Downshift: cut your car-insurance costs

Insuring business vehicles isn't cheap. John Schack, vice president and chief sales officer with insurance brokerage HUB International, offers these tips for keeping your premiums down:

* IMPLEMENT LOSS-CONTROL MEASURES. Evaluate the necessity of trips during bad weather or heavy traffic periods, use vehicles for business purposes only, and keep vehicles in good operating Condition.

* VERIFY THE GARAGING LOCATION OF VEHICLES. If vehicles are taken home at night, the garaging location may have a lower cost factor.

* INCREASE DEDUCTIBLES. Schack recommends a minimum of $500.

* DON'T BUY COVERAGE YOU DON'T NEED. Consider not buying comprehensive or collision coverage on older cars. Also, vehicles used strictly for business by employees may not need medical-payment coverage if injuries would be covered under workers' compensation insurance. But business owners and corporate officers are typically excluded under workers' comp, so review your coverage carefully before dropping anything.

* FOR COMPANY-OWNED PRIVATE PASSENGER VEHICLES, check for savings in insuring them on a personal-lines policy, rating the usage as business and listing the company name as an additional insured.

Talk to your insurance agent about these and other ways to reduce auto-insurance premiums.
JACQUELYN LYNN is a freelance business writer in Orlando, Florida.