There are many different factors when determining how expensive car insurance will be for you. However, no matter how expensive your car insurance currently is, one thing is a virtual certainty: You are paying too much for your car insurance.
Studies recently conducted around the United States and Europe have shown that the average citizen in those geographic areas have paid over twice as much as he or she should pay for car insurance over a lifetime. The main reason behind these gross overpayments over a lifetime is one simple fact – most people do not check for the lowest rates on car insurance packages every six months, as is recommended by the vast majority of experts in that field.
How expensive your car insurance is boils down to one point – how risky you are as a driver to the car insurance company. The bottom line is simply this: How much does the insurance company think that it will have to pay for you over the life of your insurance policy?
Below are a few of the factors that determine how expensive your car insurance is.
Your Past Driving History
Of course your past driving history factors a lot into how expensive your car insurance will be. Those people with bad track records of getting into accidents and making their insurance companies pay more money are, of course, a bigger risk than those who do not. Therefore, do your absolute best to make sure that you stay away from needless tickets, boat parking and moving violations. Yes, parking violations do add to your risk profile in the eyes of most insurance companies.
Your Demographic
There are definitely stereotypes that happen within the car insurance probability risk assessment programs. For instance, younger drivers are much more likely to be assigned a high premium than our younger drivers. The lack of experience gives them a higher risk profile. Also, married men can expect to receive discount, as they are considered less risky than are single men. Women can expect to receive a less expensive premiums than men are, because men are expected to drive faster and more recklessly than women.
However unfair these assessments may be, keep in mind that the insurance company is in complete control of their own probability factors. Your recourse is to compare as many car insurance companies as possible to see which one has the most favorable view of your demographic.
Your Vehicle
The type of vehicle that you drive as your primary source of transportation will also play a large role in the type of premium that you will get. For instance, sports cars, which drive faster than normal cars do and accelerate with more speed, will get you a higher premium. Basically, the safer that your car is and the bigger that it is, the less money that you will have to pay out in car insurance premiums. This is because large cars protect the driver inside from many injuries that small cars do not protect them from. Medical injuries are the most expensive by far of any payout that the car insurance company will have to make; they will therefore charge you much higher premiums if you put them at greater risk of paying out this type of money.
Car insurance companies also do detailed assessments of which cars are more likely to be stolen. If you drive a vehicle that is more likely to be stolen, then you can expect a higher premium. For the most part, the vehicles that are likely to be stolen are domestic sports cars and high-value foreign vehicles.
Your Current Driving Habits
If you drive a long distance to work, then you will have a much higher premium than someone who works from home or drives a short distance. If the zip code in which you live or work is considered a dangerous one by the insurance company, then your premium will be higher than if you lived or worked in a zip code that did not have as high of a crime rate.
You can also get a much lower premium if you drive a lower amount of miles overall.
The Risk That You Are Willing to Take
There are certain actions that you can take to decrease the risk of the car insurance company, which will in turn decrease the risk of your car insurance premium. For instance, if you house your car in a garage at home or at work, then you will receive a discount on your premium. Also, if you invest in an aftermarket alarm system or a GPS system that can track the vehicle, you can also score a lower premium. Even if you only buy a manual steering wheel bar, keep in touch with your insurance company. Some of them will give you discounts for this as well.
