How Insurance Companies Might Calculate Your Car Insurance Rate
There may be different factors that could come into account when car insurance companies may decide car insurance rates for different consumers. In some cases, the higher risk consumers who may already have a history of fender-benders and other serious infractions might tend to be charged higher rates as compared to the guys who may be good risks, i.e. whose driving records may be clean over the years and whose probability of being in an accident might be small.
The different factors that companies may look at when it comes to determining car insurance rates might be age, sex, driving record, car model, number of annual miles and so on. As a consumer, you may want to learn more about what could affect your rates so you can look into ways to lower your rates.
- The type of car and model
If you might have a new and more expensive car, you could be paying higher car insurance rates for it, since new cars could tend to have higher maximum limits in terms of coverage as compared to older and less expensive types. Each vehicle might generally be given a symbol which may then be used to calculate the car insurance rates.
This symbol may be decided upon based on the year the car might have been manufactured, the make and model, the safety features integrated into the car and so on. So if your car might be very expensive, car insurance companies may charge you through the nose! A good way to work around this issue could be to consult your car insurance firm and see what they charge for different models of cars.
- Personal information such as age, gender, marital status
Car insurance companies may tend to take this information into account when deciding on your rates. Age may generally only be a factor for drivers who may be either under 25 or above the age of retirement, since it might be well-known that teenagers and seniors could represent higher risks to companies.
Women could be known to be more cautious drivers, which might be why they may be favored by insurance companies and could enjoy lower rates as compared to men. When it comes to marital status, some companies may offer deeper discounts to married couples as compared to singles. So if you might have just gotten married, you might want to contact your firm and ask them what they could do for you!
- Annual miles driven
If you drive less, the probability of you getting into an accident may also decrease. Thus, the lower the number of miles per year, the lower your car insurance rates may be.
If you might like to read more on the costs of car insurance, please visit the article Costs of Car Insurance.