Just when you thought you'd taken advantage of every discount and shrunk your auto insurance premium to its tiniest, auto insurers are offering more ways to make your bill smaller than ever, and all you have to do is be yourself.

Almost every insurance company gives you a discount if you've had no accidents or tickets in the last three to five years, or if you buy a homeowner's or renter's insurance policy with the same company (multi-line discount), insure more than one car on your auto insurance policy (multi-vehicle discount) or own a car that is equipped with air bags. But some companies also will reward you for your profession, for your age and for using the Internet.
That college degree is worth something
21st Century Group (formerly 20th Century) has found that drivers with degrees in engineering are lower risks than other drivers. If you have a bachelor's degree in any number of engineering or science-related fields -- biochemistry, mathematics or mechanical engineering, for example -- you can get a discount on your auto insurance premium if you buy from them.

21st Century sells auto insurance in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, and offers the "engineering and scientist" discount in all of those states. If you're a scientist or an engineer with a good driving record, you can save between 10% and 30% on the company's base rate, according to Ric Hill, vice president of corporate relations.

A base rate is the average amount of claims paid plus the insurance company's claims-processing fee. For example, if the company's base rate is $400, you could save between $40 and $120.

"Our company's founder saw that educators, scientists, and engineers have lots of characteristics that seem to show that they're the best drivers," says Hill. "Engineers, for example, being accustomed to dealing with fine details, are somewhat meticulous, which means they take good care of their automobiles." 21st Century found that the same holds true for teachers and other scientists.
Teachers deserve a break
Horace Mann Insurance (which sells auto insurance in every state except Hawaii and New Jersey) offers discounts to teachers who belong to state education associations or the National Education Association (NEA). Horace Mann's discounts start at 8% and are based on some assumptions the company made about teachers: They have a stable occupation, stable employment, and they understand they are under scrutiny by the community.

The discounts are available through Horace Mann or one of its two subsidiaries -- Allegiance Insurance or Teachers Insurance. In addition to Hawaii and New Jersey and New York, the discounts are not available in Georgia, Mississippi, Texas and Washington D.C.

The discount program for teachers who are state association or NEA members started about 15 years ago. Although the auto insurance discounts aren't enough to cover annual association dues, Horace Mann estimates the average household (two cars) and the average insurance discount will pay for about 50% of an association's average dues.

21st Century also offers teachers a break on auto insurance premiums, but only if you're certified by the State of California Commission on Teacher Credentialing, or if you are a full-time college or university professor. Savings for this program range from 10% to 30% of the company's base rate.
Save all you can save in the Army
GEICO offers a 2% to 15% discount to active and retired members of the military. The military discount is available in all states except Georgia, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico, Tennessee and Texas.

Another benefit of buying your auto insurance with GEICO if you're in the military is your ability to drop all coverages except comprehensive if you're shipped overseas. "Most armed service personnel will put their vehicles in storage and we allow them to drop their liability and other coverages while they're out of the country," says Richard Kidd, a retired sergeant major of the Army and assistant vice president for military services at GEICO. Additionally, if Uncle Sam sends you to a country in which the government offers hostile-fire pay, GEICO will knock 25% off your comprehensive bill while your car's in storage.
Drive toward the discounts in your golden years
Remember when a nickel was worth a dime? If so, you're probably eligible for some deep discounts on your auto insurance. The Hartford's AARP Auto Insurance Program offers AARP members the chance to chop their auto insurance bills by as much as 45%.

The AARP program offers drivers a 20% to 25% discount for insuring multiple cars on one policy, a 10% discount for holding both a homeowners and auto insurance policy with The Hartford and 5% savings for staying with the company for more than five years and not having any violations on your driving record.

The Hartford also guarantees that drivers who buy auto insurance through the AARP program will never have their policies canceled except for nonpayment of premium, DUI conviction or loss of license.
Have Internet, can save
Web surfers who want to purchase insurance online can benefit from discounts offered by companies such as Unitrin Direct.

Unitrin will shave $50 off your auto insurance premium if you purchase a policy directly from its Web site. In addition, Unitrin also will give a 10% discount to four-year college graduates under the age of 30. Both discounts are only available in Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

Because of cutthroat competition in the auto insurance market, all you have to do is sniff around a little bit for good deals like these. And although you might not be a professor, teacher, engineer or geologist, you can still save on your auto premiums by being a good driver, having good grades or insuring more than one car. Bankruptcy