We all know that every insurer is different. You might get a discount for keeping your grades up, if you’re a student driver, at one insurance company, but when you switch providers, that discount is nowhere to be found. Every insurer will evaluate your risk level by their own metrics, and they’ll offer their own discounts. But, some factors apply to more insurers than not. So what are they?
Personal Factors
Many personal factors apply at pretty much every insurance provider. The most obvious is going to be your driving record. If you have a lot of moving violations, then, of course, that’s going to bump your rates. Many insurers offer discounts for safe driving, and some of those discounts are more generous than others. Other personal factors are less obvious:
- Gender. Men tend to pay more than women for insurance, all other factors being equal.
- Age. Insurance is rough on teens and young drivers. The age may vary from insurer to insurer, but if you’re in your twenties or younger, you’re probably going to be paying more.
- Marital status. Married people are statistically less likely to be involved in accidents, so they tend to have lower rates than single people.
Your Vehicle
The car is the thing being insured, so of course, it’s going to be a major factor here.
- Your car’s value. The more expensive the car, the more expensive it will be to repair or to replace, so the more expensive it will be to insure.
- Safety features. The safer your car, the lower your rates.
- Your car’s size. The bigger your car, the more serious the liability concerns.
Other factors will vary from provider to provider. Some insurers may even charge you more or less based on the color of your car.
Your Neighborhood
The Waukesha area is a great place to live, but some neighborhoods are better than others. All insurance providers are going to look at here is, generally, crime rates. If your neighborhood has higher rates of theft and burglaries and so on, then your car is at a greater risk of being damaged or stolen in a criminal act. If you’ve been thinking of moving to a fancier place, now you know that you can recoup some of that higher rent through lower insurance.
Again, the various factors determining what you pay for insurance, and the discounts offered, will vary greatly from one provider to the next. Don’t be surprised if you switch providers and your rates are double, or half, of what you used to pay to insure the same vehicle just a couple months ago. That said, the factors listed above tend to be pretty consistent no matter your provider. All insurance providers are really just looking for a safe bet. The more you can do to show them that you’re a safe bet, the less worried they’ll be, and the better your rates will tend to be as a result.
