It’s always possible to get affordable car insurance for the coverage you want and need. This is especially true if you’re an active member or a veteran of the armed forces.
In fact, some insurance companies are geared toward specifically insuring veterans and active military members. While others offer great discounts that your family can benefit from as well.
Since nearly every state requires you to have some amount of car insurance, let’s take a look at how you could be paying lower premiums.
Auto insurance for veterans
If you’re interested in a company that offers auto insurance exclusively for veterans, active-duty military, and their families, USAA can help you.
They offer the same types of insurance that you would find at any other major insurer. So if you’re looking for coverages such as liability, property damage insurance, and personal injury protection (PIP) , they can help you out there.
And if you want to add other types of auto insurance like underinsured/uninsured motorist coverage or gap insurance, you can find that there, too.
You can also try Armed Forces Insurance. They offer coverage for active-duty and retired personnel as well as their immediate family.
Auto insurance for active military members
Auto insurance for veterans isn’t limited to just USAA or Armed Forces Insurance.
Nearly all the major car insurance companies offer a discount for current or past members of the military.
The Zebra reported that military members receive the biggest discount on their premiums based on occupation alone. Those in the military pay around 2 percent less than other professions. And that’s before you factor any military specific discounts.
Some auto insurance companies offer a generous military specific discount on your premiums.
Sometimes, you can get anywhere between 10 to 15 percent. Typically, immediately family members are included in this as well.
But it’s always a good idea to check in with your insurer to make sure they provide this discount across to your spouse and kids.
Auto insurance tips for active military members
While you’re deployed, you shouldn’t cancel your car insurance. It might not make sense at first since you’re not actively using the car. But maintaining continuous insurance is key.
Cancelling your car insurance will count as a lapse in coverage, and you’ll see a spike in your premium when you want to get car insurance again.
Instead, while your car is kept in storage, simply reduce coverage on it. It’ll drastically lower what you have to pay, and you can enjoy the benefit of continuous insurance. What you can do is drop to having only comprehensive and liability insurance on it.
Or let’s say you decided to sell your car. What you can do is consider switching to non-owner car insurance. This type of coverage comes with bodily injury and property damage liability insurance.
Take advantage of the discounts upon discounts
Besides a military discount, car insurance companies offer a selection of discounts. And there could definitely be ones that you are eligible for. Some of the most common ones include:
Driver-based
What are your driving habits like? Are you a good driver? Research shows that most people rate their driving skills a seven out of ten.
Insurance companies will put that rating to a test by looking at your driving record, and your accidents and claims history.
You might get the good driver discount if you’ve been accident-free and violation-free for three to five years. If you satisfy that requirement and have a clean driving record, you could get the discount.
Payment plans
You can receive a discount based on how you pay your car insurance bill.
Paying in full or signing up for an automatic payment plan will save you a certain percentage off your premium.
Not only that, you’ll often get a discount for signing up for paperless billing.
Loyalty-based
If you get more than one policy from the same insurance company, you’ll get the multi-policy discount. 77 percent of people choose to bundle their insurance. People often go for the home and auto insurance bundle, which can save 5 to 25 percent off each policy.
Looking to insure more than one car? Adding more than one car to your policy can earn you the multi-car discount.
Insurance companies will reward you with better rates if you’ve had continuous coverage. Any lapse in coverage can sometimes increase your premium by 12 percent.
Affiliation to groups
Do you belong to an organization for current and former military? For example, if you’re affiliated with the Veterans for Foreign Wars or the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, this could land you an additional discount.
And you can always reach out to your organization to see if they have a preferred car insurance provider.
Weigh your options
Don’t be quick to jump on the first quote you get. Take your time and get multiple quotes from different insurance companies.
When you’re getting several quotes, make sure you’re always asking for the same amount of coverage and you keep the deductible the same. That way, you can tell which insurer has the best rate for you.
And shopping around isn’t a one-time thing either. Shop around every couple of years to see what other companies are offering.
While you could be getting a great rate for now, that doesn’t mean you’re going to keep getting the best rate in the future.
Cover
will get you an auto quote in as little as five minutes.
All you have to do is answer a few short questions.
Get your auto quote here
