Don’t complain about paying too much money for your homeowner and auto insurance policies if you’re not exploring all of the discounts that might be available to lower your rates. That’s the core message of a survey released by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America, known in the industry as the “Big I.” It asked home and auto owners if they believed they were taking full advantage of all the discounts they qualified for on their policies, and the answers collected jive with the long-time trend of consumers not reading the fine print. More than 34% of respondents, representing 53 million households, admitted they are probably not taking advantage of these discounts or didn’t know they even existed. Regarding auto coverage, more than 20% of those surveyed were on the same page. “The latest survey shows what we suspected: many Americans could be foolishly throwing money away because they fail to ask about insurance discounts for which they may qualify,” says Madelyn Flannagan, Big I vice president. “Companies often offer some unique, regional, very specific and, at times, quirky discounts.”
But can you save money by pursuing discounts? About 26% of those surveyed estimated that they save 6% to 10% on their insurance premiums by using discounts. In reality, many consumers could be saving significantly more—as much as 30%, Flannagan says. You need to consult with your agent, but there are industry-wide discounts to be found for living in a gated community, installing housing upgrades to withstand some storm damage, changing the first name on your policy to the spouse with the better credit score and having modern electrical wiring. As for car insurance, there are discounts for young drivers involved with scout groups, company vehicles, widows and graduates of defensive-driving classes. While there are plenty of quirky discounts your independent agent can investigate (some agents offer an alma mater discount), there are many tried-and-true discounts for the unemployed, people with multiple policies, having alarm systems and remaining claim-free.
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