Lowering Auto Insurance Rates By Keeping Safety in Mind

“Be safe!”

When you were younger, your mother or father probably said something like that to you whenever you were heading out onto the road. Back then, they probably had good reason to, given that motor vehicle accidents have long been the top cause of death among teenagers and young adults. But this advice holds true for any age driver for another reason: better auto insurance rates.

You see, the amount of money you pay for auto insurance is almost completely determined by statistics. Some of those metrics you cannot control – for instance, younger drivers tend to pay more for auto coverage than older ones because more collisions (and their resulting injuries) are caused by people under 30 than by other working-aged Americans.

Make “Driving Safety” Your Co-Pilot

In contrast, you are responsible for your own driving record, including how many citations you receive and the number of accidents you are involved in – both of which are indicators of unsafe driving. Because riskier drivers are more likely to require insurance claim payments (either for themselves or others), auto insurers will charge them higher premiums. But the reverse is also true: safer drivers represent a smaller risk to insurance providers, so these individuals will pay less for auto coverage.

So how can you become (or remain) a “safe” driver?

A major part of the answer is to heed all of those warnings you heard from your driving instructors. This means engaging in behaviors like checking your mirrors consistently, observing speed limits, maintaining safe following distances on highways, obeying traffic laws, and exercising caution in adverse driving conditions. But it’s also important to refrain from dangerous activities like operating a mechanically unsound vehicle or driving while texting, distracted, drowsy, or under the influence of alcohol or drugs.