How Can You Save Money on Your Car Insurance?

It's possible you're paying too much for car insurance in New Jersey.

According to a new survey from Bankrate.com, many consumers are missing possible discounts offered by their insurance carriers.

"Owning a car is getting more expensive all the time and we may never see gasoline below $3.00 a gallon again so your car insurance might offer an opportunity for savings," said Doug Whiteman, an insurance analyst for Bankrate.com.

Bankrate.com looked at the discounts offered by the top 10 car insurance carriers in the nation, and found that many of them offer similar discounts. Included in the list are Allstate, State Farm, Geico, Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide and USAA.

All 10 major car insurance carriers surveyed provide a discount for having multiple policies with that carrier.

All 10 also offer a good student discount. "They all offer a discount if you have a teenager on your policy, and if your teen is getting good grades. Teenagers are very expensive to insure but if your teen is doing well in school there's a discount for that," said Whiteman.

In addition, nine out of 10 car insurance carriers surveyed give discounts for having a clean driving record, equipping your car with an anti-theft device and for having multiple cars on one policy.

While most of the discounts are found across the board, others aren't. "We did find that some are very common, but there are some more unusual discounts that companies offer to try and gain some sort of competitive advantage. For example, we found one company that offers a discount if you are older and retired. There's an insurance discount if you have daytime running lights on your car. That's another very uncommon discount," said Whiteman.

In fact, five out of 10 carriers offer discounts for people who work in a certain industry. Two carriers offer discounts for environmentally-friendly vehicle owners.

Whiteman said he's not surprised consumers aren't aware of the discounts many of these companies offer. "I think people might be bewildered just because it's too much information. There's just so much out there and also because it can be a little confusing because insurance companies are not offering these discounts across the board. You really need to do your homework and look around. Get on the phone with your insurance company or with your insurance agent and just ask questions. Ask which discounts are available and are you certain that I'm getting every discount that I might qualify for."

The discounts range from three to 25 percent.

Click here for the full chart of discounts available at the top 10 car insurance carriers.