It’s Not Just Your Driving Record

It’s Not Just Your Driving Record

Have you ever received a quote for car insurance and been completely taken aback by the high premium, even though you have a perfect driving record? It’s a more common occurrence than you might think. While your driving record certainly contributes to the cost of your auto insurance, it’s just one of many factors. Here are a few others that you may not know about:

1. Your vehicle: A minivan that’s built for parents to taxi their children from place to place, or a mini two-seater that’s just a reliable station car is typically far less of a risk. Therefore, this would be far cheaper to insure, than a flashy muscle car.
2. Your gender and age: Statistics show that males tend to drive more frequently and irresponsibly and therefore have more accidents than females¹, so their premiums are higher. Additionally, younger drivers usually pay more for insurance.
3. Location: The laws, average weather, and crime and crash rates in your state influence your premium. In fact, if you live in Michigan, you should expect to pay around 136%² more than the national average for car insurance. Similarly, if you live in a city, your rates are likely to be higher due to a relatively higher rate of accidents.

However, contrary to popular belief, one thing that your auto insurance is not influenced by is your car’s color. We’ve explored this topic before, and you can read all about that here.

Many of these factors are hard, if not impossible, to control, like where you live and how young or old you are. If you want cheaper coverage, try to reduce those you can control, like what kind of car you drive and of course, your safety on the road.

Sources:
¹https://www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/general-statistics/fatalityfacts/gender
²https://www.cbsnews.com/media/the-five-best-and-worst-states-for-car-insurance-costs/