AUTO INSURANCE ARTICLE
Cheap Auto Insurance: How Driving Records Affect Your Rates
By: SpeedWagon
To know every consumer’s level of risk when they apply for auto insurance, every insurance company use different indicators such as your age, gender, and credit record, the type of your vehicle, your annual vehicle mileage and the most important indicator is your driving record.
Every state’s Department of Motor Vehicles or DMV is the one responsible for your license and keeps your driving record. Their main responsibility is to track all the accidents, violations and car criminal convictions you have had. Some of these states use a system to determine violations on your driving record however different states have different laws to perform. They are able to tell how many points each violation has obtained and how long these violations stay on your record. Same with auto insurance companies, they use different procedures to evaluate every application's driving record to determine their rates.
When you apply for a policy, most auto insurance providers will ask your driving history. Your word is not enough to satisfy them, they will request your driving record from the state's DMV. If you have been licensed from several states, most insurance companies will get your driving record for each state. These information will be use to determine your insurability accordance to their policy and the cost your premium if you do. If you have many violations on your record, you will most likely charge a much higher premium compared to average drivers. However, if you have few violations or no violations at all you will be entitled for a discount on your premium which also known as safe driver program.
Throughout the contract of your auto insurance your driving record may be re-evaluate periodically. This is most likely happen when you change the coverage amount on your policy, change the vehicle type, add another vehicle to the policy, and add another driver as well as renewing your auto insurance policy. By this time, insurance companies check if any additional violations have been added to your driving record hence it will surely affect your car insurance premium. If there is any, your auto insurance premium will drive up.
Therefore, the ideal way to save money on your car insurance is to keep a good driving history. If you get involved in an accident where you are the at fault party, you may not be able to avoid paying more. In most cases, safe driver discount may be meaningless and charges may be applied. Some insurance companies will forgive minor violations especially for first time accidents also known as accident forgiveness. Therefore, it is important to find out what will happen if you have driving violations when your first apply for an auto insurance policy.
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