Car insurance premiums may be a burden on pocket but avoiding auto insurance altogether is not an option. What you can do instead is to study important factors that car insurance premiums affect the most. Once you have suitable knowledge of these determinants, you can work around them to make sure that you pay less towards car insurance without compromising on coverage.
Here are six important factors for car insurances which contribute to the amount of car insurance premium that you pay.
1. Personal Factors: Even before you get behind steering wheel, personal aspects affect how much premium you pay. Women pay less than men by virtue of being statistically safer drivers. Married person is charged less than someone who is single, even if they have similar driving records.
Your age may also increase costs either up or down while drivers under age of 25 pay highest premiums, those aged between 50 and 65 years pay least. Students with good grades are often rewarded with lower premiums as are folks with good credit scores!
2. Insurance Location: Geography matters very much as far as your car insurance premium is concerned. Where you live will have a big impact on insurance rates offered to you. People who live in locations where traffic is low benefit from lower premium rates than do people living in big cities and busy suburbs. This is because insurer equates higher traffic with increased risk of accidents therefore of a higher likelihood of insurance payouts.
People living in places where car thefts are common will also have to shell out more by way of insurance premiums.
3. Driving Record: Insurers love people with good driving records! Amount of insurance you pay on a given car is directly proportional to the number of traffic violations that you have to your name. Insurers will also take into consideration how long you have been a licensed driver. If you tend to accumulate speeding tickets frequently, you might want to get this in check.
4. The Vehicle: Automobile that you drive has a big say in your car insurance rates. Is car likely to be stolen? What are its chances of being involved in an accident? Insurers notice such questions while offering insurance.
Owners of Sports Utility Vehicles and sports cars have to pay higher premiums on their car but so do owners of less expensive automobiles which are statistically proven to be a favorite among thieves.
Introducing extra features like anti-theft devices will also keep premiums down. High safety ratings will result in lowered premiums as well.
5. Driving Habits: Putting car to commercial use will push up car insurance rates. So will reasons like distance between home and workplace, distance driven per year and whether multiple drivers use car.
On the other hand, if you own more than one car, you could push down combined premiums by getting additional vehicles insured by same insurer.
6. Coverage and Deductibles: Finally, it will all come down to the kind of coverage you seek. Third party coverage alone is cheaper but offers insufficient risk protection. Additional covers will offer hedge against risks but will inflate premium. Higher deductible, however, will bring down insurance costs.
Coverage and Deductibles: Eventually, it will all come down to a type of coverage you seek. Third party coverage alone is low but offers inadequate risk protection. Extra covers will offer a hedge against risks but will inflate premium. A higher deductible, however, will bring down your insurance costs.