Factors That Will Affect Your Insurance Premiums

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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There are a lot of factors influencing your premiums when it comes to car insurance. And each factor taken into account has statistics supporting it. By using these factors, that don't look obvious for the non-professional, auto insurance companies can evaluate the risk associated with covering a particular driver and set their premiums according to the risk he or she poses. Further you will find some of the most influential factors that determine your rates. So make sure you know what's really important:

Age

Age is one of the most important factors when it comes to auto insurance. Statistically drivers younger than 25 are the riskiest car owners, while those aged between 50 and 65 have the lowest claim rates.

Gender

Women are considered to be safer drivers than men in general, however this is also because there are fewer female drivers on the road.

Marital status

Married persons usually tend to take fewer risks than single drivers when being behind the wheel.

Geography

The place of your residence also plays a very important role in your premiums. If you live in an urban ...
... area with heavy traffic, high car theft rates and costly repair shops then your premiums will be higher than for drivers living in less populated areas.

Driving record

The cleaner your driving record is the better. Every speeding ticket, traffic violation or accident in your record will reflect in your premiums as they'll get higher. Even if you had your accident several years ago it can still influence your rates.

Car make and model

The car you drive also plays an important role in determining your rates. Depending on its safety features, tops speed, engine power, theft rates and repair costs your car insurance provider will charge you with respective premiums. As a rule of thumb, the more expensive and powerful your vehicle is the more you will have to pay for car insurance.

Credit rating

A large part of insurance providers pay attention to the driver's credit rating when calculating premiums. It is known that customers with a bad credit score tend to file claims more often than drivers with good scores. So if your credit report is not as clean as you would want it to be, your insurance rates may be higher than expected.

Occupation an education

Your level of education and the work you do will also influence your premiums. It was statistically proven than customers with higher education and better jobs are less likely to end up in an accident than uneducated or jobless persons.

Yearly mileage

The number of miles you drive per year can also determine your rates. If you drive less, then you typically have a lower risk of ending up in an accident and this will be taken into account when calculating your rates. And, respectively, if you drive a lot your premiums may get higher.

Now that you know the main factors determining your car insurance rates it will be easier for you to find the policy you will be pleased with. Keep in mind that the weight of each factor is different from company to company and you can use it to your advantage when shopping around for car insurance.