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If you're driving less in the pandemic, shouldn't you be paying less for car insurance?

Now is a good time to consider taking on more risk and put more of your auto insurance budget into liability coverage.

Amid the pandemic, there have been less places to go and places to drive. And although only some car insurance companies could give their clients rebates for driving less this past year, experts says it always a good idea to research trends and shop around for better offers. 

According to ABC News, "Class action lawsuits were filed in Nevada against 10 major auto insurance companies on Tuesday, contending that the companies charged excessive insurance premiums during the pandemic by failing to account for a drop in driving and crashes."

Of course, things are run a little differently in Michigan.

Grand Rapids based insurance agent Derek Boer of Boer Insurance spoke to 13 ON YOUR SIDE about ways Michiganders can save money on car insurance, especially while they are driving less. 

In regard to recent lawsuits filed in Nevada, Boer says every state has different rules when it comes to setting insurance prices. And Michigan's auto insurance prices are regulated by the Essential Insurance Act. Some companies did however find ways to help their clients in 2020. 

"In Michigan, a lot of the companies gave refunds throughout the year to their clients or, if they weren't doing that they tried to reinvest in their communities by supporting restaurants and doing other things like that," said Boer. "Other insurance companies simply said for the month of April or May or both of them, lets give back 15 percent of someone's premium, some insurance companies said 10 percent some said 20 percent. And refunds turned out to be somewhere in the 20, 30 40 dollar range."

Boer says its never a bad idea to do the research and shop around.
Here are some ways he recommends to save on car insurance:

  • Modify the coverage that you have.
  • If you're a two car family, and you're only using one car, consider putting that other car in storage.
  • Look at increasing your collision deductible.
  • Consider getting rid of rental reimbursement coverage. 

"You know your schedule and how often you're driving more than the insurance company does, so if you want to put some of that risk on your plate instead of the insurance company's and keep some premium dollars in your pocket, maybe increasing your deductible and or reducing some of your coverage is a good way to manage your insurance budget," explains Boer.

"Another coverage that a lot of people have that is something to consider whether it's necessary or not is rental reimbursement coverage. That is going to help pay for a rental car if you get into a car accident and your car needs to be in a shop to be repaired," says Boer. Well, if a family has two vehicles and both spouses are working remotely, they'll probably always have an extra vehicle, so that was coverage a lot of people opted to remove in 2020. "    

Boer says right now is a good time to consider taking on more risk in regard to the smaller coverage and put more of the insurance budget into liability coverage.

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