4 Factors That Impact Your Auto Insurance Premium
Every wonder why you pay more or less for auto insurance in comparison to some of your family members or friends? There are numerous factors that insurance companies look at when determining your car insurance premium rate, some which are obvious, such as your driving record, and others that are not as obvious, such as your marital status.
Driving Record
One of the first items that insurance companies take into consideration when figuring out what your premium will be is your driving record. They take a look at your history of accidents and the role that you played in those accidents. They look at any violations or tickets that you have accumulated, and they factor those into consideration. For example, if you have accumulated three speeding tickets over the last three years, you are going to face higher insurance premiums than someone who has never had a ticket for any driving infraction.
Location
Where you live tends to impact how much you pay for car insurance. As a general rule of thumb, car insurance costs more if you live in an urban area over a rural area. Rates are higher in urban areas because there is a higher rate of overall accidents and claims in urban areas. It is a good idea, before you move cities or zip codes, to check and see how moving would impact your auto insurance premiums. Sometime the change is minimal, and other times the change is drastic.
Insurance Coverage
If you have always maintained insurance coverage on your vehicle, you are more than likely good. If, however, you have ever had an insurance policy cancelled because you failed to pay your premium, you are going to face higher insurance rates the next time you need insurance. Your history of paying insurance coverage directly impacts what you pay for auto insurance coverage.
Driving Miles
How much you use your vehicle and what you use it for impact your insurance rates. For example, if you use a vehicle as a daily commuting vehicle and easily put 12,000 miles on your vehicle every year, you are more than likely going to face a higher insurance premium for that vehicle than you are for a vehicle that you only use occasionally and put 3,000 miles on each year.
Your insurance company should ask you how many miles you drive in a year and may even ask for your odometer reading to make sure that you are driving within the mileage range you state. The more you are out on the road, the higher your risk of getting into an accident, thus the more you pay for insurance.
