Wondering how you can get a lower insurance premium? It’s all about understanding how insurance is rated and how the quotes are developed. Insurance companies base your premiums off of your risk factor, so knowing what your score is and what you can do to reduce your risk can make a difference. If you’d like to learn what components affect your insurance rates, then here are five factors that determine your premiums.
Age
How old you are can heavily impact your risk profile. In most cases, if you’re under the age of 25 and over 65, your premiums will be higher. This is based on solid evidence that people in these age brackets pose a higher risk to insurance companies. This goes for auto insurance, home insurance, life insurance, and even travel insurance.
Health
Your overall health is also something the insurance provider will take into consideration when doing the underwriting for your policy. If you’re a smoker or have a condition or disease, you are likely to have a higher risk profile and will experience higher premiums in return (unfortunately). And when it comes to your home, insurers look at the replacement cost – the amount of money to build the exact home as it stands now. If your home is still run down and using the materials it was built within the 50’s, it’s likely to run a higher premium as it would be costlier to replace.
History
When it comes to premiums, your history matters. So if you’ve owned insurance in the past, your claims history will be looked at when applying for a new policy. When applying for life insurance, your family health history – whether your parent has had cancer or heart disease – will also fall under the microscope. And in the case of auto insurance, they’ll check to see how many tickets, point deductions and at-fault crashes you may have had.
Credit Score
Your insurance payment history can play a significant role when you’re looking for car insurance and homeowner’s insurance. Having a history of missed insurance payments or owing money to insurance companies for previously cancelled for non-payment policies can hurt your chances of coverage and will likely cost you more than you hoped. Getting a hold of your credit score beforehand and finding ways to improve it may help cut down on your premiums.
Employment
If you have a dangerous job, it’s likely to impact your insurance premiums. For instance, if your job requires you to drive for a majority of the day, you pose a higher risk to auto insurers, and your premiums will reflect this. Insurers have built up a bank of knowledge about how particular professions behave. For instance, nurses often have lower auto premiums than professional athletes, because insurers view them as less likely to make an expensive claim. And when it comes to health insurance, people who are exposed to radiation or chemicals, or who have jobs with high injury rates will experience higher premiums.
Understanding your risk profile can be difficult, especially when insurance companies assess risk in different ways.That’s why you need a professional insurance broker who can analyze your score and provide you with the best home, life, health, vehicle, or commercial insurance possible. At Rowat Insurance, we compare insurance quotes from a variety of providers, so that you get the most affordable rates for your needs. Contact us today to find out how we can assist you.