How you can cut insurance costs during COVID pandemic

With so many of us trying to find ways to cut costs, there’s one area that can save on your monthly expenses. It all starts with your insurance agent.

A simple phone call to discuss everything from personal expenses to business costs can save up to thousands of dollars.

“Insurance is a good place to start because it’s a bill that gets taken out every month and you don’t really think about it. It’s typically one of the larger bills monthly,” said Tony Repinski, the owner of Freedom 1st Insurance group.

By bundling home and auto insurance — two things many already have in place — you can save up to 15 percent on your bill, depending on the carrier.

“Insurance is based on risk, and the less risk, the more money that you could potentially save,” Repinski said. “Whether you are in between jobs or currently out of work due to COVID, that could actually end up working for you in the long run. The less risk associated with your job, the more potential savings.”

With COVID, many families are spending more time at home either working remotely or adjusting to the demands of their children and distance learning. In turn, they are not venturing out as much with their vehicles.

According to AAA, the average annual cost for auto insurance can go up to $1,388 per year.

“If someone is working from home now or even if they’re unemployed and no longer driving all that mileage on their vehicle, they can change that from a work vehicle to a pleasure vehicle and save significantly,” according to Charmaine Hornick, director of franchise operations for All Nevada Insurance.

She said by calling your agent and explaining the situation, whether it’s going from driving 15 miles a day to work to not driving at all, agents will work to help find ways to save you money each month. Even if the changes are just temporary, it’s worth a call.

Savings will vary based on different insurance carriers with the deals and discounts they offer. During this time, many companies are offering deals to help keep their clients and work within their budgets.

The same goes for business owners. As many move their storefront operations to online, Hornick says you can re-evaluate your company’s needs and adjust based on things such as the amount of customers going into a store or the amount of employees.

“You could make some drastic savings,” Repiski said. “I had a company I just worked with a couple months ago. We sat down and looked at it and, it was a larger company, but we ended up saving him about $8,000 a year.”

He recommends taking a look at your insurance every one to two years because agencies are constantly changing guidelines and discounts. He also points out that insurance agents have so many clients on their roster it can take awhile for them to reach out to you. While it’s a wide range, the potential savings on something like auto insurance can range anywhere from 1 percent to 30 percent.

“Having a constant adjustment to what your lifestyle is and how it changes is important for your agent to know,” Repiski said. “Understand that almost every change in your life can impact your insurance.

“Every person is different, every situation is different and every policy is different, but that’s where agents can evaluate and step in to help.”