40+ Ways to Lower Your Car Insurance Costs

There are several articles titled “7 Ways to Save on Car Insurance” or “5 Tips to Lower Your Car Insurance Costs” etc, but wouldn’t it be great to have all those savings and discount tricks in one place? ? Below you will find such a list for auto insurance. This list is a complete overview of all the opportunities to save on car insurance in Canada, and was compiled based on the results of numerous discussions with insurance brokers and through analysis of different insurance offers.

1. Compare prices: Find, compare and change insurance companies. There are many insurance providers and their price offerings for the same policies can be very different, so use various online tools and talk to multiple brokers, as each will cover a limited number of insurance companies.

2. Bunch: Do you need home and auto insurance? Most companies will offer you a discount if you bundle them together.

3. Professional membership: Are you a member of a professional organization (for example, Certified Management Accountants of Canada or the Air Canada Pilots Association)? So some insurance companies offer you a discount.

4. Students: Being a student can only result in a student discount.

5. Former students: Graduates of certain Canadian universities (eg University of Toronto, McGill University) may be eligible for a discount at certain insurance providers.

6. Employees / union members: Some companies offer discounts to union members.

7. Older people: Many companies offer special prices for seniors.

8. Direct insurers: Have you always dealt with insurance brokers / agents? Obtaining a policy from a direct insurer (i.e. insurers that work through a call center or online) can often be cheaper (but not always) as they don’t pay an agent / broker commission for each policy sold .

9. Annual vs. monthly payments: Compared to monthly payments, annual payments save insurers administrative costs (for example, sending bills) and therefore reward you with lower premiums.

10. Loyalty: Staying with an insurer longer can sometimes result in a long-term discount for the policyholder.

11. Annual exam: Review your policies and coverage every year, as new discounts may apply to your new life situation if it has changed.

12. Welcome discount: Some insurers offer a so-called welcome discount.

13. Compare your costs: Knowing how much other consumers like you pay for their insurance can help you identify the cheapest insurance providers.

14. Deductibles for auto insurance: Increase your auto insurance deductibles if you think you may incur higher damage payments in the event of an accident. This is especially suitable for more experienced car drivers.

15. Be a second driver: Do you drive a car only occasionally? Become a second album instead of being a main conductor

16. Minimum coverage: Are you driving an old car without great value? Get minimum coverage required by law (primarily liability) with no collision damage (you’re still protected if you damage someone’s car, but damage to your car won’t be covered)

17. Minimum coverage: Driving an inexpensive old car? Then get just a minimum coverage plan required by law (mainly liability) with no collision damage coverage (it doesn’t cover your vehicle damage costs)

18. Take advantage of your credit card: Check if your credit card insurance includes rental car protection. Paying with a card that has rental car protection insurance can save you about $ 20 a day in collision damage waiver fees.

19. Take advantage of rental car coverage: If you frequently rent cars and have a car insurance policy, you should check to see if your own car insurance policy actually covers the rental car. If so, you can save on all Collision Damage Waiver costs for rental vehicles.

20. Rental car driver: If your existing auto insurance policy doesn’t cover your rental car, you can often add it as a rider (policy extension) for $ 20-30 a year. Compared to the $ 20 per day you would pay to rent a car, it’s not a bad deal!

21. Rent, rent, rent: Auto insurance costs are different from province to province (for example, moving from Ontario to Quebec will surely cut your insurance costs in half). If you are moving within a province, you should check for changes in car insurance costs, and ideally you should move to a place where the costs are lower (for example, Burlington, Ontario has one of the lowest car insurance rates tallest in Ontario)

22. CAA Member: CAA Members: Are you a CAA member? Some insurance providers will reward you with lower insurance premiums, including, of course, the CAA.

23. Dash camera: Get a dash cam for your vehicle. Even though installing a dash cam does not result in direct savings (insurance companies do not offer any discounts on dash cam related insurance), it can prove you are not at fault when it is the case of a accident. This allows you to avoid unfair premium increases.

24. Driving course: Sometimes some insurance providers recognize that successfully completing a driving course can help lower your premiums.

25. Improving your driving record: Have a bad driving record? Every three years, previously incurred penalties are removed from your insurance history and your insurance premiums may decrease.

26. Accidents due to fault: Have you had a couple of accidents in the past where you were at fault? With a little patience (six years without accidents), your risk profile will improve, allowing you to once again enjoy reasonable rates on insurance premiums.

27. Age: Older drivers enjoy lower auto insurance premiums. Therefore, in several years your premiums may go down.

28. Make and model of car: Choose your car wisely, as some car models are more susceptible to theft or even have a history of riskier drivers (for example, Toyota Camry, Acura MDX, Toyota RAV4 and Honda Civic are usually quite expensive to insure)

29. Good student: Yes, having good grades can have a lot of positive impacts, and even your car insurance rates! For example, an insurance company rewards students under the age of 25 and with good grades (grade point average of B or higher) with a discount of up to 25%.

30. Multi-car-pack: Bundle multiple cars into one policy and your rate may go down

31. Anti-theft system: Installing a certified anti-theft system in your car reduces the risk of theft and can therefore lead to discounts on insurance.

32. Winter tires: Having winter tires is important for winter driving safety, but it can also help lower your insurance premiums.

33. Repair costs: Choose a car that costs less to repair in case of damage. Repair costs for certain cars (eg Mini Cooper or BMW) are higher than others (eg Ford Focus) and insurance providers know this.

34. Claim history: Keeping a clean claims history can sometimes be more financially feasible than filing claims for minor damage repairs that could result in increased premiums. Contacting an insurance provider / broker could help you figure out what makes sense.

35. Being married: In most provinces, your marital status affects your insurance premiums (except Nova Scotia)

36. Short distance to work: Finding a home close to your workplace reduces the distance you need to drive to work each day and therefore results in lower insurance premiums.

38. Glass drop coverage: For cars with inexpensive windshields, it may be more economical to drop the glass coverage as in combination with the deductibles due in the event of an accident it would pay more. It is up to you to calculate.

39. Discounts for retirees: Some insurance companies will offer different retirement discounts for drivers.

40. Disabilities: Some companies offer discounts for people with disabilities.

41. Hybrid vehicles: Many companies reward driving a hybrid vehicle with lower insurance premiums.

42. Private garage: Parking your car in a safe place (for example, private garage or insurance) typically results in lower insurance premiums with auto insurance providers.