Tightwads Guide for Saving on Scotia Auto Insurance

Scraping up a payment for overpriced auto insurance can empty your personal savings and put the squeeze on your family's finances. Doing a price comparison is a great way to help make ends meet.

Big-name insurance companies like GEICO and Progressive all promote huge savings with advertising and consumers find it hard to sift through the bull and take the time to shop coverage around.

If you are paying for car insurance now, you will be able to lower your premiums substantially using these methods. Buying car insurance in Scotia is easy if you know what you're doing. But California vehicle owners do need to know the way insurance companies sell online and apply this information to your search.

Take advantage of discounts

Companies don't always list all available discounts in a way that's easy to find, so we took the time to find some of the best known as well as the least known discounts you could be receiving.

Multiple Cars - Insuring all your vehicles on the same auto insurance policy may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
Paperless Signup - A handful of insurance companies give back up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up digitally online.
Memberships - Affiliation with a civic or occupational organization may earn a discount when buying auto insurance.
Seat Belt Usage - Requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts can save 10% or more off the personal injury premium cost.
Government Employees - Being employed by or retired from a federal job may qualify you for a discount depending on your company.
Student in College - Youth drivers who attend school more than 100 miles from home and don't have a car may qualify for this discount.
Fewer Miles Equal More Savings - Low mileage vehicles can earn a substantially lower rate.
Senior Discount - Mature drivers may receive better auto insurance rates.
Service Members Pay Less - Being deployed with a military unit could be rewarded with lower premiums.

Consumers should know that some credits don't apply to all coverage premiums. Most cut individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though it may seem like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies don't profit that way.

To see a list of insurers with discount auto insurance rates in Scotia, click here.

Scotia Auto Insurance Prices Online

There are several ways to compare rate quotes from local Scotia auto insurance companies. The best method to find the lowest rates is to use the internet to compare rates. This can be done in just a few minutes using one of these methods.

The best way to get quotes for comparison is to use a rate comparison form (click to open form in new window). This type of form eliminates the need for multiple quote forms to each individual auto insurance company. One form submission gets you price quotes from multiple low-cost companies.
A harder way to compare rate quotes requires a trip to each individual company website to complete their respective quote request forms. For example, we'll assume you want comparison quotes from , and . To find out each rate you need to visit each site to input your insurance information, which is why the first method is more popular.

To view a list of companies in Scotia, click here.
The most time-consuming way of getting rate comparisons is driving to and from local Scotia insurance agencies. Buying insurance online has reduced the need for local agents unless you require the personal advice only provided by licensed Scotia agents. It is possible to obtain prices from the web and still use a local agent and we'll touch on that later.

Whichever method you choose, ensure you are comparing exactly the same quote information on every quote you get. If you compare mixed coverages it's not possible to determine which rate is truly the best in Scotia. Slightly different insurance coverages may cause a big price difference. Just remember that obtaining a wide range of quotes will improve the odds of getting a better price.

Scotia Rates are Influenced by These Factors

An important part of buying insurance is that you know the factors that play a part in calculating auto insurance rates. Having a good understanding of what controls the rates you pay enables informed choices that could result in big savings.

Shown below are a few of the "ingredients" auto insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

Liability coverage is peace of mind - Your policy's liability coverage is the protection if a jury decides you are liable for causing damage or personal injury in an accident. It will provide for a legal defense which can cost thousands of dollars. Carrying liability coverage is mandatory and cheap as compared to coverage for physical damage, so do not skimp.
Having a spouse can save you money - Having a spouse helps lower the price on auto insurance. Having a spouse means you're more mature than a single person and it's proven that married drivers get in fewer accidents.
Never let your coverage lapse - Driving your car without having proper coverage can get your license suspended and as a result your rates will increase for letting your coverage lapse. Not only will you pay more, but being ticketed for driving with no insurance might get you a license revocation or jail time.
Mature drivers pay less - More mature drivers are more responsible, file fewer claims and receive fewer citations. Teenage drivers have a tendency to be careless and easily distracted when driving and because of this, their auto insurance rates are much higher.
Add-on coverages can add up - There are quite a few add-on coverages that you can get tricked into buying if you aren't careful. Insurance for roadside assistance, accidental death and term life insurance are some examples. They may seem like a good idea when you first buy your policy, but if they're wasting money eliminate the coverages to reduce your premium.
Males pay more for insurance - Statistics have proven women are more cautious behind the wheel. Now that doesn't mean men are worse drivers. They both tend to get into accidents in similar percentages, but the male of the species tend to have more serious accidents. Men also tend to get more serious tickets like reckless driving and DUI.

Are auto insurance companies telling the truth?

Allstate, GEICO and Progressive consistently run ads on TV and radio. All the companies have a common claim that you'll save big if you change to their company. How can each company say the same thing?

All the different companies have a preferred profile for the driver that is profitable for them. For example, a profitable customer might be profiled as a mature driver, insures multiple vehicles, and chooses high deductibles. A propective insured that hits that "sweet spot" gets the lowest rates and most likely will save when they switch companies.

Potential customers who don't qualify for the requirements must pay a higher premium and this can result in business not being written. The ads say "customers that switch" not "people who quote" save that much. This is how companies can state the savings. This illustrates why drivers must compare many company's rates. It's not possible to predict which insurance companies will give you the biggest savings.

Final considerations

Discount auto insurance can be sourced on the web and also from your neighborhood Scotia agents, and you need to price shop both to have the best rate selection. Some insurance companies may not provide the ability to get a quote online and usually these regional insurance providers provide coverage only through local independent agents.

When buying insurance coverage, it's a bad idea to reduce coverage to reduce premium. In too many instances, drivers have reduced physical damage coverage only to regret at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your focus should be to purchase plenty of coverage at a price you can afford while not skimping on critical coverages.

For more California auto insurance information

More detailed California auto insurance information can be found at the California Department of Insurance website. California drivers can find out which companies have the most complaints, get help finding coverage, find a variety of consumer forms, and read enforcement actions against agents and companies.