No one likes paying for insurance — and mounting premiums in 2025 didn’t help matters.
Last year, insurers hiked homeowners insurance rates at a pace not seen in more than a decade, as 47% of homeowners reported premium increases, according to survey from J.D. Power released in September. Meanwhile, car owners witnessed a 12% increase in auto insurance premiums in 2025 according to Bankrate data.
While 2026 could deliver even more price hikes, you do have options to curb those cost increases.
Start with comparison shopping for home and auto insurance to save a significant amount. Martin Lachter, head of research for Consumer Reports, previously told CNBC Select that in the brand’s 2025 survey of 40,000 policyholders, nearly 30% had switched carriers in the past five years. Of those who switched, the median savings was $461 — almost a third of the median $1,452 annual premium.
Here are our top tips for insurance shopping, along with a suggestion for using your newfound savings effectively.
Get quotes from several home and auto insurers
Having multiple quotes for the same insurance coverage allows you to compare policies apples-to-apples.
To get a few quotes, one of the first steps is to review your existing insurance. Pull up your policy’s declarations page, which shows the coverage limits and your deductible.
Then, you can start checking out other insurers. To help you get started, CNBC Select has picked a shortlist of some of the top auto and homeowners insurance companies, with brands like Nationwide and Auto-Owners appearing on both lists. Most insurers also offer some form of bundling discount for getting both policies from the same insurer.
Nationwide Auto Insurance
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Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
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App available
Yes
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Policy highlights
Nationwide offers near-nationwide availability and personalized services, such as On Your Side® Review, a free annual insurance evaluation to ensure you are adequately protected and are taking advantage of any discounts available to you.
Terms apply.
Auto-Owners Insurance
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Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
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App available
Yes
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Policy highlights
Auto-Owners offers affordable premiums with high customer satisfaction ratings. There are 12 different types of discounts available, as well as various other types of insurance besides auto.
Terms apply.
To get auto insurance quotes, you’ll typically need to provide some information on your car’s make, model and year in addition to your driver’s license number. For homeowners insurance, you’ll be asked about your home’s materials, roof age and square footage.
When you receive quotes, make sure that your coverage limits and deductibles are the same as your previous policy so you can compare your options accurately and find the lowest price.
Make the switch
Once you’ve found a quote you like, the next step is buying the policy. Most companies let you pay with a credit card, but make sure there are no additional fees for doing so — otherwise, you’ll save money paying via a connected bank account. If you’re able, paying for your policy in full and up front could help you get another discount.
Cancel your old policy
On the declarations page of your new policy, look for the policy effective date. This is when your new coverage begins. Select the end date for your old policy so the new policy begins immediately and there’s no gap.
However, if your old policy is still in effect, you can cancel it and get a refund for the unused portion of the policy. Many insurers will send you a check if you take this approach.
Save the difference to kickstart your goals
If you don’t immediately need some extra breathing room in your budget, you could save the difference between your new, lower premium and your old costs. Even a little bit can go a long way when saved strategically.
If you typically pay for insurance monthly, subtract your new payment from your old one. Set up a recurring, automated deposit to a high-yield savings account that’s equal to the difference, which can be used to start an emergency or sinking fund. Some of our top choices include theEverBank Performance Savingsaccount, which offers a relatively high annual percentage yield (APY) and no monthly fees.
EverBank Performance℠ Savings
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Annual Percentage Yield (APY)
4.30% APY
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Minimum balance
None
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Monthly fee
None
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Maximum transactions
You may conduct up to 20 external transfers per day, subject to a maximum of 10 transfers that pull deposit funds from a linked external account into your accounts at EverBank and a maximum of 10 transfers that send deposit funds from your accounts at EverBank to a linked external account, and up to 50 total external transfers per month.
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Excessive transactions fee
None
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Overdraft fees
N/A
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Offer checking account?
Yes
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Offer ATM card?
Yes
Terms apply.
Pros
- Strong APY
- No minimum balance required
- No monthly fees
- Free ATM card and no ATM fees
Cons
- No physical branch locations
If you want to save more for retirement, consider automating deposits to an IRA. A Roth IRA could be a good fit if you earn less than $158,000 per year (or $242,000 when filing jointly). Since you’ve already paid taxes on the money going in, you can withdraw funds after they’ve grown in retirement tax-free. However, there is a limit to how much you can put in each year — in 2026, you can contribute up to $7,500, or $8,600 if you’re age 50 or older.
While each deposit may seem small, this money can snowball over time and surprise you. And, since it was part of your budget previously, you might not even notice that it’s gone.
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Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every insurance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of insurance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
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