Your driving record includes your history of moving traffic violations and accidents at fault. It's one of the most important factors that determine your car insurance rates. Auto insurance companies look at your driving history for the past three to five years, depending on your state. If you have caused a car accident or received traffic tickets, expect to pay more for car insurance.
Your gender, age, marital status, geographic location, and credit rating affect your insurance rates in different ways. Fortunately, these imperfections tend to lose importance over time. So, if you've had a few crazy years with some fines or accidents in the past, making an effort to drive slower and carefully to avoid future problems can pay off in time. Most fine and non-injury accidents stop affecting your rate after three years, and accidents with injuries generally don't affect your rate after five years.
However, a DUI penalty can affect your premium for up to 10 years, and many companies don't insure someone with a. Drivers can choose policies that cover liability, collision, uninsured motorists, or comprehensive coverage. Choosing a higher level of coverage means your insurance costs will be higher. On the contrary, you can lower your costs by reducing your coverage, but this may mean that you will assume a higher level of risk.
Factors that affect your auto insurance premiums include your driving history, the coverages you choose, your deductible, your annual mileage, your credit score, and demographic factors such as age, gender, and zip code. Since the year, make, and model of your car will affect your insurance premium, it's important to review your quotes before buying a new car to know how much you should budget for insurance. Depending on the policy, this type of insurance bases your premium heavily on the safety you drive with or on your mileage, which could save you money. You may be able to get a discount on your insurance if you don't drive the car a lot or don't use it for work.
Filing a claim will increase auto insurance premiums by 3% to 32% on average over three to five years in almost all cases. If your driving record is bad enough, some insurance companies will refuse to give you insurance. If you have a previous car insurance claim, compare insurance and other company rates to see how previous claims affect your premium costs. Insurance companies do not publish the specific algorithms they use to calculate prices, meaning that each insurer will offer a slightly different rate to the same driver.
A clean driving record helps you get the lowest rates, and many car insurance companies offer discounts for safe drivers that could reduce the cost of your policy by 40%. Professional auto insurance companies can also make correlations between a person's accident risk and their profession, and they can adjust their premium accordingly if they think they are more likely to have an accident. Like credit scores, insurance scores are based on information in the credit report, they are only used to predict the likelihood that a driver will file a claim. The good news is that if you have a car with safety features, such as anti-lock brakes, anti-theft system, or blind spot indicators, you may be able to qualify for an insurance discount.
Insurers charge based on risk, and statistics show you're more likely to file additional claims if you recently filed one. Since fender benders are often minor accidents, your car insurance premium will likely not go up as much as it would after a more serious accident. Young drivers pay more for car insurance as they are considered to be less experienced and more likely to be in an accident. .
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