7 ways to lower your car insurance in 2026

Car insurance rates rose 12% from 2024 to 2025, according to Bankrate's True Cost of Auto Insurance report, after already climbing 17% from 2023 to 2024.

Inflation, the rising cost of repairs, an uptick in severe weather and the number and severity of accidents have all fueled increased costs for both drivers and insurers.

But you don't have to break the bank to pay your premiums. Here are tips on how to lower car insurance rates.

Car insurance companies can charge wildly different premiums to the same driver with the same car and the same record. You may think staying with the same provider year after year will automatically mean savings, but that's often not the case.

Some insiders recommend switching car insurance companies every year to take advantage of the sizable rate differences.

Many insurers charge a fee for dividing your premium into monthly payments. Auto-Owners is among those that will reduce your rate if you pay in full and on time at renewal.

Auto-Owners' low rates, superior customer service and add-ons like gap insurance made us crown it one of the best auto insurance companies overall.

Most insurance companies will lower your rate if you take out more than one kind of policy. Known as bundling discounts, they're most common if you get auto and home insurance from the same provider, though some companies will include renters insurance, life insurance or even pet insurance.

Amica offers the largest multi-policy discount of any insurance company we reviewed — up to 30% for bundling home and auto insurance. It is highly rated by J.D. Power for both customer satisfaction and the claims process, and has fewer auto insurance complaints than comparable companies, according to the NAIC.

Bundling isn't the only way to save: Insurance companies offer a variety of discounts, including for safe drivers, students, homeowners, members of the military and others.

One of our top car insurance providers, State Farm offers good drivers a discount of up to 30% when they use its Drive Safe & Save mobile app to track their driving.

If you have a young driver on your policy, Geico offers a good student discount of up to 15% and another rate reduction for completing an approved driver's ed course.

If you work remotely or otherwise don't drive often, a pay-per-mile policy could save you more than 40% over traditional insurance. Users are charged a flat daily rate, plus a few cents per mile. Most pay-per-mile programs require drivers to use a device or app that tracks their vehicle's mileage, speed, acceleration and braking distance.

If you drive 500 miles a month, you could save over $450 a year with Nationwide's SmartMiles program, which is available in 44 states. It even has an exception for road trips, with only the first 250 miles per day logged.  

Metromile is another strong contender in the pay-per-mile space with a discount of up to 15% for bundling with Lemonade home or renters insurance. 

In most states, your credit history affects the price you pay for car insurance. Need to work on raising your credit score? *Experian Boost® is a free service that reports consistent payments that wouldn't normally be seen by credit reporting agencies — like eligible rent, phone and subscription service payments.

Your deductible is the amount you're responsible for before your insurance company starts paying. Typically, the higher the deductible, the lower your premium.

Increasing your deductible from $200 to $500 could reduce the cost of collision and comprehensive coverage by 15% to 30%, according to the Insurance Information Institute, while upping it to $1,000 could save you 40% or more.

You'll need to have more money on hand if you're involved in an accident, so if you don't think you can meet the deductible — or have a spotty driving record — this isn't the strategy for you.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed financial decisions. Every insurance review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of insurance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

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*Results may vary. Some may not see improved scores or approval odds. Not all lenders use Experian credit files, and not all lenders use scores impacted by Experian Boost.