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1. If you are out of assets, be sure to ask for the legal policy minimums.
Tell me, is it important for you to have lots of liability coverages if you actually don't have money in your bank? Of course, many insurance companies will encourage you that you do need these coverages because there is a possibility for you to get sued regardless. Yes it is possible. And there is no guarantee that you won't get sued and pay a chunk of your money to somebody for the rest of your life.
However, the good news is that there are honest auto insurance agents who admit that people with no assets at all are seldom sued. Lawyers labor on a specific commission in these types of cases, and these lawyers won't take a case if there is no money that could be collected from it. In truth, having a higher liability policy can be an indication to sue, and this won't leave you protected you from personal liability, because they always sue for more than the policy limit anyhow.
Now if you have no assets that you need to protect, why is there a need to buy an auto insurance? Because auto insurance is required by the law. Then if that is the case why not just get the required minimum coverage? Be very careful on this one. One auto insurance guy have lied to his client for years, claiming that the client just had the required minimum coverage, when in fact he was actually shelling his money out for "company-recommended minimums." There are instances that you have to push for your point. Even better if you can sign something indicating that you understand the risks that goes with being "under-insured."
2. Claim diminished value.
If your auto insurance includes the collision policy, your auto insurance company will cover all the repair costs incurred in a collision or accident. However, does this actually fix the financial damage? Not necessarily. A car that just had an accident may have the body fixed and might look just the same as before, but this doesn't mean it will sell for the same price. Realistically, no one would pay the same amount of money if the car has been in an accident already.
A car that already had an accident will most likely be worth $2,000 less than a similar car that hasn't had any accident yet. This is what is called the "diminished value." This can be covered by your policy. But in some instances, diminished value is often not covered unless you stress the issue. Try to look for a car dealer who will do an estimate of the diminished value if needed be, then show this to your auto insurance company. Remember, you pay for your auto insurance to have your car losses covered.
3. Remove kids from the policy, lower your premiums.
It may already have been brought to your attention that you pay more for your auto insurance if there are driving-age children at your home. Even if these children are at school, as long as their legal residence is your house, you will definitely pay more.
However, there is a little-known exemption to this given rule. If your kids are at a college and their school is more than 100 miles away, you can opt not to include them in the auto insurance policy. This can dramatically decrease your auto insurance premiums. The catch then? These children are excluded drivers, therefore you can't let them drive your car when they are home to visit.