Can You Get a Car Insurance Discount By Working From Home?
The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed how businesses operate. To enforce social distancing necessities, countless businesses have transitioned to either full- or part-time remote work. This work from home benefits allows employees to continue to do their job from the safety of their own home.
One of the benefits that you might have noticed about working from home is that doing so has caused your auto insurance rates to decrease. Here is why it might have occurred, and what you can expect if you continue to work remotely.
Low Mileage Equals Less Risk
By working from home, you cut out your daily commute. Therefore, you put less mileage on your car. This is a good thing in the eyes of car insurers in a couple of ways:
- When you are not driving (especially during rush hour) your risks of having a wreck are significantly lower. The insurer has much less of a cost risk by investing in you, and therefore might not have to charge you as much money.
- The less you use your vehicle, the less wear & tear it will experience over the years. Therefore, it will maintain its value and continue to function in optimal ways. This optimal functionality can reduce your risk of accidents and therefore help you avoid making a claim on your plan.
Overall, the less you use the car, the more trustworthy you will be to your insurer. As a result, you could continue to keep your rates much lower just because you are not commuting every day.
Low-Mileage Discounts Might Be Available
Whenever you apply for or renew your auto insurance plan, your insurer will ask you for an odometer reading. This will help them gauge how much you drove since the last time you renewed your plan. If you have driven less than a certain number of miles, <10,000 for example, then your insurer might apply a low mileage discount to your plan that will decrease your rates overall.
Some insurers also offer a pay-per-mile price formula, which means they charge you a small flat rate for your coverage plus a certain amount of money per mile driven. They will therefore track your odometer readings through a GPS device or other monitor, and bill you based on that usage.
A final savings incentive might come if you take a job with a company that allows you to work from home and is contracted with an auto insurer to offer its employees savings. These preferred employer discounts are not available in all cases, but if you do choose to switch jobs, it is a good idea to talk to your new employer about whether they offer this option. Though this is not directly related to working from home directly, it is still a vital savings benefit that might be a great advantage to you.
Call us today at (915) 599-2900 or visit www.MtFranklin.com to see how we can help you.