Are Auto Insurance Rates Fair?

Fair Auto Insurance

After you read this post, you’re likely going to be reviewing your car insurance policy. You won’t believe the crazy ways insurance companies calculate your auto insurance rates.

It’s truly bizarre and it seems we’re all okay about it. Well, okay maybe not now after you share this post with your family and friends.

Most of us are trained by the insurance companies to think in terms of yearly coverages, as though they’re doing us some favor, some act of kindness and convenience? Because if we were thinking about saving on car insurance more often, we’d be examining our real wants and needs, and the high price we’re paying for our auto insurance coverage.

And when you read about how they’re calculating car crash liability, you’ll see that your insurance rates may be inflated. By going online to get better rates, you’re raising the likelihood that you won’t get caught in this insurance coverage discrimination.

Most drivers don’t even know that certain factors are pushing their rates up. If more drivers knew how insurers are calculating rates and avoiding offering a better quote, the situation would be different.

Car and Truck insurance are still good value even when expensive, however they don’t need to be really high. They’re high because drivers don’t look into this matter and search for the lowest rates. Switching insurers might be good for you and might even be good for your insurance company.

10 Crazy Factors that Bump Up Your Auto Insurance

  1. Your Zip Code – zip codes have hard boundaries which means the driver across the street could have lower insurance rates than you.
  2. Your Education – having a bachelor’s degree can lower your car insurance rates. How about a Phd? You could be penalized on your insurance for your whole life even though you’ve never been in accident. Can you get a lifetime rebate?
  3. Your Age – Once you turn 25, your rate goes down a bit. An arbitrary number that has no real bearing on your driving habits since you could get more careless as you age.
  4. Your Gender – Male drivers will be penalized for life even if they’ve never had an accident. And do transgenders get an immediate reduction? They probably do.
  5. Driver’s Training – studies show that those who take defensive driving and driver training courses actually drive faster and take more risks — because they feel more confident of their driving skills. Insurance companies use wishful thinking to paint a picture of responsible driving through classes.
  6. Your Credit Rating – even with a lifelong, accident-free record and a history of paying your debts on time, your record of not using credit will be used against you. If you’re a smarter consumer and avoid getting into debt, your auto insurance rates will be much higher in some cases. There is no evidence that shows a low credit rating results in a driver getting into more car accidents. Drivers who make late payments aren’t necessarily any more prone to accidents and late payment fines should be enough to discourage missing payments.
  7. Other Drivers you Live With – other people living in the same house are added to your driving risk even if they have no access to your vehicle.
  8. You’re Single. Despite mom being distracted by her kids in the car, and racing around town to get them to their soccer game on time, you will have to pay higher insurance rates than her because you didn’t sign a marriage contract.
  9. Coverage Lapse – if you don’t drive for a few months or go on vacation and return to get another policy, the insurance companies can charge you more for that time lapse, even though you are not at any greater risk of being in an accident.
  10. Discounts for Multiple Vehicles – Just because your spouse buys a policy with your insurance company doesn’t lower their risk of being in an accident or filing a claim.

When will this crazy stuff stop? When you tell the world!

Bonus Factor!  One last crazy factor in your auto insurance rates: whether you’re a republican or democrat. Yes, why not bring politics into this one too.

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