When you write your car insurance check every month you are probably wondering what in the world you can do to reduce your auto insurance rates. It may seem to you that every year your rate goes up and sometimes this is true through no fault of your own; some insurance companies just raise their rates to keep up with inflation so that they can pay their own bills. But there are things about your own driving record that affect your auto insurance rates and while you may have a general idea about what they are and how they affect your rates, it pays to review this information to be sure you understand the situation completely.
Moving Violations and Auto Insurance Rates
In general, having just one minor ticket on your record is not going to affect your auto insurance rates quite that much. If you were speeding only a few miles over the limit or missed a stop sign, you may have a small increase in your rates by only a few percentage points. It's when you have more than one ticket and they are considered major that you'll really feel the pinch.
For instance, when you have a speeding ticket usually the insurance company will ask how much over the limit it was; less then 10 miles, 11-15 miles, or 16 and over. Obviously the person at 16 and over the limit is going to see higher auto insurance rates than the person that's less than 10. And just having one such ticket is not usually a big deal but having more than one in a three-year period is. Major moving violations also will affect your auto insurance rates in a big way. DWI or DUI will increase your rate usually by at least 10%, and sometimes 25% or more. Now imagine what your auto insurance rates will be like if you have a DUI and a few tickets as well!
How Much You Drive
Would you believe how much you drive and why you drive also affects your auto insurance rates? The more your car is on the road; the more likely it is to be in an accident. If you commute long distances you're going to be paying more than the person that doesn't work or that works from home. And if you use your car for your business in any way, this too will affect your auto insurance rates. Your insurance company knows that this increases the risk they take in insuring you and the risk they take in having to one day settle a claim.
There may not be much you can do about where you work but you can think about how you use your car and consider if it's not time to start carpooling and using other means of transportation as much as possible. Since auto insurance rates probably won't be coming down any time soon, you need to do everything that's in your power to lower the rates yourself as much as you can.
