Car insurance is already getting expensive. Pair it with the rising gas prices, and the average person can’t drive long distances regularly. While the gas prices are beyond your reach, some safety features can lower car insurance costs.
Let’s look at what these car safety features are, what they do, and how they can bring down the cost of auto insurance. This article will discuss the following:
- Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
- Anti-theft devices
- Lane assist
- Rear-View camera
- Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)
- GPS Tracking
- Collision Warning
- Electronic Stability Program (ESP)
Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS)
The Anti-Lock Braking System is one of the world’s most valuable, meaningful, and standard car (and motorbike) safety features. You will find this feature in almost all the cars in nearly every country. Why? Because of how important it is.
The wheels’ sudden stopping can lock your tires whenever you press your brakes at full potential. This locking does not stop the car but makes it skid, resulting in deadly accidents that can also total your car.
The anti-lock braking system is a technology that stops the wheels from stopping at once. This system makes the wheel stop in short bursts and maintains its motion, which results in better braking, and no skidding.
So it is easy to understand why car insurance companies would want this technology in the car they insure. ABS can prevent massive damage to the vehicle and injuries to the driver and the passenger.
Anti-Theft Devices
While getting a car stolen is rare for an average individual, do not think your vehicle is safe from thieves. Hundreds of thousands of cars are stolen annually in the US, resulting in thousands of monthly comprehensive insurance claims.
These thefts are why car insurance companies will lower the cost of your comprehensive insurance policy if your car comes with anti-theft devices. These devices could be an alert or alarm system that goes off when someone tries to break in.
Installing them yourself is better if your car does not have anti-theft devices. It will lower the cost of your comprehensive policy and make it more difficult for someone to steal your car. Even with comprehensive insurance, getting your vehicle stolen is still an unwanted thing.
Lane Assists
Lane assists include technologies in your car that keeps you driving in the lane, and if you swerve, it can either alert the driver or even put the car back inside the lane in some advanced and expensive cars.
Many car accidents are just due to people going off their lanes and hitting other cars. This simple yet powerful lane assist feature can stop many life-threatening car accidents. It is also why auto insurers lower their rates if the car comes with this feature.
Rear-View Camera
Have you ever been in that position when the car in front of you backs and you have a series of heart attacks hoping that they do not hit your car? With the help of a rear-view camera, hitting any vehicle while you put the reverse gear becomes impossible (unless you want to).
You need to use a rear-view camera to understand its usefulness. These cameras add a layer of safety to your driving and prevent a lot of fender benders and other minor accidents; hence, car insurance companies are happy to insure your car at lower rates if it has this feature.
Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)
ADAS stands for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and comprises different driving technologies such as lane assists, collision detection, night vision, driver alert features, adaptive cruise control, etc. All these features help in preventing road accidents and insurance claims.
ADAS is a handy feature that lowers your car insurance rates and saves you from dangerous car accidents and expensive car repair bills.
GPS tracking
Who would not want the ability to track essential and expensive things anytime they go missing? Thanks to GPS tracking, some cars come with inbuilt tracking systems that can help locate your vehicle if it goes missing.
This is a great feature that becomes useful when your car gets stolen. Most of the stolen cars are recovered with last-seen footage and GPS tracking. GPS tracking will reduce the cost of comprehensive insurance as it helps prevent car theft.
Collision Warning
In some advanced and expensive cars, you get a feature called ” collision warning.” What this feature does is it warns you if a vehicle is dangerously coming close to you or you are driving in the direction of another car.
The car has many sensors and detectors that constantly monitor your surroundings. If these sensors detect anything, moving or stationary, arriving in your car’s way, it either produces a loud chime or even stops the car to prevent any collision accident.
Collision warning is a useful feature that works wonderfully to prevent collision accidents with other vehicles, trees, and pedestrians. This feature is rare and comes only with expensive cars.
Electronic Stability Program (ESP)
Cars can be unstable, especially at high speeds. It is why ESP, or electronic stability program, is a crucial feature in many modern vehicles. When driving at high speeds and suddenly losing control of the vehicle, ESP can help bring the car back to stability.
Whether swerving, skidding, or wobbling, ESP works like magic to keep the car on the road and on its wheels. This feature saves a lot of lives and prevents cars from getting totaled. Hence, car insurance companies love to see it in the cars they insure.
Conclusion
These features will save you a lot of money, but getting these features in your car means you need to buy a relatively expensive car. So, the best way to save on car insurance is by looking for the most affordable car insurance companies.
For example, if you live in Nevada, look for Nevada cheap car insurance companies and select the best option that suits your needs the best.
Mark is the founder of Financial Pilgrimage, a blog dedicated to helping young families pay down debt and live financially free. Mark has a Bachelor’s degree in financial management and a Master’s degree in economics and finance. He is a husband of one and father of two and calls St. Louis, MO, home. He also loves playing in old man baseball leagues, working out, and being anywhere near the water. Mark has been featured in Yahoo! Finance, NerdWallet, and the Plutus Awards Showcase.