Finding the best rates of car insurance

One of the most consistent pieces of advice you will get is to always shop around, whenever you find people offering advice on how to find the most affordable policies. That means getting quotes from as many different insurers as possible, and then comparing what each one offers to find the best deal. To find the right terms, you need to understand how insurers set the rate. That way, you know what to look for when comparing the quotes.

Where you live, your family circumstances and exactly who you are will be just a few of the things that are connected with the whole underwriting process. The statistics drawn from decades of information about traffic accidents do not lie about general patterns of behavior. Young and inexperienced drivers make mistakes and are involved in the most accidents. Single male drivers are the most at risk. At the other end of the age scale, drivers of both sexes also start having more accidents as their eyesight starts to fail and their reflexes slow down. These groups always pay the highest rates.

Then we come to where you live. Although the Californians voted to reduce the importance of ZIP codes, insurers will always be interested in the crime rates for the area where the vehicle will be kept at nights. If there’s a lot of vandalism and grand theft auto is more than a game, the rates will be higher. Moving out of the larger cities and into the countryside, rates fall because there’s less traffic on the roads and so a lower risk. Now look at the make and model you want to insure. When repairs are cheap and it will not cost a lot to replace the vehicle should it be totaled, the rates for collision and comprehensive will be lower. But ask for quotes on high-powered sports cars and the rates will come back higher. Most people buy them to drive them fast. Driving fast can be close to driving recklessly and risk more accidents. Finally we come to your track record. If you have many years experience with no recent tickets and no claims, the rates will tend to be lower. But if you have missed installment payments and made claims, the rate will be higher. There will also be higher rates if your credit score is low.

Once the car insurance company has considered all the factors, you will be placed in one of three categories. If you are “preferred” this means the insurer thinks you are unlikely to have an accident and so make a claim. This usually reflects a clean driving record for the last five years. The “standard” group are drivers who represent a moderate risk. This is usually a family vehicle, modestly powered and not driven longer distances, with only minor problems with tickets and claims. If you are classified as nonstandard, you are considered high risk and will face the highest rates.

Car insurance is quite a science but each insurer values factors differently. The rates may also differ between companies because of the quality of those insured. If a company has a high percentage of preferred drivers, the rates will be lower for everyone. So the only way to find the best premium rate for the next twelve months is to get car insurance quotes from all the major companies now. That gives you the best chance of finding the best terms.