1. Gender and Age
Young men usually incur higher rates than young women as statistically, more male teenagers have accidents than female teenagers. However, older men generally have better rates than older women. Some evidence suggests that older women are in more minor accidents than older men – though the difference in premium costs usually isn’t drastic.
2. Marital Status
Married people tend to have fewer accidents than single people; therefore, getting married (especially for men) can significantly lower your rate. How much your rate decreases depends on your previous driving history – if you are a man who has never been in an accident and has a clean driving record, you could see your rates nearly halved.
3. Where You Live
Because most traffic accidents occur close to home, the area you live in greatly affects your rates. More densely populated neighborhoods with more cars mean you are at a higher risk of accidents, theft, and collisions with injuries.
Repairing your car also costs more in some areas, and some areas have higher rates of theft. Plus, in this economy, many urban areas with high unemployment rates have a lot of uninsured drivers, as many people can’t afford to insure their cars. Detroit and Philadelphia are two of the most expensive cities in which to insure a car, as they both have high traffic density and high rates of uninsured drivers.
4. Credit Score
Many insurance companies take your credit score into account when determining your rate. There is no specific point at which your credit score begins to affect your rate, but in general, lower scores mean higher insurance premiums.
5. Profession
Auto insurance companies may also make correlations between a person’s risk of accident and their profession, and they can adjust your premium accordingly if they think you’re more likely to get in an accident. For example, delivery drivers and journalists are on the road constantly, and thus are more likely to be in an accident, whereas airline pilots often just drive between the airport and home, and don’t spend much time on the road. Others, such as police officers, paramedics, nuns, and insurance underwriters, often receive a good rate, as they are seen to be more careful than the average driver.