If you're like most car insurance buyers in Colorado you can't afford to pay even a penny more for your insurance needs than is absolutely necessary and driving without insurance is not an option ? not unless you want to risk losing your vehicle and your driver's license for a long, long time.

It's possible that one of the auto insurance reforms currently in the Colorado legislature will eventually have a positive impact on auto insurance premiums in the state, but in the meantime here are a few practical suggestions for ways to reduce your cost of auto insurance or to a least keep it at its current level.

First, do your own homework.

Start by checking with your other insurance providers. Often your homeowner's insurance may offer a nice discount if you purchase your car insurance through them as well.

Secondly, when it comes time to renew your auto insurance policy carefully review it rather than just blindly paying it. Talk to your agent. Ask questions.

Start by discussing your deductible. The larger your deductible the lower your monthly premium. Obviously this represents a trade-off, but finding the right balance can save you substantially on your premiums.

If you own more than one car your insurance company should offer what they call a multi-policy discount. If you're entitled to such a discount, make sure you're getting it.

Your age ? or the ages of others on your policy ? can affect your monthly premiums. Generally speaking, very young and very old drivers pay higher premiums than other drivers.

While you can't do much about the age of the drivers on your policy, there are things that both young and older drivers can do to help keep costs reasonable. Young people who have had driver's education and who get good grades often get lower premiums as do older drivers who take refresher courses in driver's training.

Having auto insurance is a responsibility for every Colorado driver ? but finding ways to keep insurance costs down is every Colorado driver's right.