Saving lots of money on your monthly car insurance premiums doesn’t have to be complicated, difficult or some kind of art – it just means getting your priorities straight. You see, car insurance policies are surprisingly modular, and today’s car insurance providers are very flexible. In order to keep their customers happy, most providers and insurance companies will offer you as much customization as you can handle.

When it comes to lightening your wallet’s burden in the field of car insurance, the first thing you’ll want to do is identify how much you’re spending. Then take the big hammer out before you the fine chisel: that is to say, shop around for a whole new insurance provider, and try to find the one with the most options for bundling, discounts and more.

Once the broad strokes are applied, it’s time to match the right cost-effective insurance to your current car and situation. No two cars and their respective drivers represent the exact same risk on the road – and chances are that you’re paying more than you have to for the amount of risk you carry.

Pay Higher Deductibles

When calculating premiums, insurance companies give their clients the chance to pay a higher deductible. When a claim is filed, that deductible is taken to take care of the damages – the higher the deductible, the lower your monthly premium. There is no deductible on liability coverage, but you can get deductibles on most other types of insurance coverage.

The advantages are clear. A deductible is a one-time fee – whereas monthly premiums can accumulate into a large amount of money very quickly.

Drop Unnecessary Coverage

You really don’t need collision coverage when the cost of repair for your car is among the cheapest around. Unless it’s vintage, old cars are generally much more affordable to insure to fix in today’s market. Having an old second-hand vehicle places a cherry on top of all that, as the low value of the vehicle will drive down the cost of your monthly premiums.

As such however, you’ll need little else than a robust liability coverage to take care of really serious accidents.

How Often Do You Use Your Car, And How Do You Use It?

Drivers who commute to work twice a day for hours are much more prone to getting into an accident than people who drive their vehicles once a week, or people who barely drive at all, save for A-to-B necessity trips, such as to the market a few times a month.

Basically, an insurance policy and the premiums you pay are supposed to reflect the risk you’re incurring as a driver on the road. Frequent drivers (especially fatigued drivers who have to commute at night) pay more in insurance premiums than drivers who rarely drive, simply because of the odds of an accident occurring.

Now sure, occasional drivers don’t have the same experience and skill as daily commuters, but they still get into fewer accidents – and that’s why you should consider contacting your insurance company to ask about discounts regarding usage-based insurance. Insurance companies will often even offer you the choice of further narrowing your rates to the optimum cost by tracking your driving habits – how hard you hit the brakes, how often you drive, how you turn, and so on – although some people may be apprehensive to that specific idea due to privacy concerns.

Installing safety measures into your vehicle can also lower your monthly premiums. Airbags, for one – but new seatbelts, anti-locking brakes and anti-theft devices count as well.

When Does Liability-Only Car Insurance Make Sense?

In the end, the absolute best way to save as much money as possible on your car insurance is to go shop around on comparison sites like CoverHound when looking for affordable liability car insurance coverage.

There’s also the current condition of your car to take into account. As TheSimpleDollar points out: if one more accident is what it will take for you to replace your old car instead of sending it to the repair shop again, then it’s nonsensical to get collision coverage. Save yourself the trouble and stick to a policy that protects you and your family from bodily injuries whilst seeing to it that the other party in an accident gets adequately compensated.