Making a Car Insurance Calculator Work for You

Getting car insurance coverage is an important responsibility for every driver on the road today. In almost every state it is actually required by law to have at least a minimum amount of coverage. Aside from that, you need to have enough coverage so that, in the event of an accident, everyone involved has their expenses covered.
While many drivers complain that car insurance can be expensive, it’s nowhere near as costly as trying to pay for the expenses following an accident. Besides, auto insurance coverage doesn’t have to be expensive; it is all about knowing how to shop around for rates. One of the best ways to get an idea about car insurance rates is to use a calculator for car insurance.
Understanding What Goes into the Calculations
There are a great number of factors that actually go into calculating your auto insurance coverage rates. Having a better understanding of this should help you get an idea of what you can expect for rates. It also gives you an advantage because you can make sure your potential provider is giving you discounts where they should be.
While this list doesn’t include everything that gets calculated for your rate coverage, it should give you a good idea of what’s included:

Age & Driving Record -- Young drivers and anyone with a poor driving record can be classified as “high risk.” For high risk drivers, the rates will be elevated. However, keeping a clean record and taking driver courses can help lower your rates over time.
Vehicle Being Safe -- The safer and more affordable the vehicle, the lower your premium costs will be for your insurance. Adding safety features and antitheft devices plus choosing a car with high safety ratings can help you have lower rates. Obviously if you have a more expensive car that would cost an insurance company more to replace, the rates will be higher.
Credit Score -- Although you can find companies that don’t base premium costs on credit score, there is usually some connection. Lower credit scores mean the person is a higher risk for missing payments. Some research also indicates that a higher percentage of drivers with low credit scores are less safe drivers and are more likely to have a vehicle that could be a problem on the road. Find out more about how your credit score is calculated.
Insurance Score -- Some companies now use an insurance score with or in place of a credit score. This is sort of like an overall numeric rating based on your driving and insurance history. Basically it is like a credit score that evaluates your driving and insurance history as opposed to your credit.
Where You Live -- The minimum requirements of the state vary, depending on where you live. Some states are also known to be a higher risk for bad drivers, DUIs, accidents and other road hazards. In fact, it gets as specific as your zip code. So if you move from one town to another in the same state, or even county, you could see a significant change in your rates. This is all based on the likelihood of accidents to the amount of road construction happening.

There are plenty of other factors that go into calculating your rates for car insurance. For instance, some companies take into consideration where you park the car at night. If you have a garage to protect your vehicle from the elements or theft and vandalism, this could earn you lower rates than if you park on the street.
How much you drive your car for work is another consideration. Obviously, the longer the haul the greater the chance for a risk of an accident. If you drive your vehicle for work, you will probably be paying even higher rates and hopefully the company you work for can offer some type of compensation for that.

Are you married or single?
Are you or were you ever in the military?
Are you a student or a teacher?

There are so many factors that could go into calculating your rates, as well as many that could help you save money on your car insurance.
Also keep in mind that if you are financing or leasing a new vehicle you will want to calculate your auto insurance rates before signing on the dotted line. You could end up paying as much in insurance as your actual car payment, and that could put you over your budget. The best thing to do is make sure you are informed and that you get multiple rates to compare before choosing your car insurance policy provider.