Month Car Insurance

The worst part about summer for me used to be having to write a huge check for my car insurance premium. Then again around Christmas time! All those gifts I could have been giving, instead went to my insurance company so I could keep driving to and from work and to see my friends and family. While I know that having auto insurance is a requirement, and I know how helpful it can be if you get in a fender bender, it was difficult to save up for such a large payment every 6 months! Once I found month to month car insurance, though, I was all set.

It used to be that I’d be able to save up easily for the first 1-2 months. Eventually, though, when March or April, or October or November, rolled around, and I was 3-4 months since my last payment, and 2-3 months before the next one, I’d see something I liked in a store window, or notice a gift for my wife that I wanted to give her, and reminding myself that those funds were reserved for car insurance premiums was a definite damper on my day.

Finally after my last payment I looked around online and read about monthly car insurance plans, whereby instead of making large payments every 6 months to keep your insurance active, instead you make smaller payments each month. It doesn’t sound like this is a better setup, and the reality is that over the year you end up paying more for your policy, but the ease I get from knowing that I don’t have to worry about a big looming expense on the horizon is worth paying a little extra in premiums over the life of my insurance. When I asked my local insurance agent about it, turns out I didn’t even have to switch companies – they recognized the tough times and were open to switching to a monthly car insurance payment system.

A big part of my switch from paying my premium every 6 months to moving to monthly car insurance was the reliability of my provider. You’re going to be making payments way more often, so you want to make sure you’re dealing with a well established brand. These days there are still independent insurance companies around, but I’d go with a national company anyway, if only for the reliable customer service they’re sure to have.

The best place to find out about the customer service is to speak to the local insurance agent yourself directly, and also to read customer reviews online. You definitely want to establish a rapport with the agent, since you’ll be dealing with them on an ongoing basis – also most people only talk to their agent when they’re in trouble (when they’ve been in an accident, or have some other car insurance claim to process) so you don’t want to have a testy or adversarial relationship with them. Reading reviews online is really helpful because it allows you to filter things properly and get as unvarnished and true opinion as possible as to how on your side the company and agent will be in a pinch – when you need their help the most.

It helped that my insurance agent and I had been almost friends for many years, and when I suggested moving to the car insurance monthly payments plan, he was totally on board and rushed the paperwork over to me – I was on the new plan in less than a week, and enjoying lower monthly payments. I’m glad he understood the reasons I gave why a monthly plan would help out my finances – it can be tense and awkward discussing these things to people besides my wife. He even took me out to lunch!

Another thing that’s important with these kinds of plans, because you’re paying more overall, is to make the most of the discounts you qualify for. For me, that meant keeping my grades up, so I could take advantage of a good student driver discount. I even set up direct deposit with my bank so the funds are automatically taken out each month. That means I almost don’t have to consciously save up for it, it’s just taken from my account and my balance updated. Sometimes when I have a little extra at the end of the month I make a slightly larger payment for the next one. Monthly car insurance isn’t for everyone, because you are actually paying for the convenience of smaller more frequent payments, but it works for me since I don’t have to stop myself from buying presents for my wife. She approves!