It may feel as if you have little control over your car insurance premiums. In reality, your rates are based largely on the decisions you make year after year. Make the right choices, and you’ll enjoy more affordable coverage. Commit a few mistakes, and you’ll end up paying far more than necessary.

With this mind, we’ll share six ways consumers sabotage their goal of enjoying low auto insurance rates. Some of the following occur by accident; others happen by choice. Each case can cause your premiums to quickly rise.

#1 – Receive An “Impaired Driving” Conviction

If you drink alcohol and get behind the wheel of your vehicle, your ability to steer and make sound decisions on the road will clearly be compromised. From your insurer’s point of view, your impaired ability to drive safely represents a higher degree of risk. You’re more likely to make poor decisions, or react slowly to your driving circumstances, both of which may result in an accident.

In the event you are convicted of a DUI, you are not required to inform your current insurance company. However, the conviction will display on your driving record, which your insurer likely checks on a regular basis. When they see the conviction, they will raise your rates substantially, and possibly cancel your policy.

#2 – Buy A Car With A Poor CLEAR Rating

Car insurance companies in Canada rely on the Canadian Loss Experience Automobile Rating (or, CLEAR) system to determine the claims-related risk associated with any given vehicle. The more claims a car “generates,” and the higher the cost of addressing those claims in the past, the higher the premiums will be when applied to that vehicle.

If you’re planning to purchase a new car, keep its CLEAR rating in mind. A vehicle that is associated with expensive claims in the past – based on its make, model, and year – will be more costly to insure. Buy one that is seldom stolen, and does a good job in protecting its occupants.

#3 – Cause A Collision

Causing an accident is likely to send your premiums through the roof. It sends a signal to your insurer that you occasionally make poor decisions on the road. This increases their risk, especially since a future mistake can cause injuries and fatalities. The result is that you’ll be required to pay much higher rates to compensate for the increased risk.

The exception is when your insurance company offers a feature called accident forgiveness. Here, your insurer may “forgive” an at-fault collision if your driving record is otherwise clean. Your premiums will increase, but are likely to do so mildly. Keep in mind that “forgiveness” is rarely extended for a second collision.

#4 – Customize Your Vehicle

It may be tempting to install a new engine into your car that offers more power than your current engine. You might also want to equip your wheels with state-of-the-art rims. Realize that these and other modifications can result in a rate increase. Why? Because specialized parts are more costly to replace than those that are installed at the factory. This means your insurer’s risk of insurance loss is higher. The higher their risk, the higher your premiums.

#5 – Move To A Less-Than-Ideal Area

Some areas have a higher incidence rate of auto theft than others. Some encounter more accidents than others. If you live in a location where both seldom occur, and relocate to an area where both occur frequently, be prepared to pay higher premiums. Again, the reason is because your insurance company’s risk of claims-related losses is higher. Your vehicle is more likely to be stolen, vandalized, or involved in an accident.

#6 – Regularly Neglect To Pay Your Premiums On Time

Forgetting to pay your auto insurance premiums once in awhile is unlikely to have an effect on your rates. Insurers realize that policyholders occasionally forget or need an extension. Some companies even extend an automatic grace period. But if you regularly fail to send your payments in on time, your insurer may eventually cancel your policy.

Cancellation can make finding a new insurer difficult. In some cases, you’ll need to pay your entire year of premiums upfront. In other cases, you’ll be forced to pay higher rates to compensate the new insurer for the risk.

As mentioned earlier, the decisions you make throughout the year have a large influence on your car insurance premiums. Make the right choices, and your premiums will stay at a reasonable level

Contrary to popular belief, there are some things you can do if your auto insurance company decides to increase your premium. Do you know your options? If not, you should quickly decide what they are and then move on from there. The last thing you want to do is continue to pay too much for coverage when you should not really have to.

The first thing you can do about an auto insurance increase is call your company to find out what is going on. How come you are being asked to pay so much for coverage? There are many reasons why your premium could have increased, so you need to call to find out for sure. There is no point in speculating and hoping that you are right.

Another thing you can do is say “good bye” and find a better auto insurance provider. Believe it or not, some companies are willing to beat the price that you were previously paying. And in many cases, they can do so by giving you the same amount of coverage. Does it get any better than that?

With so many discounts available, don’t ever pay more than you think you have to for coverage. At the very least, call your car insurance company to get a better idea of what they are trying to do. You may find that you can once again bring the cost of your policy down.

Don’t get upset at an auto insurance premium increase. Instead, figure out what is going on and then fix it as soon as possible.

What should you do if you make a late auto insurance premium payment? How will a late car insurance premium payment affect your auto insurance rates?

