How your Credit Score Affect your Insurance Rates

If your car insurance policy is coming up for renewal, you may want to check your credit report. Why, you may ask? More and more automobile insurance companies are checking credit reports today to provide a risk assessment on potential clients. The car insurance companies are beginning to believe more and more that a person’s credit score is a fairly accurate predictor of risk taking behavior. The theory is that a person who has a low credit score will also have a greater propensity to engage in risky driving behaviors. On the other hand, a person with a higher credit score has more of a tendency to be conscientious of others and will therefore have less risky driving behaviors.

Safety Features Can Save You Money

A very common car insurance discount which is often overlooked is safety features discounts. Believe it or not, just because your automobile has daytime running lights which are automatically turned on whenever you start your car, your insurance company may lower you monthly insurance premiums. Fortunately, there are numerous safety features which fall into this category, such as automatic seat belts, airbags, and electronic stability control. In addition to safety features, car insurance companies will also often give discounts for security related features.

Do you have a car alarm? How about your windows, are they etched with the vehicle identification numbers? Do you have a Lo-Jack car security system? If you have any of these features, we recommend you contact your insurance agent and find out if they offer car insurance discounts.

Student Car Insurance Discounts

If you are a young driver, you are looking for any way possible to reduce your monthly car insurance premiums. Fortunately for you, most car insurance companies offer car insurance discounts for a range of academic reasons.

As an example, if you can maintain your grade point average above a certain threshold, your insurance company is very likely to offer you a discount. This is because insurance companies feel that there is a correlation between good school grades and risk taking behavior. The insurance companies have found that students who consistently get good grades often exhibit risk taking behaviors less than those students with lower grades.