Shopping for Car Insurance Could Fund Your Child's College Education
24 February 2000
Shopping for Car Insurance Could Fund Your Child's College Education'Insure Your Future Provides A Way to Start Your Child's College Fund' MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio, Feb. 24 -- If you think you can't save enough to fund your children's college education, think again. The money could be right in front of you -- in the form of your auto insurance premium. Research from Progressive Insurance shows that the average difference between the highest and lowest auto insurance premium available to the same consumer from different companies is $522 every six months. If a person shopped for auto insurance, realized savings equal to the average variance every six months and put this 'found money' ($522) into an interest-bearing account (averaging 6 percent interest compounded annually), in 18 years, the savings on auto insurance would accrue to more than $34,000 (without considering taxes). This could be a big step towards paying for the college education for the more than 15 million American children under the age of three. "People don't realize that they can save a significant amount of money by shopping around," said Dave Pratt, Director of Marketing, Progressive. Progressive Insurance has announced a program, "Insure Your Future," to help consumers understand the savings available to them if they shopped around for auto insurance. "People shop for prices on cars, houses, even airline tickets, but people rarely shop for car insurance. Shopping for auto insurance and putting away the savings is the perfect way to start a college fund, or any other type of savings plan," said Pratt. For more details and to request a free brochure, "Insure Your Future: How to Shop Around for Auto Insurance," visit http://www.progressive.com or write to P.O. Box 94661, Cleveland, Ohio, 44101. The Progressive study involved 140,801 consumers who used Progressive's unique auto insurance comparison rate service between July 1, 1999 and December 31, 1999. Consumers can compare auto insurance rates available to them from up to four of the largest auto insurers in the country by calling 1-800-AUTO-PRO(R) or visiting http://www.progressive.com . Pratt said: "Remember Santa Claus in 'Miracle on 34th Street'?. He told people to go to competing stores where he knew specific toys were less expensive. That's what our rate comparison service is all about." When shopping, consider calling a company direct, or visiting an Independent Agent. Many consumers prefer to work with Independent Agents, who typically represent multiple insurance companies, and can shop around on behalf of a consumer and provide in-person service. Progressive Insurance , headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio, is one of the nation's largest auto insurers. In business since 1937, the company provides all drivers with competitive rates and 24-hour, in-person services. More information about Progressive can be found at http://www.progressive.com .