Q: What are factors that affect car insurance rates?

There are many factors that determine how much you are going to pay for your auto insurance. Each and every one of these factors is crucial to know for any consumer if he/she wants to lower their auto insurance premiums. Here are the factors that identify how much you will pay for your auto insurance rates:

• Driving record: This is pretty self-explanatory. If the insurance company sees that you are a safe driver, they will obviously assume that you have a smaller risk of getting into auto accidents, which means less hassle for both you and the insurer. Your driving record has information such as the number tickets you have, what you got ticketed for, number/type of accidents, and whether or not you have attended traffic school. The better your record, the less you'll have to pay.
• Credit: This is also one of the important factors that determine how much you will pay for your premiums. Your credit basically tells the auto insurance company whether or not you are responsible enough with keeping up with your budget. By looking at your credit report, the auto insurance company will determine whether or not you will pay for the premiums that they give you. The worse your credit report, the more you will have to pay.
• Gender: Even though this does seem to be controversial or discriminative, this is one of the factors that use to determine how much you will pay for your auto insurance. Statistically, one type of gender is a better driver than the other. These statistics vary diversely depending on what state you are in. Keep in mind that only a certain number of auto insurance companies actually use this factor to determine your premiums.
• The number of accident claims: This will probably be found on your driving record, but it is considered a separate factor. The more accidents you get into, or were associated with, the more you are going to pay for premiums. Even though you might have gotten into accidents because of no fault of your own, if you make a claim, it counts.
• Occupation: This might sound a little unorthodox at first, but statistically, people with certain occupations drive more safely than others. For example, if you are a person who sits behind the desk for most of his work hours, then you probably don't have to worry about this factor. However, if you are someone who drives on a constant basis, such as a delivery man, you drive frequently, meaning your chances of getting into accidents are a lot higher.
• Geography: Depending on where you live, you will have a greater or smaller chance of getting your car stolen or vandalized. Some locations, such as urban parts of a city, might put your car at a greater risk ofbeing stolen, vandalized, etc.