Factors Affecting Insurance Premiums and How to Reduce Costs

When you’re shopping for car insurance, it can be very tempting to reduce your costs by choosing lower amount of coverage or raising your deductibles. There’s no doubt that these are two most obvious ways to reduce the cost of your car insurance. However, other factors like womens telematics, size of the vehicle and location can also affect the cost of your car insurance. Some of these factors can be easily controlled by you. Let us tell you about these factors and what can you do to reduce the cost of your car insurance.

Gender and Age

On an average, young men incur higher insurance rates than young women. This is because male teenagers are more likely to be involved in accidents than female teenagers. However, older men have lower rates than older women. According to statistics, older women are involved in more accidents than men. Although the difference in cost is not drastic, it can be with womens telematics insurance. A simple black box in a woman’s car can significantly reduce her premiums.

Marital Status 

Married people don’t have as many accidents as single people. Therefore, if you’re married, your insurance premiums may cost less. However, how much your cost is reduced will depend on your driving history. If you’re a woman who has never been in an accident, and show a clean driving record, your rates may be significantly reduced.

Location 

Since most accidents occur close to the driver’s home, your neighborhood and location will also affect your insurance rates. If you live in a populated area with more cars, you will be at a higher risk of theft, accidents and collisions. In some areas, repairing your car may also cost more. Moreover, in a tough economy, there are many uninsured drivers in urban areas with high unemployment rates.

Credit Score 

Almost every insurance company considers your credit score to determine insurance rates. Although there is no specific point at which credit score affects your rate, it is still obvious that lower credit score will mean you have to pay higher premiums.

Size of the Vehicle 

Needless to say, larger cars are safer than smaller cars when involved in accidents. Thus, most of the larger cars with good safety ratings have a lot lower premiums than smaller cars with similar ratings. However, if a car has a larger engine relative to its body size, rates may be higher. For instance, a sports car with V8 engine will have higher insurance rates than a small car with V4 engine. This is where womens telematics can come in handy to lower rates. In such cars, black boxes can be easily hidden out of plain sight and increase your car’s safety ratings.

Safety Rating 

If your car has a higher safety rating, it means there’s a lower chance that you’ll need to pay for your own or passengers’ medical bills. Thus, insurance rates will be lower. Safety rating of a car is based on many different factors including your likelihood to get involved in an accident, likelihood for major injuries and so on. Safety features like seat belts, airbags, traction control and womens telematics can reduce your costs. They make you less likely to get involved in an accident.

Driving History

If you’ve ever been involved in an accident, made previous insurance claims or received any tickets, the insurance company will consider you to be a high-risk customer. You will be considered more likely to make another claim. If your driving history is bad, your insurance rates will be higher.

Telematics

A black box attached to your car can easily measure when you drive, how many miles you drive, at what speed you go and how hard you brake, accelerate or corner. These programs are termed pay-as-you-drive insurance. The basic idea is that women who have black boxes in their cars are cautious drivers. Thus, if you travel fewer miles, you should pay lower insurance premiums. Womens telematics insurance indicates you are less likely to be involved in an accident.

Last but not the least, some insurance companies also offer some good discounts when you purchase a package with other types of insurances. Before you choose auto insurance, make sure you hire a reputed broker who has vast experience and rich expertise in this business.

    Robert Prime

    Robert Prime launched telematics.com in early 2013 and has over 10 years experience in the financial sector. He specialises in business startups and online marketing with a passion for new technology.

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