7 Surprising Things That Raise Your Insurance Prices
What if you saw a car insurance increase and didn’t know what caused it?
When we think about what causes car insurance to increase, we normally think about car accidents. And it’s true: Even if an accident isn’t your fault, getting into a car wreck is the quickest way to increase the cost of your insurance.
But there are many other factors that can raise insurance prices that most drivers don’t know about. Want to be prepared and stop your premiums from going up? Keep reading to discover 7 things that can make your car insurance quotes higher.
1. Speeding Tickets Make Your Car Insurance Increase
Most drivers think about traffic tickets as relatively minor driving infractions. After all, a speeding ticket doesn’t hurt anyone (unlike a car accident potentially could), and it’s possible to get a ticket for going just a few miles over the speed limit.
However, your insurance company takes speeding tickets and other driving tickets very seriously. That’s because they want to determine how risky you are to insure. If you are caught speeding, your insurance carrier may think you are likely to engage in other risky behavior behind the wheel and raise your rates accordingly.
2. Where You Live Will Affect Insurance Prices
You may not realize that a variety of factors affect the cost of your monthly premium. And one of the most surprising is your zip code!
Once again, your insurance carrier is worried about how risky you will be to cover. And even if you are a very safe driver with a clean driving record, moving to a riskier area is going to increase your insurance.
What does “riskier area” mean? It is usually a combination of how many personal injury lawsuits and insurance claims for accidents and theft are filed in the area each year. Your insurance carrier also looks at factors such as how many uninsured drivers live in the area and how bad the local weather gets.
Fortunately, the reverse is also true. Moving to a safer area can actually lower your insurance costs!
3. Bad Credit Can Impact Insurance Prices
How’s your credit? Believe it or not, a low credit score can actually raise your insurance rate!
That may not seem fair, but to your insurance company, this is just a matter of mathematics. Every year, more insurance claims are filed by drivers with poor credit than drivers with good credit. So if your credit score takes a dip, you may see your insurance premiums start to rise.
Once again, though, the reverse is also true. If you begin to monitor and repair your credit, then getting back to a good credit rating can help drive rates back down.
Because this information is prejudicial and likely not even a good indicator of a driver’s risk, some states have prohibited this practice, including California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Michigan. In Oregon and Utah, insurers cannot base your car insurance quotes solely on your credit history.
4. A Nicer Car Will Increase Insurance Prices
Many of us drive very simple vehicles early in life. After all, you don’t want to hand a teenager the keys to a really nice car. But as we get older and more experienced, it’s tempting to buy a nicer car for the comfort level and the status.
Unfortunately, that’s a status symbol that comes with an ongoing cost. A more expensive car will have a higher insurance rate for a fairly simple reason: It will be more expensive to repair or replace that vehicle in the event of an accident!
This doesn’t mean you have to drive a “beater” car forever. However, you should be aware of the cost to insure a new vehicle before you make the purchase. You should do your best to maintain a clean driving record and good credit record, and don’t forget to ask your insurance carrier about discounts you may qualify for!
5. Getting Divorced Can Impact Your Insurance Prices
Getting divorced can change your life in a number of ways. And one of the surprising ways it changes your life is that it will likely lead to a car insurance increase!
Relative to some of the other things on this list, the insurance “bump” from getting divorced may be relatively minor. But why is there a bump at all? Insurance companies have discovered that married couples file fewer insurance claims (probably because they split driving duties between them).
So, getting divorced means you are likelier to file a claim, and this increases your insurance. Should you remarry, your rates should go down once again.
6. Losing Car Insurance Discounts
Historically, discounts are one of the best ways to save money on your car insurance. And there are car insurance discounts available for many different things, including a clean driving record, good grades, and installing anti-theft devices.
Some drivers get so accustomed to the discounted insurance premium that they forget the discount is in place. But if drivers suddenly lose the discount, they will certainly notice they are paying a higher amount.
How could you lose a discount? If you have a good driving discount, then a single speeding ticket or car accident could jeopardize it. If you are getting a good grade discount, then a single bad semester could affect your premium. And if you have anti-theft devices on an older car, getting a newer car without such devices installed may mean you lose the antitheft discount.
7. Car Insurance Increase and the Passage of Time
It may not seem fair, but even if nothing really changes regarding your car, credit, driving record, or marital status, your car insurance premium may still go up over time.
Why is that? Basically, your insurance carrier must still consider larger-scale factors, including how many drivers are filing claims, increased weather-related disasters, increased fraud cases, and the rising cost of vehicles.
In addition to increasing rates for individual drivers, all of these factors may cause your insurance carrier to increase premiums across the board. Fortunately, there is an easy way to combat such an increase: getting a new insurance company!
Get the Best Car Insurance Prices Today
You can’t keep your existing insurance carrier from raising prices. But you can save a lot of money by switching to a carrier with more competitive rates!
Fight a car insurance increase by getting new quotes today. At InsureOne, we are always ready for you to get a car insurance quote online. Alternatively, you can pick up the phone and give us a quick call at 800-836-2240. Finally, feel free to come into one of our convenient nearby offices at your earliest convenience!