You're overpaying for this...

Literally thousands a year

Welcome to reThinkable - my Sunday newsletter where I share actionable money tips, strategies, and resources to help you make smarter money moves.

Read time: 3.0 minutes

Hey friend,

I’m sending you this email from my FAVORITE place in the entire world… Mexico City! Great people, amazing food, and cute dogs everywhere — what more can you ask for?

I’m traveling a lot in March and April because I’m at that age where all my friends are either getting married or having their BIG 30th birthday celebration.

Which reminds me: I’m turning 30 in June so I should probably plan something. I don’t usually celebrate my birthday so I’m a bit lost here.

If you have any recommendations for what I should do, please share them!!

This sounds morbid but… today’s newsletter topic came to me after I saw a car accident on the way to the airport. 

THANKFULLY it wasn’t serious BUT it did get me thinking about car insurance. Today, I’m talking about why car insurance has gotten so expensive and how you can save money and stop overpaying for it. 

What’s happening with car insurance?

Insurance is one of those things you hope you never need, but definitely don’t want to be without. So it’s annoying when it keeps getting more and more expensive.

From 2023 to 2025 alone, car insurance rates have gone up by 31%, meaning the average person is spending $625 more a year (which is more than a round-trip flight to Mexico).

Bankrate Annual Insurance Report

Why is this happening?

Well… a lot of it goes back to the scary event from 5 years ago—the pandemic. (Yeah, I can’t believe it’s been that long either.)

The car industry never really bounced back

  • car parts are harder to get

  • repairs take forever

  • and everything costs more

So when fixing cars gets pricier, so does insuring them.

Add climate change to the mix (more hurricanes and wildfires), and it’s no wonder car insurance rates are through the roof in places like Florida and Louisiana.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like car insurance is going down anytime soon, but don’t panic, there are 3 things you can do to save more on car insurance.

3 ways to save on car insurance

1. Grab those discounts

Every car insurance policy comes with potential discounts but you do have to actively look for them.

Check your policy to see which ones you qualify for. Here are some of the most common ones:

Discount Type

Examples

Driver-Based Discounts

Good Student, Senior Driver, Military, Homeowner

Driving-Based Discounts

Safe Driver, Low Mileage, Accident-Free

Vehicle-Based Discounts

Anti-Theft Devices, Safety Features, New Car, Multi-Car

Depending on your provider and discount type, they can take anywhere from 10 to 30% off your premium 😉.

2. Rate Shop

Many people don’t know this but your car insurance policy is just like a phone bill or internet bill, meaning you can shop around and get a new policy. 

If you don’t, it’s literally costing you thousands of dollars in savings. 

The reason is car insurance companies do this thing called “price optimization.” Basically, it’s when a company raises your rates the longer you’re with them because they think you won’t look for another company.

So the best way to make sure you always have the lowest rate is to shop around for rates EVERY 6-12 months. 

If not, you’re overpaying for car insurance. 

You can compare car insurance rates by calling a bunch of car insurance companies or you can use this free car insurance comparison tool that takes only a few clicks.

3. Take a defensive driving course

Depending on where you live, you can take a defensive driving course to get up to a 10% discount with most car insurance companies. 

The great thing is many defensive driving courses are free and online.

It is dependent on where you live but just put into Google “Defensive Driving Discounts & Courses in my state” to learn more.

Car insurance is getting out of hand, so try at least one of these things this week to stop overpaying for it

To making smarter money moves,

— Vincent Chan

Vincent Chan

Find me on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube

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