So you are enjoying yourself on a holiday weekend with your family when you suddenly realize that you completely forgot to pay your car insurance premium. The firs thing you need to realize before having a panic attack is that like you, many people in the United States forget to pay certain bills. With so many things a person has to pay such as rent, cell phone bill, utilities, car bills, insurances and other things it is not uncommon for a normal human being to forget about one of those important bills. Whether you completely forgot about the automobile insurance bill or you simply didn’t have enough money, is important to understand that this can have horrible consequences if you do not try to immediately remedy the situation.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that a late payment to an automobile insurance company will only result in a late fee. This however, is completely untrue because some insurance companies actually are very strict when it comes to late payments. Some of those strict companies can threaten to cancel your policy, while some other ones actually do so. An example of this can be seen in case that you are late in paying your premium often. The insurance company might not cancel your policy right away, however they can issue you a “non-renewal notice” meaning that at the end of the year when is time for you to apply once again for insurance with the company, they will no longer accept you. If this happens you will have to go get insurance from another automobile insurance carrier.

Another consequence of not paying insurance on time would be that after reviewing your payment history, they only allow you to renew the policy with them if you pay the full term. This means that instead of giving you the chance of getting a monthly bill and making you pay premiums, you pay the entire amount at the beginning of your coverage year. If you do not have enough money to renew the policy, then your best bet would be to go out and try to get insurance with another company. However, it is worth mentioning that once you make late payments that will be reflected if you go and apply to other companies, in which case they too can make you pay fully before giving you coverage.

One thing that most people are unaware of is that like any other type of credit, insurance companies share record of previous policyholders and how they acted toward the company. If you are a good customer you will have discounts in other insurance companies, however if you are making late payments and such things other companies can raise your rates and some may even deny you coverage.

Perhaps the worst consequence of not paying insurance payments on time would be that your policy is canceled immediately. If this is the case you won’t even know the status of the policy until you either get some literature in the mail, a call from an agent or a returned check in the mail. You won’t always get a check returned because some companies use it to pay the balance that you still owe. Believe it or not those are the good ways of finding out that your insurance policy has been canceled.

Suppose for a minute that you are driving down the road and get pulled over by an officer. When they ask you for insurance you give the card and he finds out that you are uninsured. You can expect to be fined heavily or in the worse cases you could be taken to jail depending on your state’s regulations. Even worse, think what would happen in the event of an accident. You think that everything is going to be ok, and at the time of giving the bad news to your insurance company they tell you that your policy was canceled before the accident. You will be left with a wrecked car and having to pay the other person for their damages.

These are the horrible consequences that the seemingly “innocent” late payments can have in your policy. Perhaps the smartest thing to do when making a late payment is to call the insurance company to inform them of the reasons for the late payment and to announce them that the payment is coming. With some companies you might even be able to call immediately and pay over the phone.

With so many bills to pay every month and with the stressful life that most American families have, the best important thing is to have a calendar with the date all the bills are due written in it or even better schedule your payments to be automatically drafted from your checking account via a direct deposit. This can help you prevent not only late car insurance payments that can prove to be disastrous, but other bills that might damage your credit history in the future.

Generally, drivers want general auto insurance that will not break the bank and leave a hole in their wallets. Those with impressive driving records are highly likely to find general auto insurance that is affordable. However, drivers that do not have good records might struggle to find car insurance that suits their needs. Here are 4 smart ways you can reduce your general auto insurance premium.

Consider Options

Firstly, the best way to locate auto insurance coverage within your means is to shop around. You should be comparing at least three providers in order to see if the rates differ, thereby choosing the lower priced coverage. This is a way people can lower their costs while still having the coverage that they need.

Increase the Deductible

Secondly, lowering the price of auto insurance is to raise the amount of deductibles that the driver pays. So, if you are involved in an accident, your provider has no choice but to pay more. This is something you should seriously consider in order to get a lower rate.

Forget the Sports Car

Thirdly, you should know that every car attracts a different insurance rate. So, unless you are a movie star or a big pay grade athlete, stick to a car that you need, not one that you want because of the fancy gadgets and trimmings. Some cars cost an arm and a leg to insure, a sports car is an expensive toy you should try to avoid.

Many Policies One Insurer

Drivers who are looking for cheaper rates on their insurance policies, in addition should consider the dangers of taking too many policies with the insurer. For example, adding rental or residential home insurance with the car insurance policy will drop your price down.

You should look for other discounts that are out there, such as first-rate driver discounts, undergraduate student discounts, senior citizens discounts, and so forth. There are tons of opportunities out there, a drivers may not be aware of what type of insurance policy he is looking for. However, having a discussion with the provider is a good way of finding find these discounts.

In conclusion, always consider your options and weed out the perfect insurance deal. Increase your deductible, so that when an accident occurs you are covered in every sense. Make sure you car does not your shoot your insurance claim in the foot. Get a car you that you really need and not want. Avoid settling down with one insurer. This will do affect your price policy.