The short answer
Auto premiums are still climbing. The motor vehicle insurance component of the Consumer Price Index rose 6.0% in 2025, on top of a 14.0% jump in average expenditure in 2023 to $1,282, according to NAIC data published by Triple-I. You cannot control loss trends, but you control roughly a dozen rating inputs.
Work the list in this order: re-shop with at least three carriers, right-size deductibles, enroll in telematics if you drive well, verify your mileage is correct, bundle if the combined price actually wins, then sweep the small discounts. Do not cut liability limits to save money. That is the one lever that trades a certain small saving for an uncapped risk.
Rule of thumb: the first three levers below usually move the premium by 15% to 35% combined. The last six move it by 2% to 8% each. Do the big ones first, then stack the rest.
Fourteen levers, ranked by payoff
| Lever | Typical savings | Source of the figure | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Re-shop 3+ carriers | Hundreds of dollars | Triple-I recommends three quotes; CR found hundreds via independent agents | Match limits line by line before comparing |
| Raise deductible $500 to $1,000 | 20% to 25% ($464 to $525/yr) | Consumer Reports | Only if the cash is in savings |
| Raise deductible $200 to $500 | 15% to 30% on comp + collision | Triple-I | Applies to physical damage only |
| Telematics / usage-based program | Median $120/yr; up to 30% to 40% advertised | Consumer Reports 2024 survey of 40,566 policyholders | Hard braking and late-night trips can shrink the discount |
| Bundle auto + home or renters | Up to 30% | Consumer Reports | Compare the bundle against two best-in-class standalone policies |
| Drop comp + collision on an old car | About $1,165/yr in CR’s example | Consumer Reports | Use the 10x value-to-premium test first |
| Correct your annual mileage | About $116/yr under 10,000 miles | Consumer Reports | Insurers verify by odometer or telematics |
| Defensive driving course | 5% to 15%, about $233/yr in CR’s example | Consumer Reports | New York gives 10% for a roughly $25, 5-hour course, repeatable every 3 years |
| Pay in full / paid-in-full discount | 5% to 10% | Carrier filings | Installment fees of $5 to $12 per month disappear too |
| Improve your credit-based insurance score | Often the single largest rating factor where allowed | NAIC and state regulators | Banned or restricted in several states, see below |
| Remove a driver who moved out | 5% to 25% | Carrier filings | Must genuinely have their own policy and garaging address |
| Add anti-theft, telematics device and safety features | 2% to 10% | Triple-I | Often already applied; ask for an audit |
| Affinity, occupation and alumni discounts | 2% to 8% | Triple-I | Rarely applied automatically |
| Pay small damage out of pocket | $348+ avoided increase | Consumer Reports | Compare the repair cost to three years of surcharge |
Savings ranges come from Triple-I and Consumer Reports. Actual results depend on your state, carrier and driving record, and no carrier is obligated to apply a discount you do not qualify for.
Telematics: real money, real tradeoffs
Usage-based insurance scores your actual driving through a phone app or a plug-in device: braking, acceleration, speed, time of day, phone handling and miles. Carriers advertise big numbers. Consumer Reports catalogued maximums of up to 40% at Allstate and Nationwide and up to 30% at State Farm, Liberty Mutual, Travelers and USAA, with sign-up discounts of 5% or 10% just for enrolling.
The measured reality is smaller. In Consumer Reports' 2024 survey of 40,566 policyholders, median annual savings were $120, rising to $245 for households with a young driver. The NAIC's telematics study notes that most programs give a small enrollment discount, often around 5%, with low-mileage drivers reaching the top of the range.
- Good fit: you drive under 10,000 miles a year, mostly daytime, mostly highway, and no teens share the car.
- Poor fit: long urban commutes, frequent hard braking, rideshare driving, or a household member who would not consent to monitoring.
- Ask first: can the program raise my rate, or only reduce the discount? In some states rates can increase.
- Give it time: discounts typically take a few months of data before they appear on the bill.
If a monitoring period ends badly, you can usually drop out at renewal and shop the policy elsewhere. Ask about that exit before you enroll.
Credit-based insurance scores and where they are banned
In most states, insurers use a credit-based insurance score, a rating tool built from credit-report attributes such as payment history, utilization and account age. It is not your FICO score and it is not used to decide whether you can afford the policy. Where it is permitted, it is frequently one of the strongest single predictors in the rating plan, which is why paying on time and holding down card balances can move your premium more than a stack of small discounts.
Several states restrict or prohibit it:
- California, Hawaii and Massachusetts prohibit credit-based scores in auto insurance rating, and California, Massachusetts and Maryland bar it in homeowners insurance, as CNBC reported in April 2026.
