High-risk auto insurance policies have higher premiums than standard policies because these policies present more risk to insurance companies. If you need high-risk auto insurance, though, there are ways to mitigate the higher premiums so that you don't pay quite as much.

Increase the High-Risk Policy's Deductibles

If you have some money saved up in a checking or savings account, you can safely increase your high-risk auto insurance policy's deductibles. This means you'll pay more out-of-pocket if you have a claim, so you should only raise the deductibles if you do have the money to pay them with. In return for raising your policy's deductibles, your insurer will lower your premiums.

How much your premiums decrease when you raise your deductibles depends on many factors and can vary, but the decrease is usually calculated as a percentage of the applicable premium. When you're paying a higher premium, getting a percent off of this amount results in particularly substantial savings.

Purchase a Lower-Value Vehicle

Comprehensive coverage and collision coverage protect your insured vehicle against different sources of damage, and these to coverages together account for a significant portion of an auto policy's premiums. Because they protect your vehicle, how much these two coverages cost depends largely on how valuable your car is.

Therefore, you can save on comprehensive and collision coverages by purchasing a lower-value vehicle. To see just how much cheaper these coverages are on a low-value vehicle compared to a high-value one, request high-risk auto insurance quotes on vehicles in a couple of different price points. The difference in the quoted rates will be substantial.

Find Ways to Drive Less

Many insurance companies offer low-mileage premium reductions on both standard and high-risk auto insurance policies, so long as you don't drive too many miles in a year. The exact cutoff for this discount varies from insurer to insurer, but most people who don't drive a lot can get a discount from at least a few companies.

If you can find ways to reduce how much you drive, you might be able to qualify for this discount. Depending on your situation, you might consider the following ways to lower how many miles you drive:

• Have a spouse or other family member drive when you go places together
• Use public transit whenever possible
• Carpool with neighbors for commutes

If you can find a way to not drive your commute, that alone might help you get the low-mileage insurance discount.