Your age, your marital status, and even where you live can affect the cost of car insurance, but there are other more obscure factors too.
Most people know that a single 18-year-old man who drives a Mustang GT and lives in downtown Miami will definitely pay more in car insurance than a 40-year-old woman who drives a Honda CR-V and lives in rural in South Dakota.
If that young man adds some traffic tickets to the mix, or an accident, insurance costs can soar.
There are less well-known factors that can make a big difference in cost.
If you use your car for business, driving multiple places during a typical week, you can get tagged with pricey commercial insurance rates. The same is true with a long commute or high annual mileage over 15,000 miles per year.
City dwellers pay more because they cope with more traffic and higher risks of theft, vandalism, and other crime.
A low credit score can increase premiums since insurers think credit scores indicate financial responsibility.
Lots of insurance claims can mark you as a high-risk driver.
Even state laws can raise premiums. States with higher minimum coverage requirements (Michigan's no-fault system, for example) can increase premiums. State peculiarities can make a difference. Louisiana, for example, stands out from other states for its abundance of law suits and plaintiff-friendly courts, according to The American Tort Reform Foundation.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
