Insurance Broker Mississauga

Just because rates in Mississauga and the GTA are rising, doesn’t mean that you need to pay an arm and a leg for your rates. I want to share a few tips on how to keep your rates in Mississauga as low as possible. 

1. Bundle your home + auto insurance

The most important and well known way to save money on your insurance rates happens to also be the simplest: Bundle your home and auto insurance together. Simply by adding your condo, home or tenant policy to your auto insurance, you can save between 15%-20% on your car insurance an addition 10%-20% on your property. 

Tip: If you have more than one vehicle, keep them all under one policy and avoid splitting them up unless absolutely necessary. Keeping your vehicles together can save you about 15% on your auto insurance per vehicle.

2. Check all your discounts

The second best way to keep rates as low as possible is to ensure all discounts are added. This is a little more difficult because each insurance company offers different discounts and to make matters more complicated, they also change the names of these discounts. This is where a broker can help, they will review your policy and ask the right questions to apply all possible discounts for you. 

3. Shop around

Shopping around is the most effective way to keep your auto and home insurance rates low. Companies change up their rates every few years which means your current insurance company may have been the best 4 years ago but today is on the higher side.

Shopping around sounds simple but can leave even the most experienced of shoppers exhausted. Shopping for home/auto insurance is time consuming and tedious for the average client. You will have several options to shop for insurance rates: 

1. Direct Writers- These are insurance companies that you likely see advertising on the radio and TV. They are call center companies and do a lot of their business online. Usually they do not have a local office to visit. You input all your information into their systems and they generate a quote based on your request. To shop properly with direct writers, be sure to understand the product you are purchasing very well. Be sure to ask for all correct endorsements so that you are covered on all fronts. 

2. Agent Companies- These are companies who have agents working for them. Agents are different from insurance brokers as they are only able to quote you with the one insurance company they work for. You are also able to get quotes online with agent companies but you have the bonus of an agent recommending certain coverage or discounts which can benefit you. They will also review your applications and ensure everything is correct. (Companies are known to check applications and should something not match up, will have the grounds to cancel your policy for misrepresentation or deny a claim).

3. Insurance Broker- An insurance broker is specifically licensed and trained on all insurance products as they deal with many insurance carriers. An insurance broker will be able to shop yearly for your home, auto, commercial and life insurance as they will have your information stored on their system and can easily check the companies they are contracted with. Insurance brokers will also recommend certain coverage you may be eligible for and apply all discounts in each insurance company. Clients enjoy broker services for their customer service. You are paired up with one representative and communicate directly with your broker. Insurance brokers are also licensed to offer more products such as life & health insurance as well as commercial auto/ liability coverage.