How I Cut My Auto Insurance Premiums by 21% in Two Minutes

Methodology

NerdWallet examined over one billion auto, homeowners, condo, and renters insurance rates sourced from Quadrant Information Services, a leading rating and analytics platform, to determine the potential savings achievable by increasing policy deductibles.

Automobile Insurance

The primary auto insurance analysis uses a 35‑year‑old single driver of a 2023 Toyota Camry with good credit, no recent at‑fault accidents or violations, and a full‑coverage policy, evaluating five deductible options — $250, $500, $1,000, $2,000, and $2,500. All other variables are held constant to isolate the impact of changing only the deductible.

To assess the generality of the savings, we repeated the analysis for various driver segments, including age groups (20, 35, and 70 years), credit profiles (good, fair, and poor), and driving records (clean, at‑fault accident, speeding ticket, and DUI).

For each group and deductible level, we derived the national median premium and computed the percentage change between deductible tiers to determine the average savings.

Homeowners Insurance

The home insurance evaluation relies on a single‑family residence with replacement‑cost dwelling coverage. Median premiums were compared for two deductible amounts — $1,000 and $2,500 — across newer and older homes, with and without recent claims, and for policyholders with good or poor credit.

Condo Insurance

Condo insurance rates were examined using median premiums for $1,000 and $2,500 deductibles. The primary analysis covers a condo policy with $100,000 personal property and $300,000 liability coverage, comparing owners with good versus poor credit and with or without a recent claim.

Renters Insurance

Renters insurance was evaluated using $500 and $1,000 deductibles for a tenant with $30,000 personal property and $100,000 liability coverage.

Key Points on the Data

Specific illustrative examples — such as a 35‑year‑old driver with poor credit and an accident, or a 1980s‑era home with a claims history — employ elevated risk profiles, resulting in premiums above the base averages.

To prevent a few extremely low or high premiums from skewing the outcomes, we excluded clear outliers prior to analysis.

These figures are sample rates provided solely for comparison. Individual rates vary based on location, vehicle or property, coverage selections, credit score, claims history, and other factors; actual payments will differ from those cited.

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