How to Know You're Spending Too Much for Car Insurance in Scotia

Scraping up a payment for overpriced car insurance can take a big chunk out of your personal savings, especially in this economy. Doing a price comparison is a great way to reduce premiums and put more money in your pocket. Companies like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive continually hit you with fancy advertisements and consumers find it hard to sift through the bull and take the time to shop coverage around.

It's important to compare rates quite often since rates are constantly changing. Just because you had the best deal on your last policy the chances are good that you can find a lower rate today. So ignore everything you know about car insurance because we're going to show you the only way to properly buy coverages and cut your premium.

If you have insurance now or need a new policy, you can follow these tips to find better prices while maintaining coverages. Finding affordable coverage in Scotia is easy if you know what you're doing. New York vehicle owners just need to know the proper way to compare rates online.

Policy discounts you shouldn't miss

Companies do not list every available discount in a way that's easy to find, so here is a list both the well known and the harder-to-find discounts you could be receiving. If you aren't receiving every discount you deserve, you're paying more than you need to.

Anti-lock Brakes - Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles are safer to drive and will save you 10% or more.
Save with a New Car - Adding a new car to your policy can be considerably cheaper due to better safety requirements for new cars.
Passive Restraints and Air Bags - Vehicles with factory air bags or automatic seat belts can qualify for discounts of more than 20%.
Payment Discounts - By paying your policy upfront instead of paying each month you may reduce your total bill.
Life Insurance Discount - Select insurance companies reward you with better rates if you take out auto and life insurance together.
Own a Home - Being a homeowner can save you money because owning a home requires personal responsibility.
Government Employees - Being employed by or retired from a federal job may qualify you for a discount with certain companies.
Multi-policy Discount - When you combine your home and auto insurance with one company you could get a discount of approximately 10% to 15%.
Multi-car Discount - Buying insurance for more than one vehicle on the same car insurance policy qualifies for this discount.
E-sign - A handful of insurance companies may give you up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.

Drivers should understand that some of the credits will not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only cut the price of certain insurance coverages like comprehensive or collision. So despite the fact that it appears having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies wouldn't make money that way.

To see a list of providers offering car insurance discounts in Scotia, click here.

Low Cost Scotia Car Insurance

Finding cheaper car insurance prices can be relatively painless. Consumers just need to spend a few minutes comparing rates from different insurance companies. It is quite easy and can be accomplished in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

The best way to find the lowest comparison rates is a comparison rater form (click to open form in new window). This type of form keeps you from doing separate quote forms to each individual car insurance company. One form will return quotes from many national carriers.
A more time consuming way to shop for car insurance online is to take the time to go to the website for each individual company and fill out their own quote form. For sake of this example, we'll assume you want comparison quotes from , and . To find out each rate you need to spend time on each company's site and enter your information, and that's why the first method is more popular.

For a list of links to companies insuring cars in Scotia, click here.
The most time-consuming way to compare rates is driving around to insurance agents' offices. Buying insurance online has reduced the need for local agents unless you have a need for the personal advice only provided by licensed agents. It is possible to obtain prices from the web but buy from a local insurance agent and we'll cover that in a bit.

However you get your quotes, make darn sure you compare exactly the same coverages and limits for each comparison quote. If you enter different deductibles it will be very difficult to determine the lowest rate in Scotia.

You have some control over your rates

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that go into determining the rates you pay for car insurance. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay enables informed choices that can help you get big savings.

Listed below are some of the factors car insurance companies consider when setting your rates.

More than one policy can earn a discount - Most insurance companies give discounts to insureds who have multiple policies with them such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. Discounts can be 10 percent or more. Even though this discount sounds good, it's in your best interest to compare rates to ensure the best deal.
Mature drivers pay less - More mature drivers tend to be more responsible, file fewer claims and are safer drivers. Youthful drivers are statistically proven to be careless and easily distracted when driving and because of this, their car insurance rates are much higher.
How credit affects car insurance rates - Your credit score is a huge factor in determining what you pay for car insurance. If your credit score is lower than you'd like, you could pay less to insure your by improving your credit score. Drivers who have high credit ratings tend to be better drivers and file fewer claims as compared to drivers with poor credit.
Optional equipment can affect rates - Purchasing a vehicle with anti-theft technology or alarm system can help bring down rates. Anti-theft features such as tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all aid in stopping auto theft.
Your location affects your rates - Residing in less populated areas has it's advantages when talking about car insurance. Lower population translates into fewer accidents and also fewer theft and vandalism claims. City drivers have congested traffic and much longer commute distances. More time commuting means higher likelihood of an accident.

Insurance agents can help

When choosing proper insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is not a "best" method to buy coverage. Everyone's situation is unique and your policy should reflect that. For example, these questions may help you determine whether your personal situation would benefit from an agent's advice.

Do I need PIP (personal injury protection) coverage in New York?
Should I file a claim if it's only slightly more than my deductible?
Should I drop comprehensive coverage on older vehicles?
Are my tools covered if they get stolen from my vehicle?
When does my teenage driver need to be added to my policy?
Who is covered when they drive my vehicle?
Does my policy cover my teen driver if they drive my company car?
Is my cargo covered for damage or theft?

If you can't answer these questions but a few of them apply, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed insurance agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, take a second and complete this form or click here for a list of car insurance companies in your area. It only takes a few minutes and may give you better protection.

Save $429 a year? Really?

Consumers in New York can't get away from ads for car insurance savings by Allstate and Progressive. All the ads have a common claim that you'll save big if you switch to their company.

How can each company claim to save you money? This is how they do it.

All the different companies have a preferred profile for the driver that is profitable for them. An example of a preferred risk might be between 25 and 40, insures multiple vehicles, and has great credit. Any new insured that hits that "sweet spot" will qualify for the lowest rates and is almost guaranteed to save when they switch companies.

Consumers who don't qualify for the requirements will be charged higher prices and this can result in the customer not buying. The ad wording is "drivers who switch" but not "drivers who get quotes" save that much. This is how companies can advertise the savings. That is why drivers must compare many company's rates. It's just too difficult to predict which insurance companies will fit your personal profile best.

And the best car insurance company is...

When you buy insurance online, it's not a good idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. Too many times, drivers have reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits to discover at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. The aim is to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest price, not the least amount of coverage.

We just covered a lot of techniques to compare car insurance prices online. The key thing to remember is the more quotes you get, the better likelihood of reducing your rate. Consumers may even find the most savings is with a smaller regional carrier. These smaller insurers may only write in your state and offer lower rates compared to the large companies like .

More sites with car insurance information

More detailed New York car insurance information is available at the New York Department of Financial Services website. Visitors are able to read consumer alerts, read enforcement actions against agents and companies, find out industry alerts, and view a list of available companies.