Americans are cutting back in all areas of their household, including the day-to-day purchases they make, taking fewer vacations, keeping vehicles longer, and generally avoiding big purchases. Consumers are finally looking to save more money, spend less, and pay off long held debt. As part of this process, consumers should also re-evaluate their investments, monthly services and insurance policies.

The prices that you pay for various insurance policies that you have can vary a lot from company to company and policy to policy. Every few years it’s important to re-evaluate your homeowners insurance, car insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and any other insurance policies that you have to make sure that everything that should be covered is covered and that you’re not paying too much.

When shopping for car insurance, make sure to get uninsured motorist insurance to protect yourself from uninsured and underinsured drivers. Although it’s the law to get car insurance in most states, many motorists don’t have enough coverage and some drive without coverage in spite of the law. If you get into an accident and the other driver doesn’t have insurance, you want to make sure that there’s money there to fix your vehicle.

If you own a loan on your car, you will likely be required to get collision and comprehensive insurance. Collision insurance pays for the damages that would occur when you get into an accident. Comprehensive insurance takes care of non-collision damages, such as break-ins, thefts and cracked windshields. If you don’t buy insurance and have a car-loan, your lender will often buy the insurance on your behalf and you might end up paying five to six times what you would normally pay.

Liability is certainly the most important part of your insurance policy. You want to make sure that you have high-medical and property damage limits. Although you may only do $20,000 or $30,000 damage to a vehicle, if you’re in an accident and the other party is seriously injured, you could be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of medical bills if you don’t have the proper coverage.

When looking at a deductible, usually about $500 is the “sweet spot”. Although you will get a cheaper rate by taking a higher deductible, chances are you will use the insurance policy well before the savings on the policy ever make sense. $500 is also a dollar amount that most people can get quickly from savings or other sources, and keeps the price relatively reasonable.