Auto Insurance – Rules of the Game
Do you know what drives the price of car insurance? Some of the factors are obvious; some are not.
Here is the list with a few questions to consider:
Obvious Factors
- Are tickets and accidents driving your rates up? Slow down and save money.
- Tip: Review your Motor Vehicle Record for accuracy with your agent. Make sure you’re not paying for a ticket you did not receive.
- Tip: Leave 10 minutes early for your next appointment in town. It’s easier to obey the speed limit when you’re not in a hurry.
- The more you drive the car, the greater your chance is of having an accident. The average driver puts 12,000 miles per year on cars they drive.
- Tip: If you have a low-mileage car that is driven less than 4,000 miles per year, does your agent know that and are your cars rated properly for actual mileage driven?
- Statistically speaking, single males under 25 are more expensive to insure than any other driver.
- Tip: You can save money by rating teen age drivers on cars that do not have comprehensive and collision.
- Tip: Make sure your teen age drivers are getting the good student discount and any safe driving discounts offered by your company.
- Lower deductibles cost more; higher deductibles cost less.
- The additional cost for higher liability limits is minimal.
- Tip: Use the savings from increased deductibles on comprehensive and collision to pay for higher liability limits.
Not-So-Obvious Factors
- Although there is less traffic in rural areas, longer commutes are often necessary.
- Chip sealing roads leads to more broken windshields.
- When Idaho has tough winters, the collision repair shops are busy.
- Tip: Drive for conditions. Just because the speed limit is 40mph doesn’t mean you should drive fast on slick roads.
- Some types of vehicles have more expensive replacement parts.
- Some vehicles are stolen more often than others.
- Tip: When your shopping for a car, get a quote on the insurance before you buy the car. Don’t wait and be surprised by the insurance after you have bought the car.
- Really! What does my credit have to do with insurance? All major companies have verified a direct statistical correlation between credit and the probability of future accidents.
- Tip: Make sure your monthly payments are made on time. Use of the free credit reporting sites like CreditKarma.com to know what is going on with your credit.
