Car insurance rates depend on a variety of factors that are out of your control. Discover what drives your premium and find ways to save money.

Your state and ZIP code both play a role, as do statistics related to accidents, theft and extreme weather in your area. Other aspects are under your control such as your driving record and choice of vehicle.

1. Your Driving Record

One of the primary factors affecting your car insurance premium is your driving record. A clean record translates to lower premiums while any DUI or series of traffic violations could increase them dramatically.

Insurance companies use various point systems to keep track of driving infractions, although the details vary by company. Some states prohibit insurers from doing business with drivers who have accrued certain number of points on their license while others assign different risks associated with each offense.

Parking tickets and nonmoving violations usually don’t affect your insurance, while serious accidents could potentially prompt nonrenewal. Your driving location plays a large part in how your rates change as certain areas have higher collision, theft and vandalism rates than others.

2. Your Vehicle

Your car’s make, model and year; value; safety features and repair costs all have an effect on its insurance rate. Insurers also consider whether your car could be stolen or damaged during certain weather events when setting their rates.

Sports cars with high performance engines and luxury vehicles typically cost more to insure, as will how often and for how long you use them — such as commutes and road trips instead of simply running errands. Furthermore, your driving patterns — whether commuter or otherwise – could impact your rates as well.

At every step in the car-buying process, it’s wise to consider auto insurance. Shopping around, raising your deductibles and bundling policies are effective strategies for lowering rates. Reviewing your policy annually also offers beneficial alterations; such as getting a new car or address change could alter its rate accordingly.

3. Your Gender

Although gender can have an effect on car insurance rates, it’s not the sole deciding factor. Insurance companies also take many other variables into account when calculating policy costs – including age and driving history. Although women typically pay less than men for car insurance policies, any differences usually narrow with age – teenage drivers, for instance, typically incur higher accident rates and therefore pay more in car insurance premiums than other age brackets.

However, this gap is smaller in states which do not permit insurance providers to consider gender when setting rates; Massachusetts leads in this respect with Rhode Island following behind. Men also experience more incidents per age group due to driving records rather than gender-based differences.

4. Your Age

Your age plays a key role in your car insurance rates. Younger drivers usually pay higher rates due to less experience driving and being more likely to get into accidents, while women typically pay lower premiums due to research showing they are involved in fewer collisions than men. Car insurance premiums tend to decline as drivers reach middle age before increasing again at around age 70.

Age should only be seen as one factor that determines an insurance rate; it remains an integral component. Some states, like California and Michigan, have outlawed gender discrimination while Massachusetts, Hawaii and North Carolina only consider driving experience when calculating rates.

5. Your Credit Score

Credit scores and car insurance may seem separate entities, but research shows that drivers with poor credit often pay more. Insurance companies use your credit information to predict your likelihood of filing claims; this helps them assess which risk category you belong to and thus how much coverage is appropriate.

However, not all states allow insurers to consider credit information when setting premium rates. To find out which regulations apply in your area and increase your chances of lower rates by making payments on time and keeping debt low; living in areas with lower traffic volumes, crime and weather patterns; as well as making ValuePenguin use data from publicly sourced insurer filings to generate quotes for full coverage auto policies in those states that allow using credit-based insurance scores in setting premium rates.

6. Your Driving Habits

Your driving habits play a crucial role when it comes to setting your car insurance premium. Multiple traffic violations or accidents may increase your premium because insurers see them as evidence of risky behavior, while your area also plays an important role as urban areas tend to have higher crime and accident rates while rural locations tend to have lower ones.

Maintaining safe driving practices, avoiding high-risk situations (like driving at night or in bad weather) and considering pay-per-mile car insurance programs can all help lower premiums over time. Staying consistent in these behaviors will lead to clean records and possibly discounts from insurers over time.

7. Your Claims History

Your claims history plays an essential role in determining your insurance rates, with insurers viewing drivers who make frequent claims as being more of a high-risk driver. Furthermore, insurers take into account how long it has been since your last collision or claim; some will offer reduced premiums for drivers with no recent incidents; whereas others raise them accordingly.

Minor violations such as speeding tickets have no lasting impact on your rates; however, more serious violations such as DUIs or reckless driving can significantly raise them. Furthermore, choosing an affordable deductible plays an integral part in how rates work; those with higher deductibles tend to pay lower rates than those with lower ones; it is therefore important to select a deductible you can comfortably afford in case of an accident or claim.