3 unchangeable things that affect car insurance costs
Are you looking to save money on your car insurance premiums? Who isn’t. There are several factors that determine how much you pay for car insurance. While there are factors that impact your car insurance rates that you can change, such as the make and model of your vehicle, there are others that you can’t change or just aren’t practical to change. Let’s take a look at three factors right now.
Your age and sex
Your age and sex are two factors that play a large role in determining the price of your auto insurance. There’s a method behind the madness: actuarial science. Actuaries crunch numbers behind the scenes to determine how likely you are to be involved in a collision based on your age and sex.
Like it or not (probably “or not” if you’re a younger drive), older drivers typically pay less for car insurance than younger, less experienced drivers. The good news is once you’re 25 years old, you’ll typically see lower car insurance premiums going forward (provided you maintain a clean driving record).
And if you’re a guy, I’m sorry to say you’re out of luck again. Again, like it or not, ladies are less likely to be involved in a collision than guys, so they typically get better car insurance rates than their male counterparts.
You may say, “that’s not fair,” but as mentioned earlier, actuarial data backs it up. Insurance companies are required to provide the provincial government with actual data that backs up the higher rates for male/females and different age groups.
Driving experience
Besides your age and sex, another factor that affects your car insurance premiums is your driving experience. All things considered equal, the more driving experience a motorist has, the lower the car insurance rates they’ll pay (a word of caution: that could change once you’re a senior citizen though).
It can be advantageous for drivers to get a driver’s license at a young age and start building up a clean driving history. Just be sure to use your vehicle responsibly. If you get in a major at-fault accident, you’ll experience skyrocketing insurance premiums.
Where you’re located
Although location is technically a factor that you can change, most people aren’t willing to just to save on car insurance. For example, if you found out you could save $10 a month on car insurance by living on the other side of town, would you move? Not likely (not to mention it’d also cost you more money in gas to commute).
Generally speaking, if you live in an urban location, you’ll typically shell out more in auto insurance premiums. This makes sense since there are more vehicles on the road and you’re more likely to be involved in an accident. Urban living also means your vehicle is more likely to get broken into or stolen as well. Those that live in the suburbs typically catch a break on car insurance for thos