Auto insurance premiums are calculated based on a variety of personal and car-specific factors. Your personal profile is important because insurance companies use it to estimate the risk to insure you. So, what exactly do insurance companies look at? Here are several personal factors that impact MA auto insurance rates.
Age
Age is one of the most important personal factors that impact MA auto insurance rates. When you are young, you are less mature. You haven’t gained the life skills to make better decisions, particularly when it comes to road safety. Therefore, insurance companies will view you as higher risk. For most companies, age 24 is when they stop penalizing you for being a young driver.
Number of Years Licensed
The number of years you are licensed is another key factor. With experience, you become a better driver. You are less likely to be involved in accidents (compared to drivers with less experience). Most drivers will see high insurance rates during their first few years of driving.
Payment History
A common misconception is that credit score impacts auto insurance rates. Although auto insurance companies in Massachsuetts are not allowed to use credit scores, they do consider late payments and/or failure to make payments on prior auto insurance policies. This can result in higher auto insurance premiums. A little known fact is that your RMV records contain this type of information. So, if you have a policy that is cancelled for non-payment, it’s not necessarily easy to simply purchase a new policy with a new company without some type of penalty. The new insurance company will likely see that you failed to pay in the past and consider you a higher risk.
History of Violations
It won’t surprise you that one of the most accurate ways to assess risk is by your history of moving violations. Receiving a lot of violations indicates that you are a risky driver who is also more likely to be in an accident. Massachusetts works on a point system. Violations receive points (based on severity of the violation) which remain on your record for a certain number of years. Those points correlate to higher insurance premiums.
More on Personal Factors That Impact MA Auto Insurance Rates
To save on MA auto insurance rates, most drivers focus on the make, model, and mileage of their vehicle. However, it’s important to acknowledge the personal factors that impact MA auto insurance rates. Although you can’t change your age or number of years licensed, you can work on improving your payment history and avoid moving violations.
