In South Carolina, you can't really drive without insurance. When an insurance policy on a car registered in South Carolina expires or is cancelled, the state finds out about it. If you don't get a new insurance policy for your car within 20 days, your registration tags and licence plates will be cancelled, and your driver's licence will be tagged. At that point, fixing a car takes a long time and costs a lot of money.
Instead of going through all that trouble, you could just use the information in this article to find cheap car insurance in South Carolina. You might find it easier than you think.
Check with your insurance agent first if you're thinking of buying a car. Not all cars cost the same to insure. Before you fall in love with a car you can't afford to insure, ask your agent for a list of the cheapest cars to insure.
Even more important than what you drive is how you drive. If you really want cheap car insurance, you should try to have the cleanest driving record possible. You don't want it to be full of tickets for speeding or other moving violations, and you definitely don't want to have been convicted of DUI or DWI. Even if you only get a DUI or DWI, you won't be able to get cheap car insurance for at least 3 years, and maybe much longer.
Can you get most of what you need to "drive" with public transportation? If you drive less than 500 miles a month, you can get a Low Mileage Discount on your insurance that can save you a lot of money.
In the same way, if you can carpool to work, you can save money each month on your car insurance. If you recently quit your job for any reason and no longer drive to and from work, be sure to tell your agent. This can lower your monthly insurance premium by quite a bit.
Do you have a garage where I can park my car at night? If so, you could also save money every month by doing this.
If your car is so old that the Kelly Blue Book no longer lists a value for it, you are wasting your money by keeping collision or comprehensive insurance on it.
If you get all of your insurance policies, such as homeowner's, health, life, etc., from the same company, you will get a discount on your monthly car insurance payment.
Don't make many small promises. Don't make claims about small things. The longer you go without making a claim, the more money off your insurance you'll get. Some companies start giving discounts as soon as 6 months have gone by with no claims.
Drivers under the age of 25 can save 5 percent a month on their insurance costs by staying in school and keeping a GPA of at least 3.0.
If a driver over 55 takes and passes a special driving course, they can often save 10 percent per month. Find out from your agent if you can get this discount.
Ask your agent if you can save money by buying and using a steering wheel locking device or a simple electronic device that turns off your fuel pump unless you type in a secret code.
Increasing your deductible is a quick and reliable way to lower your monthly insurance premium, but it can also be a double-edged sword. If you ever have a claim, you will need to pay your deductible in cash before your insurance company will pay the rest of your claim, so don't offer to pay more than you can afford.
The last thing you need to do to find cheap car insurance in South Carolina is to go online and look for 3 websites that compare the prices of car insurance from different companies.
The trick is to use the information in this article to fill out the form on all three websites with the exact same information, so that your comparisons are actually useful. Now, all you have to do is pick the cheapest company. All done! This is how you can get cheap car insurance in South Carolina and save money every month and every year.