answer was yes. We didn’t need to be married. I didn’t have to put her name on the title. We just needed to confirm that we live at the same address and provide a full list of household vehicles and drivers.

That one simple change triggered multi-vehicle and multi-policy discounts and lowered my insurance costs by nearly $600 a year. My previous policy was canceled, and I even received a prorated refund.

This approach won’t work for every situation, but it’s worth checking with your insurance company. If you live with someone—even if you’re not married—you may be able to combine coverage under a shared household policy. You don’t have to co-own vehicles, but you do need to be honest and transparent with your provider.

Insurance rates aren’t going down anytime soon. But this small step helped me keep mine in check, and it just might work for you as well.

 

The author’s 2014 Hyundai Accent sustained significant front-end damage after a collision with a deer on Highway 108. The incident was covered under his insurance as an “act of God.”