The monthly payments on a vehicle's insurance can often be stressing for a driver. Essentially you're paying for a policy you hope you'll never have to use; you can use the policy to pay for damages to the vehicle, but you'll naturally seek to drive safely to prevent costly repairs. As such, drivers are always looking for good coverage with at an affordable price.

One easy way to reduce your monthly auto insurance costs is to raise your deductible. This will make your policy more affordable, but it will also increase your out-of-pocket costs if your vehicle is damaged.

The deductible is the amount of money you must pay before your insurer will contribute to any repair costs. Russ Heaps, writing for the automotive site Autotrader, says deductibles only apply to certain claims. You'll have to pay a deductible if you use your collision coverage, which is used to repair damage from a crash, or comprehensive coverage, which applies to other damages. You don't have to pay a deductible for liability claims, which cover damages to another person's property where you are at fault.

When you agree to pay a higher deductible, an insurer usually rewards you by cutting your premium by a significant amount. This restructuring of costs recognizes that since you will be paying more of the repair cost on your own, the insurer will have to contribute a smaller amount toward the bill.

The savings on your policy can often by quite substantial. According to the Insurance Information Institute, raising a deductible from $200 to $500 can save you 15 to 30 percent on your premiums. Raising it to $1,000 can cut these costs by up to 40 percent.

A higher deductible will also reduce the likelihood that you will file smaller claims. Lisa Smith, writing for the financial site Investopedia, says your insurer will likely increase your rates if you file frequent claims. A lower deductible may let you get some money from the insurer for minor damages; however, they might also respond by increasing your rates. With the higher deductible, you'll only rely on insurance for more severe damages.

Of course, you should only raise the deductible if you can afford the higher out-of-pocket cost. Michele Lerner, writing for the financial site Bankrate, says you should have enough money in reserve to comfortably pay for the deductible on your policy.

Since you'll be saving money by getting a higher deductible, you'll want to see how quickly you can build up this reserve. Trent Hamm, author of the financial site The Simple Dollar, says the average driver makes one claim every nine years. If you can save up the difference between the lower deductible and higher one in this period, it might be worth it to raise the deductible.

In certain policies, however, raising the deductible will have a minimal effect on your policy costs. Lerner says that under some policies, you may only save a few dollars a month. If you raise your deductible from $250 to $1,000 and only save $5 a month by doing so, it would take 12.5 years to equal the $750 difference; in that amount of time, it's likely that you will have to file a claim or get a new vehicle.

Checking different policies will let you see if any insurers are offering major savings for raising the deductible. The Insurance Information Institute says policies will differ from state to state, and a range of deductibles may be available.

You should also consider which coverage you'd like to raise the deductible on. You're unlikely to make a claim on your collision coverage if you drive safely or infrequently. It is riskier to raise the deductible on your comprehensive coverage, since this will apply to unforeseen damages such as tree limbs falling on your vehicle during a storm.

Raising the deductible on your auto insurance can indeed save you a good deal of money each month. However, you'll want to make sure you'll save enough for the change to be worth it, and you should be able to afford the cost you will be responsible for if you need to make a claim.