Lower Your Insurance Premiums
- Zach Santmier
- Dec 6
- 3 min read
Updated: Dec 8
We’ve been walking through the eight steps that help you fill up your financial tank and finally move toward the dreams that have been put on the back burner for far too long.
We’ve covered Step 1: Spend less than you make. We’ve hit Step 2: Give 10%.And last week, we talked about Step 3: establishing a “New Zero” in your checking account.
And today, it’s time for Step 4: Adequate Insurance—the protection mark on your Fuel Gauge.
Up to this point, you have already been making financial strides to lay a solid financial foundation. Now, we want to make sure that we don’t go backwards. Insurance is a financial tool to transfer risk onto an insurance company so you aren’t flying solo, hoping bad things don’t happen.
Now, when most people hear “adequate insurance,” they think we’re about to get buried in fine print, endorsements, exclusions, and all the other stuff no one reads until after disaster strikes. And if you’re local here in West Michigan, you may know that I own Trumble Agency, a local independent insurance agency, and deal with this subject as my day job.
But today we’re simplifying it—because the heart of this step isn’t about becoming an insurance expert. Today I want to focus on one element that will provide clarity to all of your insurance policies: your deductible. A deductible is your “self insurance.” Instead of transferring 100% of the risk to an insurance company, a deductible is put in place so your risk is capped at a predetermined dollar amount.
So let me give you my philosophy, and it might surprise you:Your deductible should be as high as you can comfortably afford.
Why? Because insurance is designed for the big stuff—not minor inconveniences. Yet most people set their deductible low so when it comes to making small claims, it “feels free.” But as in life, nothing in insurance is free. A low deductible means the company is taking on all of the risk… and charging you for it every single month. And the more you use it for small things, the more the monthly rates rise.
And here's the part people don’t realize: Most families go years—sometimes decades — without filing a claim.
So what does that mean? It means most people overpay month after month after month… all for a deductible they rarely, if ever, use.
When you raise your deductible to a level you could handle—without feeling uncomfortable—you immediately lower your monthly premium. And that savings, over the course of a year, two years, five years… becomes real money in your wallet. Money that can go toward filling other parts of your financial tank: paying off debt, building savings, investing, or hitting those goals you’ve been putting off. This year alone, my team at Trumble have helped our clients save over $1,500,000 by adjusting deductibles and simplifying their insurance.
Now, here’s the key:I’m not saying choose a deductible that scares you.I’m saying choose the highest deductible that still lets you sleep at night that is under your New Zero which is one month of your expenses.
If you have your “New Zero” established—your buffer in your checking account—this becomes even easier. Think about it: the money you’ve already set aside to protect yourself from life’s bumps is now the same money that could absorb a larger deductible.
And let me say this as clearly as I can: Insurance should not be a maintenance plan. This is unpopular for an insurance guy to say, but insurance is not meant for every cracked windshield, every tiny ding, every little something that goes wrong. It’s there to protect your financial life when something big hits—something you couldn’t comfortably handle on your own.
By choosing a smart deductible, you stop overpaying for the small stuff and start using insurance for the big stuff—exactly how it was designed.
This is Step 4 on the Fuel Gauge because true financial health requires protecting your downside. And protection doesn’t mean paying more—it means paying wisely.
So this week, take a look at your policies—auto, home, health, all of them—and ask yourself: “Is my deductible set for convenience, or is it set intentionally to maximize my savings?”
When you fix that, you’re not just checking a box—you’re moving one more step toward a full tank.
To get caught up on past articles, visit www.trumbleagency.com/increase where a complete library of all of the articles can be found.
Zach Santmier is the owner of Trumble Agency, Inc. and the author of the personal financial course, Increase. He focuses on helping families escape paycheck to paycheck living so they can freely pursue their ideal future.