A lot of car drivers dislike car insurance. Not because it doesn’t suit their needs, but because it can cost so much money! In an age where the cost of living is increasing, but people’s wages are not, car insurance is a big cost to bear.
It doesn’t help that policyholders often get renewal quotes that cost more than their existing policy. Even though, they have not claimed on them! What are the factors that motivate car insurance premium increases? That is a question whose answers I will share with you today!
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Changing to a different car mid-policy
A lot of car drivers are under the illusion that their premiums get based only on their personal details. What they fail to realise is that they are also based on the cars that they drive!
Car insurers won’t tell customers this fact, but they offer their services at a specific demographic only. If a car insurance quote from one insurer is sky high, that usually means they don’t want your business.
You might have had a great quote for your original car. But that doesn’t mean you will get a great premium on your new car. That’s especially true if you upgrade from a city car to a luxury car, for example.
Doing more than “average” annual mileage
Mileage is everything to an insurance company. It is because the premiums you have to pay factor in the amount of driving that you do. From a car insurer’s perspective, the more driving you do, the higher the risk of you making a claim on your policy.
There is no hard and fast rule on what “average mileage” is. But most people agree that it is between 10,000 and 12,000 miles per year.
Having a brush with the law
For the most part, everyone tries to stay within the law when they get behind the wheel of their cars. A lot of folks will end up having some minor brush with the law, such as driving above the posted speed limit.
Such minor incidents won’t increase your insurance premiums by anything significant. But if you were recently caught drink driving, you will now enter a motoring and life-changing nightmare.
Insurance companies will not cover people if they have been drink driving and had an accident. And from a legal point of view, you will be in hot water indeed.
Your only thought may be to contact drink driving solicitors (not solicitors that drink and drive, I should point out)! Aside from the legal penalties you are now facing, you can expect insurance to be expensive on everything except a bicycle.
Marital status
Car insurance quotes are often high for people that are not married and don’t have kids. You are now in a “high risk” category. If you get married and have kids, and you add your spouse as a named driver on your policy, you will enjoy cheaper car insurance!
Of course, I don’t advocate starting a family with someone just to lower your car insurance premiums!
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