Do you want to save money on your car insurance? Of course you do. Everyone does. There are literally thousands of books and articles currently in circulation about how to save money on your coverage, and almost all of them offer you the same advice-raise your deductibles. Raising your deductibles can help you save money on car insurance almost instantly, but that’s not all you need to know. You need to know exactly how high (and how low) you can honestly go.

First, let’s start with the question of how low you can go. Some car insurance companies offer their valued drivers (particularly those with an excellent driving record) the chance to enjoy their insurance coverage deductible free. Yes, that’s right. The elusive zero dollar deductible really is out there. All you have to do is talk to your insurance agent and see if your provider offers it. If they don’t, look around. Your car insurance company isn’t the only fish in the sea, and you never know when you’re going to get lucky.

The lowest you can go is nothing, but how high should you go? How high is too high? How high isn’t high enough? When you pay your deductible you’re opening up the door to spectacular car insurance rates, because you’re footing a bigger portion of the bill. When your car insurance company has to pay less, they’re going to charge you less (and vice versa).

Before you start jumping up and down and sending your deductibles skyrocketing (most deductibles max out at $1,000 a pop) take a second to think about it-very, very carefully. No, there’s no guarantee that you’re going to have to file insurance claims. The lucky few never do, from the day they get their learner’s permit until the day they hang up their car keys. These are the exception rather than the rule, however. Most people will be in an accident at least once in their lives, whether as a result of careless driving, black ice or kamikaze wildlife. (Have you SEEN what a deer will do to a car?)

You may be part of the exception rather than the rule, but it always pays to be prepared. The last thing you want to do is prepare for the best and find yourself faced with the worst. In other words, you don’t want to set your car insurance deductibles at $1,000 a pop and then find yourself without the money to pay it after an accident! Remember, you’re not going to have any advance warning when you have to file a car insurance claim, which means you never know when you’re going to need to pay out a deductible. Don’t set that deductible any higher than you can reasonably expect to go at a moment’s notice.