- Michigan law states that an insurer shall not use credit information or an insurance score as any part of a decision to deny, cancel or nonrenew a personal insurance policy, per MCL 500.2153, and a separate section restricts credit scores in auto rating.
- Maryland prohibits the use of credit as an underwriting or rating factor in homeowners insurance entirely and limits it in private passenger auto, per Maryland Insurance Administration Bulletin 21-26.
- Oregon and Utah place narrower limits on how and when credit information may be used.
If you live in a state where credit is used and your score has improved since you bought the policy, ask for a re-rate. Many carriers will re-run the score at renewal on request, and some are required to do so periodically. Legislative activity in this area is constant, so check your state department of insurance for current rules.
Deductibles: run the payback period
Triple-I reports that moving a comprehensive and collision deductible from $200 to $500 cuts that cost by 15% to 30%, and going to $1,000 can save 40% or more. Consumer Reports measured the $500 to $1,000 step at 20% to 25%, or $464 to $525 a year.
The arithmetic is simple. Divide the extra risk you are accepting by the annual saving:
| Change | Extra risk accepted | Annual saving | Break-even |
|---|---|---|---|
| $250 to $500 | $250 | $95 | About 32 months |
| $500 to $1,000 | $500 | $240 | About 25 months |
| $1,000 to $2,000 | $1,000 | $180 | About 67 months |
Illustrative figures for a single-vehicle policy; your carrier's factors will differ. The pattern holds almost everywhere: the first step up is efficient, the jump past $1,000 usually is not, because carriers price the tail of small claims aggressively and the marginal saving flattens.
Bundling, mileage and the small stuff
Bundling. Consumer Reports found multi-policy discounts of up to 30%. The trap is that bundle math is only as good as the home or renters premium underneath it. Price the bundle against the two best standalone policies you can find. In hard property markets like Florida and Texas, the standalone route sometimes wins by more than the discount.
Mileage. Reporting accurate annual mileage saved roughly $116 a year in Consumer Reports' analysis once a driver dropped below 10,000 miles. If you changed jobs, retired or started working from home and never told your insurer, you are being rated on a commute you no longer drive.
Defensive driving. Discounts generally run 5% to 15% and last two to three years. New York's state-approved course yields a 10% discount, costs about $25, takes a bit over five hours and can be repeated every three years. Several states require insurers to offer a discount to drivers who complete an approved course, often with a minimum age.
Small claims. Consumer Reports found avoiding a single minor claim was worth $348 or more in some cases. Before filing on a $900 bumper, ask what the surcharge would be for three years. If the answer is $400 a year, pay cash.
What not to do: do not lower liability limits, drop uninsured motorist coverage or cancel med-pay to hit a price. Triple-I reports the average bodily injury liability claim was $28,278 in 2024, and 15.4% of drivers were uninsured in 2023. Cut the deductible and the discount list instead. See how much car insurance you need.
How often to shop, and how to do it properly
Shop every renewal, and always after a life event. Triple-I recommends getting at least three price quotes. Because carriers have filed heavy rate revisions since 2023, the cheapest company for your profile changes far more often than it used to.
- Shop 30 to 45 days before renewal. Most carriers give an advance-quote discount of 3% to 10% for binding early.
- Shop after any of these: a move, a marriage, a new job with a shorter commute, a teen getting licensed, a paid-off car, or a violation aging off your record at 3 to 5 years.
- Copy your declarations page exactly. Same liability limits, same UM/UIM, same deductibles, same med-pay. Otherwise you are comparing two different products.
- Ask for a discount audit. Paid-in-full, paperless, homeowner, occupation, alumni, anti-theft, telematics and multi-car are frequently missing.
- Never let coverage lapse. Even a one-day gap moves you into a higher-priced tier at most carriers for years.
Rating rules, permitted discounts and credit usage all vary by state, and no carrier can guarantee a specific rate or discount in advance. Treat the percentages here as realistic expectations, then verify what applies to your own policy.
Sources & further reading
- Triple-I — Nine ways to lower your auto insurance costs
- Consumer Reports — Save on car insurance even if you are a safe driver
- Consumer Reports — Car insurance telematics pros and cons (2024 survey)
- NAIC CIPR — Usage-based insurance and vehicle telematics study
- Michigan Legislature — MCL 500.2153, use of credit information
- Maryland Insurance Administration — Bulletin 21-26, use of credit in homeowners and auto insurance
- Triple-I / NAIC — Facts + Statistics: Auto insurance