Automobile insurance is a numbers game.
Believe me, companies have studied three primary areas and determined where they are least likely or most likely to have to make payouts and have created their premium rates accordingly.
These areas involve you, where you live, and your car.
First Consideration: You Insurance companies have determined which people are the least likely to need to have money paid out to them by an insurance company.
In other words, what people are least likely to have an accident? In determining who these people are they've considered gender, age group, occupation, and a number of other considerations.
How you fit into these categories will have an impact on your insurance premium rates.
To begin with it really doesn't have anything to do with you individually, but where you fit in to these groups.
Now, where it does become an individual matter is when it comes to your personal driving record.
Make no mistake about it, that consideration is an important one.
So, your personal driving habits do become a financial consideration.
Keeping a clean driving record is a good way to get and keep the best possible insurance rates.
Second Consideration: Where You Live Insurance companies have studied claims and determined that some places have higher (or lower) traffic incident rates, or higher (or lower) vehicle theft rates, or laws that are more (or less) favorable to insurance companies.
Again, this really doesn't have anything to do with you personally, but you may live in a place where there is a higher (or lower) statistical average of you requiring a payout from your insurance company.
That is reflected on your premium rate.
Moving may not (and probably isn't) a viable option just to get cheaper car insurance, but it's good to know this does have an impact.
Third Consideration: Your Car The final consideration is the car you choose to drive.
There are two things to think about here.
First is safety features.
What safety features are available on your car? Things like anti-lock brakes, airbags, and automatic seatbelts can provide discounts on your premiums.
As a matter of fact there are some states that require insurance providers to offer discounts on safety features.
Another point related to safety is crash test ratings.
The point is that some cars are just safer than others (just as some drivers are safer than others).
These are cheaper to insure.
The second thing to think about is car theft.
Thieves know which cars will turn the best profit for them.
You better believe that insurance companies know which cars have a greater likelihood of being stolen (and what parts of the country have a higher car theft rate).
Knowing how insurance companies look at how much to charge for insurance, you can use that knowledge to your advantage.