Assessing The Driver

By Author: Marcus Stalder
Total Articles: 491
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Buying insurance is one of the everyday transactions. Everyone needs to feel safe when in their homes or driving. With the public health provision poor, private health coverage is desirable and, to provide for our families, we buy life cover. We even add extra insurance cover when we buy bigger ticket electrical and electronic equipment. What would life feel like if we did not have this peace of mind? Except, of course, it's never quite that simple. Although we part with our money, it can be difficult to know exactly what we are buying. Insurance policies are not famous for their use of simple English to explain all the terms and conditions. So here are a few pointers on automobile insurance.

When you ask an insurer for a quote, there's an automated system designed to collect information about you. Obviously, it starts with your name and address. From this, the insurer checks to see whether you hold a current driver's license. The electronic search continues to discover whether you have any tickets or convictions for offenses connected with your driving. There's also a national database where all the insurance companies ...
... exchange information about claims. So, within seconds, the insurer knows who you are and whether you have made any claims over the last six years. In one sense, all this is perfectly understandable because all this information is directly relevant to establishing whether you are a safe driver with no points and no claims. The insurers then go on to assess the "reliability" of your neighborhood. The claims registry allows searches by ZIP code. If there are high levels of accidents and claims in your area, your quote will be higher. You will also be quoted a higher amount if you have a low credit score.

If you ask the insurers why they take account of your credit scores, they will say that whether you manage your money responsibly tells them about the kind of person you are. Because you may struggle financially, you may not spend on maintaining or repairing your vehicle. Older vehicles may grow dangerous and be involved in more accidents. Sadly, there's a statistical link between poor credit and a higher risk of traffic accident claims. This puts the burden on you to both drive safely and keep a good credit history. If there's any doubt, you have a statutory right to free copies of your credit history. Should you find mistakes, you can insist these are corrected. With your records accurate, you have a better chance of a higher score. Some states have laws requiring insurers to reassess your premium rates if your score improves.

The work to produce car insurance quotes is all about you as a person, assessing the risk you may be involved in an accident and make a claim. If the insurer thinks you are a high risk, the quote will be high. So you must do everything in your power over the years to convince the insurers you are actually a safe driver. So no tickets, no accidents and no claims will earn you low car insurance quotes. It may mean getting from A to B more slowly but if that extra care means you pay less, it's worth it.