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Save With Dave: Auto Insurance

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― With high gas prices here to stay, many people are looking at ways to cut costs. In tonight's Save with Dave, I will show you how the high fuel prices can actually help you save some money.

It's hard to imagine anything good coming out of paying $4 or $5 for a gallon of gas. But, I want to show you how it can help you save on your auto insurance.

Ask anybody these days and they'll tell you about their pain at the pump.

"It's awful, it makes me feel awful, it's outrageous but what can I do?" says one consumer.

"I can't stand it but I have to do it," another consumer gripes.

Those soaring prices are forcing many of us to change our habits.

"The biggest habit is what vehicle we're going to drive and how many miles per gallon we're going to get in it," explains Michele Adams, State Farm Insurance Agent.

If you have the option of parking your big SUV at home and driving your smaller car to work, not only are you saving on gas, but you could lower your insurance premium.

"Most insurance companies happen to have a threshold for low miles, ours happens to be 7500 miles per year," says Michele.

Instead of having your car classified as "drive to work", it'll be in the "pleasure" category.

Michele says that translates into 12 to 18 percent savings in insurance per year.

And if you rake the train or bus to work, that could also mean more cash in your wallet.

"If you deserve this rate, we're happy to give it to you," Michele says.

Of course, your insurance rate is also determined by other factors, like your age, driving record, type of car and so on.

The Consumer Federation of America says people who drive fewer miles could save an average of $47 to $142 per year.

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