When a policy period begins, you will be told the amount of your premium cost for the upcoming term.
Many people know what they pay for auto insurance, and seeing a sudden increase can be very discomforting.
It will likely make you curious, and probably even a bit angry.
Sure, if your premium had gone down, you would be jumping for joy.
But seeing your premium go up is a not a very comforting feeling.
There are quite a few reasons as to why your auto insurance premium may have gone up.
You Were Part Of An Accident Whenever you are in accident, and file a claim, your rates will increase.
The premium for your auto insurance is based on quite a few factors - a major one being how many times the driver and/or policyholder has filed a claim.
Obviously, the more claims that are being made, the more the insurer is paying - thus they are going to give you a higher premium.
There is only one thing to keep in mind; some insurers may offer an accident forgiveness plan.
This means exactly what the name says - you will be "forgiven" for an accident or traffic violation, thus your premium will not increase.
You Were Given A Traffic Ticket Even though a traffic ticket does not cost the insurer any money, it still will cause your rates to increase.
By receiving a traffic violation for other speeding, not stopping at a stop sign, and so on, you are showing recklessness.
This, in the eyes of an insurer, is cause for disaster.
They will assume that you are at higher risk of getting in an accident, thus having to file a claim.
For this exact reason, you will see an increase in your rate.
Your Insurance Company Has Had Many Claims Recently Even though this may not seem fair, it is the truth.
If your insurer has been having many claims filed lately, they will be losing money, unless they increase their customers premium costs.
Thus, if they notice that they are not making profit, and in turn actually losing money, due to a lot of claims recently, you, and other customers, may notice an increase in your premium.
You may feel upset and angered that your rate is being increased for something that is not your fault - but that is life.
The increase may only be for a short while, until they start making profit again, and then you will be back to your normal premium.
Laws In Your State Have Changed This is one that neither policyholders or insurers have a say in.
If the laws in your state have changed, the rates will increase based on the changed law(s).
You Have Added Another Car To Your Policy When you add a car to your policy, your rate is evidently going to increase.
Why? Because adding another car is increasing the risk that you may be in an automobile accident, and in turn need to make a claim with the insurer.
It is important to only add cars that have proper safety features, and are not that expensive to repair.
If you are going to add brand new cars to a policy, or even sports cars, expect a hefty increase in your premium.
You Have Added Another Driver When a new driver is added to your policy, your rate will increase.
This is similar to adding another car to your policy - the change of having to make a claim is going to increase.
If you are adding a teenager to your policy, expect a big increase in your rate, especially if it is a male.
There is no much you can do to avoid this, except for making sure the new driver is going to follow the rules of the road and drive safely.
You Have Increased Coverage Many people begin with the bare-minimum coverage required by their state, because it is all that they could fit into their budget at the time.
Now, they may be able to afford a better policy which offers higher coverage.
The more coverage you have, the more your rate will be.
Many people know what they pay for auto insurance, and seeing a sudden increase can be very discomforting.
It will likely make you curious, and probably even a bit angry.
Sure, if your premium had gone down, you would be jumping for joy.
But seeing your premium go up is a not a very comforting feeling.
There are quite a few reasons as to why your auto insurance premium may have gone up.
You Were Part Of An Accident Whenever you are in accident, and file a claim, your rates will increase.
The premium for your auto insurance is based on quite a few factors - a major one being how many times the driver and/or policyholder has filed a claim.
Obviously, the more claims that are being made, the more the insurer is paying - thus they are going to give you a higher premium.
There is only one thing to keep in mind; some insurers may offer an accident forgiveness plan.
This means exactly what the name says - you will be "forgiven" for an accident or traffic violation, thus your premium will not increase.
You Were Given A Traffic Ticket Even though a traffic ticket does not cost the insurer any money, it still will cause your rates to increase.
By receiving a traffic violation for other speeding, not stopping at a stop sign, and so on, you are showing recklessness.
This, in the eyes of an insurer, is cause for disaster.
They will assume that you are at higher risk of getting in an accident, thus having to file a claim.
For this exact reason, you will see an increase in your rate.
Your Insurance Company Has Had Many Claims Recently Even though this may not seem fair, it is the truth.
If your insurer has been having many claims filed lately, they will be losing money, unless they increase their customers premium costs.
Thus, if they notice that they are not making profit, and in turn actually losing money, due to a lot of claims recently, you, and other customers, may notice an increase in your premium.
You may feel upset and angered that your rate is being increased for something that is not your fault - but that is life.
The increase may only be for a short while, until they start making profit again, and then you will be back to your normal premium.
Laws In Your State Have Changed This is one that neither policyholders or insurers have a say in.
If the laws in your state have changed, the rates will increase based on the changed law(s).
You Have Added Another Car To Your Policy When you add a car to your policy, your rate is evidently going to increase.
Why? Because adding another car is increasing the risk that you may be in an automobile accident, and in turn need to make a claim with the insurer.
It is important to only add cars that have proper safety features, and are not that expensive to repair.
If you are going to add brand new cars to a policy, or even sports cars, expect a hefty increase in your premium.
You Have Added Another Driver When a new driver is added to your policy, your rate will increase.
This is similar to adding another car to your policy - the change of having to make a claim is going to increase.
If you are adding a teenager to your policy, expect a big increase in your rate, especially if it is a male.
There is no much you can do to avoid this, except for making sure the new driver is going to follow the rules of the road and drive safely.
You Have Increased Coverage Many people begin with the bare-minimum coverage required by their state, because it is all that they could fit into their budget at the time.
Now, they may be able to afford a better policy which offers higher coverage.
The more coverage you have, the more your rate will be.