Auto insurance companies look at a variety of factors when setting auto rates to determine your premium.
An auto premium is the amount an insurance company charges you in return for auto coverage. To determine how much your company will charge you (and others who have the same risk), it looks at rating factors.
Factors companies look at when setting auto rates
Insurers can base rates on certain factors that affect risk, including:
- Your age
- Your gender
- Marital status: Insurers must consider domestic partnerships the same as married couples for rate purposes
- Your vehicle: Generally, the more expensive your vehicle, the more you pay for insurance. Also, because sports cars and high-performance cars are involved in more accidents, cost more to repair, and are stolen more often, they cost more to insure.
- Where you live: Population density, crime and driving conditions, for example, affect risks
- How much you drive
- Your driving record and your claims history
- Your credit score
How insurance rates get approved
Insurance companies must send us their rate requests (leg.wa.gov) when they want to change their rates.
Before we'll decide to approve or disapprove the request, we'll review the rate request to make sure the company's financial and statistical data are accurate and sufficient to justify the rate change.
Is there a way to lower my auto insurance premiums?
Most insurance companies have discounts they can offer drivers to lower their premiums. Many of these discounts are based on behavior or the ways insurance plans can be bundled. To learn more about discounts and other ways to reduce your auto insurance costs, visit our webpage on how to lower your auto insurance premiums.