Car insurance rates, factors that drive rates higher

There are many factors that go into determining what you pay for car insurance, but there may be some factors you didn’t quite now of.

Aside from the usual elements used to consider car insurance costs, such as age, gender and your driving record, there are other factors that play a role.

Credit score:

Maintaining good credit can have a positive impact on the cost of your car insurance. If you want to keep your rates down — keep your credit up.

“There are many factors that effect insurance, but one is credit. And what the actuaries that all the major companies have found, is that as the credit scores go down, the probability of accidents goes up,” said Bryant Hafen, a local State Farm agent.

Distracted driving:

Because there have been so many crashes that happen from not paying attention to the road — rates are going up.

“They could be drinking soda, dipping fries, but the worst is texting or surfing the net on their phone while driving. There was one person I heard of that was playing PokemonGo on their phone and ended up in ICU. So until we put our cell phones down, we’re going to be paying more for insurance because as that causes the rate of accidents to go up, then rates will go up accordingly,” said Hafen.

How many miles you drive your car every year:

People who use their car for business and long-distance commuting normally pay more than those who drive less.

“We have a fairly good economy across the United States, we have low gas prices, so that makes it easier for people to drive more miles. The further you drive, the higher the probability of an accident,” said Hafen.

Where you live:

Generally, due to higher rates of vandalism, theft, and crashes, urban drivers pay more for car insurance than do those in small towns or rural areas.

“The neighborhoods people are in. Meaning, insurance would be different in Chicago or New York as compared to Idaho Falls based on crime rates,” said Hafen.

According to insure.com, for 2017 Idaho is the third lowest state with the lowest car insurance premiums.