Reader question:

I’ve heard that you could get a cheaper California auto insurance rate based on what kind of job you have. Is this true?

Mark

It can be.

California auto insurance rate discounts based on occupation are some of the more rare kinds of discounts, because not all CA car insurance companies have them, but there are several that do. If you find that you are in an occupation that regularly gets a California auto insurance rate discount, then it would do well for you to ask while you are shopping around for a new car insurance company. As it is, there are two kinds of occupations that are going to get you the best discounts on your California auto insurance rate, and those are:

• Teaching.
• Engineering.

Some car insurance companies will offer discounts on the California auto insurance rate for teachers by themselves, but most teachers get their discounts by joining a teacher union. However, if you choose to join a teacher’s union for the California auto insurance rate discount, then you ought to make sure you want to join them for other reasons as well. Normally, the discount you get on your California auto insurance rate only just covers the membership dues you will be paying for being part of the union. However, these unions offer lots of services to teachers apart from discount California auto insurance rates, so it’s a good idea to join anyway.

As for engineering, car insurance companies have done research which shows that these people are less likely to get into accidents, which is their reason for giving engineers discounts on California auto insurance rates. Why do they get into fewer accidents? Who knows? Car insurance companies claim that their professions require more attention to detail, which they say is something that permeates their day to day life. As such, engineers are the sorts who will pay more attention to the road, and thus file fewer at fault claims.

You don’t even have to have the job yet to get the discount, in some cases. Several companies are offering a cheaper California auto insurance rate to people who simply have degrees in the field of engineering, as well as in other math and science related fields. If you think you might be qualified, ask your car insurance company before you sign up for a policy.

Cheers,

Fashun Guadarrama.