In today's high-tech society auto premium calculations are probably more complex than they've ever been. This Blog Post will highlight a few of the major factors that go into determining your Illinois auto insurance premium.
1) Past Driving Record
The first and maybe the most obvious is your past record. If you have speeding tickets, cell phone usage tickets, or even a DUI those are going to play major factors in determining your auto insurance premium. The other past driving record that will play a major factor is whether you have filed claims in the past. Yes, even that fender bender or the deer hit are going to play a factor, even if you had to file a claim because somebody backed into you in a parking lot and drove away. Those all could come back on your insurance record and affect your future insurance premiums.
2) Insurance Score
The next factor is your insurance score as carriers refer to it as. Insurance companies have correlated higher credit scores with fewer claims. If you are in the process of rebuilding your credit, it might be worth the wait until your credit issues are cleaned up prior to switching your vehicle insurance.
3) The Type of vehicle
The type of vehicle that you drive can also play a factor in your Illinois auto insurance rates. Obviously, high-end cars with higher values are going to pay more in premiums than an old beater vehicle. That's a given but there are other ways your vehicle affects your premium as well, for example safety features can help lower your premium. While protective devices and alarms can also help lower your premiums they also cost more if you're in an accident to replace or repair the sensors throughout your vehicle. So as cost to replace or repair vehicles increases, you're going to see carriers offset that with higher premiums.
4) Past & Current Insurance Coverage
Your insurance history is also going to play a factor in your premiums. Your prior auto insurance liability limits or lack of coverage can play a factor in your car insurance premiums. If you don't have prior auto coverage you're going to pay more when you start a new policy. If you have state minimum liability limits and you're switching to higher coverages you're also going to see an increase in premium because you haven't carried those coverages throughout. I recommend carrying those higher coverages for a while before you shop your policy next time. This will help you lower your premiums in the future.
5) Multi Policy Discount
Insurance companies love to see supporting home and auto business, it is commonly referred to as a package policy or a bundle discount. However, you refer to it companies like to see that home and auto discount.
6) Household Makeup
Your household makeup is also going to play a factor in your Illinois auto premiums. Obviously a 16 or 18 year old are going to pay more than someone that has an established insurance record and 40 years old. Especially, if that 16 or 18 year old has a speeding ticket or a cellphone usage ticket in the past. If you have a teenage driver in your house, it is important to stress the importance of good grades (for a variety of reasons), but from an insurance perspective it would help qualify your youthful driver for a Good Student Discount. Also, if your college student is more than 100 miles away from home at college talk to your Independent Agent about what additional discounts your student may earn.
7) Vehicle Usage
The way you use your vehicle is also going to play a role in your auto premiums. Somebody that drives a mile or two to work and somebody that is retired and hardly drive anymore can get a pleasure discount lowering their premiums. Somebody that's a salesman and travels may have to list their vehicle as business use, increasing their premiums if you're using your vehicle for work or if you're retired and don't drive much anymore talk to your agent make sure your vehicle is listed properly on your policy so you're rated correctly.
How to get the most from your insurance:
These are just a few of the factors that go into affecting your auto premiums while this isn't everything it's kind of a high-level overview and some things that you can do to help control or lower your premiums. I recommend talking to an independent agent such as Clark Carroll insurance Agency as a way to shop your insurance from several carriers and really see what the best premium is for you. Give us a call at 815-244-1570