Car Insurance Assistance for Single Moms: Tips for Managing Cost
Did you know that the majority of states in the US require you to have liability coverage for your car? This type of insurance includes the costs for property damage and injuries to others if an accident were to happen.
In addition to car insurance being required by many states, it can be quite expensive.
For this reason, if you’re a single mom, you might be wondering about car insurance assistance for single moms and how to manage car insurance costs.
This can be stressful if you don’t have the right information. Fortunately, in this article, we’ll review some of the best tips for managing costs when it comes to getting car insurance for single mothers.
Read on to learn more.
The Car Insurance Challenge Single Mothers Face
When it comes to finding the right car insurance provider, you might find that you’ve come across this challenge: rates seem to be incredibly high for you. Unfortunately, car insurance is often more expensive for single mothers than for mothers who are married.
This is because of how risk is calculated on the car insurer’s end. You could end up paying significantly more annually than a married couple would.
Additionally, if you have a child who’s a teen driver, your rates could be even higher.
However, there are some strategies that you can use to save money on your car insurance. We’ll review those now.
Insurance-Saving Tips for Single Moms
There are several strategies you can use to save on car insurance as a single mother. These are not specifically related to how to manage money; instead, they’re related to understanding how you can get creative with the ways you get insurance.
Bundling Your Policies
One of the best ways you can save money on car insurance as a single mother is by bundling your policies. Often, if you use one company for all your insurance costs, you can save money overall on your policies.
So you could bundle auto and home or renter’s insurance policies to get some massive savings overall as well as protect what’s yours.
Defensive Driving Course for Your Teen
If your teen is now becoming a driver, there are some great ways you can save money by using car insurance discounts that are specifically designed for teens. One of these is enrolling your teen in a defensive driving course.
Many car insurance providers will give you a discount if they feel that your teen is less likely to be a risky driver.
When you enroll your teen in this type of course, it makes them a better driver because of the defensive driving skills they’ll learn. As a result, you can pay less for their insurance while also gaining some additional peace of mind. (And who doesn’t want more of that?)
Good Student Discount for Your Teen
Another way to save money is by having your teen get a good student discount. Usually, if their GPA is at least 3.0 because they’re doing well in school, your teen might be able to get a discount through your insurance provider.
A bonus: If your teen’s GPA isn’t high enough yet, this can be an incentive to get them to raise their grades.
Car Insurance Assistance for Single Moms
In three states in the US, you can get car insurance for single moms. If you live in Hawaii, California, or New Jersey, you can receive this assistance. As long as you also have a low income and meet certain standards, you can enroll in a program to get this assistance.
Hawaii
In Hawaii, you may be able to get assistance on your car insurance through the Hawaii Department of Human Services if you already qualify for federal programs. Depending on your situation, you might be able to get money this way to help cover the cost of your car insurance.
New Jersey
If you qualify for Medicaid in New Jersey, you may be eligible for assistance on your car insurance through SAIP, which is short for the Special Automobile Insurance Policy. However, keep in mind that this type of insurance will only cover emergency medical costs in a situation where you end up in an accident.
There’s no coverage for damage inflicted on your vehicle or liability costs.
This is a “dollar a day” type of car insurance, and it counts as coverage legally speaking, which means you’ll be considered as driving with insurance.
For this reason, it can count as legally required insurance. However, this policy only gives the minimum protection amount, so you may want to choose more extensive coverage if you are able to afford it.
California
California offers the CLCA, which is short for the California Low-Cost Automobile insurance program. Through this program, you can receive underinsured and liability protection for anyone driving who meets the requirements of the program.
To be eligible, you have to have a good driving record, own a car that’s worth less than $25,000, and be within 250 percent of the limit for poverty that’s federal.
Additional Tips for Saving
There are some additional strategies you can use to save money on your car insurance as a single mother. These include asking about discounts, shopping around, and ensuring you have a clean driving record. Let’s review each of these now.
Asking About Discounts
Often, insurance companies will offer discounts, which can help lower the cost of the insurance you want to purchase. When you’re getting a quote or purchasing a policy, review every single discount that’s available through that company.
Discounts that are popular among single parents include customer loyalty, vehicle safety feature, claims-free, good driving, and multi-policy discounts.
Shopping Around
When you ask an insurance company to provide you with a premium, each one is going to create a unique one that is generated by their rating algorithm. There are many different factors that impact your rate, so it’s likely each company will offer you a different quote.
This is likely even if you’re applying for the same coverage with each one.
For this reason, it’s smart to shop around. Once you know what type of coverage you want, contact at least three insurance companies to get a quote from each. Then, sit down and compare how much you’d pay for each.
Having a Clean Driving Record
Accidents sometimes happen and there’s not much we can do about it—but, unfortunately, insurance companies don’t see it this way. If you end up in one, then once you’ve filed the claim, your premium could end up being increased.
This increase can be incredibly significant. For this and other reasons, it’s a good idea to avoid DUI convictions, accidents, and tickets as much as you are able. This will help you avoid surcharges, which will help keep your premium at a lower amount.
It can also help to sign up for an accident forgiveness program. This way, if you end up in an accident, you’ll still be able to save some money because it can help you keep the amount of your premium down.
When you sign up with one of these programs, they’ll usually do one of two things.
They might forgive your policy’s first at-fault accident. Or, within a certain number of years, they might forgive one loss that’s at-fault.
Depending on what you think you might end up wanting the most protection from, you can check out different accident forgiveness programs and see what they offer.
This will give you a good idea of which one is the best choice for you and your family.
Get Started Saving Money
After reading through this article, you’ve learned about insurance-saving tips for single moms such as bundling your policies and using discounts that are available for your teen. You also know about car insurance assistance for single moms available in three separate states.
Additionally, you’ve learned about additional tips for saving, such as shopping around, asking about discounts, and having a clean driving record.
Now you can finally save money on your car insurance, making it easier for you to spend your money where it counts.
Save Money on Your Wireless Phone Service
If you qualify for federal benefits such as SNAP, you also qualify for Lifeline service. Lifeline is a federal benefit program that makes it possible for low-income consumers to receive access to free or heavily discounted communication services. Click here to find out more and apply for this valuable benefit.
Enjoy Recommended Resources and Amazon Deals
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