3 Things That Could Result in a Higher Car Insurance Premium

8 April 2016 by Elijah Steward

There are things that can affect your insurance premiums, and some of these things can make the amount you pay much higher. Below are three things you should be aware of before you start shopping for car insurance.

Are You Married?

When your insurance company calculates the amount of your premium, one factor they take into consider is if you are married or single. In most cases, single people pay higher premiums when compared to those people that are married because single people are often younger, they are considered at-risk drivers. They may live with roommates, who may drive the insured person's car, or they may have an older vehicle.

If you are married, however, your insurance rates will not always be lower. For example, if your spouse has a bad driving record, the insurance company takes this into consideration.  They will also look at how many tickets you and your spouse have received, how many car accidents you have been in, or how much your car is worth.

Where Do You Live?

Where you live is another factor the insurance company will consider. When considering this, they will look at the following:

• Car accidents
• Crime rate
• Population
• Unemployment rate

Taking all of this into consideration helps the insurance company determine if you are at a higher risk when it comes to filing multiple claims because of where you live.

For example, you may be at a higher risk of being in a car accident because of how many vehicles are commonly on the road due to a large population. If your city has a high crime rate, there is more of a chance that your car will be broken into.  If the unemployment is high where you live, you are at a higher risk to not pay your insurance premium when it is due.

Are There Gaps in Your Insurance?

If the insurance company finds that you ever drove your car without car insurance, this does not look good to them. To help them determine this, they will contact your previous insurance companies to see if you paid your payments on time and, if you were late, how often this happened. They will also ask the previous insurance companies if they ever canceled your insurance due to nonpayment. If they find all of this information to be true, your premium rate will be higher.

Over time, if you always pay your bill on time, your high premium rate may be lowered. This depends on the insurance company.

Shop around at different insurance companies in your area, such as Wyatt Insurance Agency, so you can find the best rates.

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