What Affects My Insurance Rates?

When considering a car insurance policy, calculate how much coverage you actually need. Decide on the limits you want to set for each category, the total deductible, and if you are comfortable paying this deductible amount. Use common sense! Does it make any sense to carry collision insurance worth $30,000 on a $12,000 car? Is there any way the company would pay you three times the market price of your vehicle? Absolutely not!

A number of insurance requirements apply if you are getting a new car financed, so you have little room to wiggle there. But, if you are driving an old car that’s done some long hauling and isn’t worth a fortune, you could consider saving on your premium.

Before you decide to drop coverage, make sure you can pay what it was worth. Think about what it could cost you if your car got stolen, or wrecked, or if you or someone else got hurt.
Calculate the cost of insuring a new luxury car before you buy it. If your new vehicle is worth that hefty premium, go for it. If you are not comfortable footing that bill on an annual basis, look for something else.

You can’t help where you live, but you will pay a raised premium in cities and towns where crime and accident rates are high, as opposed to small towns or the countryside. Now if that’s an incentive to move, maybe you should!

Gender, thankfully, is not a factor since both males and females age alike, but if you haven’t found someone special to settle down with, it might show on your insurance receipt. Single males under 25 are the worst off in this regard, and it shouldn’t be hard to figure out why. They are considered riskier drivers. If you do fall in this unfortunate category, you could reconsider in favor of a more sensible vehicle. Maybe delay buying that cherry red Mustang till you are 26, and possibly married!

People who have caused accidents have to pay for it. If you’ve done it more than once, the insurance company dockets you under ‘high-risk driver’ and you end up paying a higher premium than others. Actually, the company simply makes up for money lost on safe drivers by having the not-so-safe drivers pay more.