If you're like me, you can think of a lot of things you'd rather do than pay for car insurance. So finding a simple way to lower your insurance bill is a great idea. Cheaper car insurance? What great insurance advice!

There are a lot of things you can do to save money on auto insurance. Being a good, safe driver is one of the best. Taking a safe driver course, insuring more than one vehicle with the same insurance company, driving fewer miles a year—each of these things will lower your car insurance premiums and save you money.

But the number one easiest way to consistently save money on car insurance is simple: raise your deductible.

You might think raising your deductible would open yourself up to a much bigger bite in your wallet if you have an accident that's your fault. Well, OK. An at-fault accident will cost you a bit more. But let's look closer. Let's say you now have an auto insurance policy with $500 deductible. Sounds like good protection. If you have an accident where you're judged to be at fault, only the first $500 of the bill to fix your car is going to come out of your pocket. Not too bad.

But how likely are you to have an accident? If you're not a safe driver and you're pretty sure you're going to have one this year—and especially if you think you're likely to have more than one—then go ahead. Pay for that nice low deductible. You'll need it.

Look at it this way: Switching your insurance policy to a plan with $1000 deductible will likely save you a few hundred dollars a year in insurance premiums. If you don't have an accident this year, that's how much you'll have saved.

The downside? If you do have a fender-bender, an extra 500 bucks is coming out of your pocket to fix your car. But since you've already saved quite a bit, it shouldn't cause a major financial blow.

If you're a good driver, statistics show that you'll go years between accident claims. That means that over the years, you can save hundreds or even thousands of dollars simply by raising the deductible amount on your auto insurance. The chances are very good that you're not going to have enough accidents over the years to have to pay out as much as you've saved.

So if you're a safe and responsible driver, go ahead. Call your agent and get insurance advice or compare insurance quotes online for the cheapest rates on auto insurance with a higher deductible. After all, I imagine you can think of a few interesting ways to spend that money.