One of the first things anyone should learn about car insurance is
the set of the most important factors affecting car insurance quotes.
Sure, by using common sense you can guess these factors on your own and
base your decisions on what you think is right. However, the insurance
industry doesn't always correspond to the common sense employed by most
customers as there are particular rules that let insurers determine the
risks and set the costs. So it's better to do a bit of homework before
shopping for car insurance because it will save you a lot of time, nerve
and help you to make more adequate decisions when comparing car
insurance quotes. These are the primary factors that will affect your
quotes with all insurance providers:
Coverage amount
It's obvious that the amount of coverage you choose with your policy
as well as the types of coverage selected will directly affect your
rates. So the more coverage you choose the more expensive the policy
becomes. However, the $1000 per dollar of premium relation can differ a
lot between providers, so you can never guess how exactly a slight
change in the coverage will affect your final rates. That's why it's
highly recommended comparing as many car insurance quotes
as possible while tweaking the coverage amounts and options in order to
see how exactly changes in coverage will affect your rates.
Driver profile
Comprising of a whole range of factors that all describe the driver
trying to insure the car, this is a rather generalized definition. Fact
is that your age, sex, marital status, education, employment and, and of
course, driving record will all affect the quotes you get to a
different degree. For example, drivers younger than 25 always get the
highest rates, while women tend to get cheaper insurance than men. These
are all demographic factors used by insurance companies with the goal
of predicting possible risks associated with different demographic
groups, and you can't do much about it but comply.
Place of residence
The place of residence, or the place of license plate registration to
be more precise is one particular factor associated with the driver
that needs to be outlined. Depending on the state your average car
insurance quotes may differ a lot, because there are differences in
requirements, regulation and business activity. Moreover, living in a
small town or a large city within the same state will also deliver
different quotes, as densely populated areas with heavy traffic always
get higher quotes.
Vehicle
The most obvious factor is the vehicle you are trying to drive. But
to much surprise, it doesn't have such a pronounced weight as one would
expect. The car type, make and model will contribute a great deal to the
quotes you'll get from the insurance company, however the other factors will also have a pronounced effect on the car insurance rates
you'll be charged with. Still, there are general rules for different
car types: sports cars, SUVs and luxury vehicles tend to cost more to
insure, while safer family vehicles offer the best bargain.
Other factors
Different providers may employ other factors when calculating quotes
for you. For example, some insurers use credit rating to determine the
risk associated with every prospective client. Fortunately, the weight
of these factors is usually minor, so they won't spoil the general
picture much. Yet again, it may sometimes be useful to learn if the
provider you're quoting with has any special factors used when
calculating rates.
