4 Factors That Will Never Be Used to Determine Your Car Insurance Rate
Alex Healey
· 2 min read
The amount you pay for
car insurance
is determined by a wide range of factors, including your address, the car you drive, and your driving record
. Rates are influenced by a myriad of other things too, and depressingly, many of them are out of your control. However, there are several factors that insurers are not allowed to consider when calculating your premium.
Following the news that
rates are going up again
, this article aims to dispel four of the biggest myths concerning rate increases.Read on to learn more, and find out how you can save hundreds of dollars by comparing quotes with
Jerry
.
Factors that car insurance companies will never use to calculate your rate
As explained by
The Free Lance-Star
, there are laws governing the factors which insurers can use to determine your car insurance rate. These laws vary from state to state. For example, some states cannot factor in your credit rating, while others can (and do!), but the following examples are applicable to the whole of the U.S.
- Your race. It is illegal for an insurance company to factor in your ethnic background when deciding your insurance rate.
- Your salary. Insurers cannot take your annual salary into consideration before calculating your premium, but your job can impact your rate. For example, a businessperson who spends a lot of time driving to meetings will pay a higher rate than someone who works from home. On the flipside, some occupations or professional associations receive insurance discounts.
- Your medical history. Even if your medical history suggests you may be at greater risk of a car accident, due to bad eyesight, hearing, or anything else, insurance companies must ignore it. It is presumed that if you are well enough to receive a license, you are safe enough to insure.
- Your children. While it’s hard to deny that screaming kids can be a distraction, insurance companies can’t increase your rates because you are a parent. Of course, this will change once your kid becomes a teen and gets their own license, as insurers do consider the number of insured drivers in your house.
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How to save big on car insurance
Receiving a policy renewal letter and seeing a rate increase can be disheartening, especially if you have driven perfectly and not made any claims during that period.
It’s unfortunate, but many influential factors are beyond your control. If your neighborhood has seen an increase in the number of stolen vehicles for example, your rates will likely go up.
But don’t panic! You can still find
cheap car insurance
by shopping around, and the easiest way to do that is with Jerry
. Our service is free, and the average Jerry user saves $879 a year on car insurance.A licensed broker, Jerry does all the hard work of finding cheap quotes from the top name-brand insurance companies. Jerry will even help you cancel your old policy.
And to ensure you always have the lowest rate, Jerry will send you new quotes every time your policy comes up for renewal, so you’re always getting the coverage you want at the best price. This level of service is why Jerry earned a 4.6/5 rating on the App Store and made it one of the top insurance apps in the country.
