Essay about Car Insurance

Submitted By shannonjh
Words: 1019
Pages: 5

How Car Insurance Rates are Determined According toUsinsuranceagents.com, “Insurance is the only product that both the seller and buyer hope is never actually used.” Everyone knows that by law car insurance is required for everyone who owns a car. It is also common knowledge that things like getting speeding tickets, DUIs, and getting into car accidents will affect your insurance, which are factors that you can pretty much control. However, what some people don’t know is car insurance isn’t all about what you do, but who you are. The main characteristics that effect a person’s insurance is their driving record, age, gender, and where they live. Car insurance rates are mainly based on statistics. After understanding what factors influence car insurance, it will be easier to see what can be done to change them. The most important thing that affects your car insurance rate that you have the most control over is your driving record. According to nhtsa.gov, “In 2012 there were an estimated 9,754,000 vehicles involved in police-reported traffic crashes.” With most car insurances it doesn’t matter who causes the car accident, everyone involved has an increase rate on their insurance. This makes drivers not only reasonable for their driving but, others as well. To avoid accidents it always good to stay alert and double check blind spots. Another thing to be careful of is DUIs. According to thelawdictionary.com “ DUIs stay effect car insurance rates up to five years in most states and even more in others.” Simply not driving under the influence of drugs or alcohols, including prescription drugs, is the best way to prevent high rates. Also, keeping track of speeding tickets and fines is important. According to hotline.com not only does speeding tickets and fines raise insurance rates, but getting too many of them will result in a suspended license. A suspended or cancelled license causes rate to go up as well. Looking at how someone’s driving record effects their insurance, it is pretty clear to see that it is pretty easy to control driving records. But not all factors of car insurance is as controllable as a driving record though. Where a person live if a factor of how much they have to pay for car insurance. According to Progressive.com “Your location directly impacts your rates.” Generally people in rural areas pay lower insurance than those who live in urban areas. And people who live in the suburbs pays somewhere in the middle. The reason for this is that is has been shown that people living in heavily populated places are more likely to get into car wrecks, get their cars vandalized, or get their car stolen. Along with whether a person lives in a rural area, city, or suburb, how fast emergency respondent come to an accident determines higher or lower rates. According to avvo.com, another factor that can affect where a person lives is weather and road conditions. Areas were the weather can be a likely culprit for an accident, insurance is more than likely going to be higher. A person changing where they live is a may be a possible question. However there are some factors of car insurance that no one can change about themselves. How old someone is cannot be change but, a definite factor for car insurance. According to Crikey.com, teenagers and the elderly are the most dangerous drivers. Typically when teenagers cause accidents, it is due to something reckless such as speeding, not paying attentions to their surrounding, or texting while driving. And on average when they cause a car accident they not only hurt themselves but, are more likely to injure someone else. But driver 65 years and older usually cause accidents due to them not able to see, healthy conditions, and delayed reactions. Most of the times when the elderly cause a car wreck, they only injure themselves. So due to these statistics teenagers and the elderly normally have to pay higher rates. Just because an individual