5 ways to get auto insurance discounts

By Insure.com

Just when you thought you'd taken advantage of every discount and shrunk your auto insurance premium to its tiniest, auto insurers are offering more ways to make your bill smaller, and all you have to do is be yourself.

Almost every insurance company gives you a discount if you've had no accidents or tickets in the last three to five years, or if you buy a homeowners or renters insurance policy with the same company (multiline discount), insure more than one car on your auto insurance policy (multivehicle discount), or own a car that is equipped with air bags. But some companies will also reward you for your profession, your age, and using the Internet.

That college degree is worth something

21st Century Group has found that drivers with degrees in engineering are lower risks than other drivers. If you have a bachelor's degree in any number of engineering or science-related fields — biochemistry, mathematics, or mechanical engineering, for example — you can get a discount on your auto insurance premium if you buy from them.

21st Century sells auto insurance in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, and offers the "engineering and scientist" discount in all of those states. If you're a scientist or an engineer with a good driving record, you can save between 10 and 30 percent on the company's base rate, according to Ric Hill, vice president of corporate relations.

A base rate is the average amount of claims paid plus the insurance company's claims-processing fee. For example, if the company's base rate is $400, you could save between $40 and $120.

"Our company's founder saw that educators, scientists, and engineers have lots of characteristics that seem to show that they're the best drivers," says Hill. "Engineers, for example, being accustomed to dealing with fine details, are somewhat meticulous, which means they take good care of their automobiles." 21st Century found that the same holds true for teachers and other scientists.

Teachers deserve a break

The insurance industry knows from long years of number-crunching that certain occupations and risk go hand in hand. Teaching and farming, for example, are generally among the lowest-risk occupations. (See “Who’s the better driver, soccer mom or lawyer?”).

Recognizing that lowered risk, several insurers offer specific discounts for educators, including Esurance, Ohio Casualty, 21st Century and Horace Mann. Ask your agent to check.

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