VIRGINIA BEACH -- People get insurance for unexpected losses, whether it’s from a storm or fire or accidents on the road.

There are ways to save money and still have coverage.

According to author Gregory Karp, anyone can by raising deductibles on auto and home insurance to lower your monthly premium.

Increasing the deductible on homeowner’s insurance from $250 to $2,500 could save you as much as 30 percent -- that's $210 for a $700 policy.

Increasing your auto insurance deductible from $200 to $1,000 could reduce premiums by as much as 40 percent.  That would save $280 if you pay $700 a year.

Insurance agent Richard Braun agrees that raising deductibles can save you money, but he stresses there are many things to consider before making the change.

"It's gonna be significantly different depending on the year, make and model of the vehicle, the age of the driver, their driving record," he noted.

Video: How to save $5,000-Part 2

Larger screen

Braun says you can also save if your car is paid for – taking off collision coverage and just keeping liability.

Karp says, when it comes to term life insurance, you should refinance it.

“Life insurance rates have plummeted over the last decade, so they're about half of what they were just ten years ago."

Karp recommends getting a new policy and canceling the old one.

On a $500,000 policy, that could save $700 dollars or more per year.

Using these few cost-cutting measures, you could save nearly $1,200 a year.

Add that to Monday’s savings on food and drink and you’re more than half way to saving $5,000 in a year.

For Kim and Grady Love, who can't work for health reasons, they're on board with Karp's program and love the savings.

"I'm surprised to see where we are. We have saved so much, you know, in just a year's time," she noted.

On Wednesday, we’ll look at simple ways to save on telecommunications -- that includes your cell phone and your home phone.