Ottawa car insurance premiums vary depending on the driver. You won’t be paying the exact same bill as your neighbor, even if you happen to sign up for the exact same insurance company. Find out which factors will influence the price of your premiums.
Age
Younger drivers tend to pay more for car insurance premiums than older drivers. This is because they have less experience on the road, and therefore, are more likely to get into a driving accident. Many insurers will start to decrease a driver’s rate once they reach the age of 25.
So, all mature drivers pay less? Not exactly. Drivers over the age of 65 can expect to see their insurance rates go up more. This older demographic is considered more at risk of getting into car accidents by insurance companies. The demographic is also more at risk of suffering from injuries in accidents. To compensate for this increased risk, customers in this group pay more.
Gender
In general, gender doesn’t have a strong influence on the size of insurance premiums. There is one exception: in the youngest age brackets, males often pay more than females. This is because young males tend to be more reckless drivers. According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, males are more likely to participate in risky behaviors like speeding and driving without a seatbelt. For this reason, teenage males often pay 10% more for car insurance than females of the same age group.
Driving Violations
Do you have any violations on your driving record? These can have a huge impact on your insurance rates. For instance, if you get handed a speeding ticket after racing past the set speed limit, you can expect your rate to go up. On average, drivers will see a 24% hike in their car insurance rate after this violation. Your insurer could charge you this for several years. It might not go away until 3-5 years later — unless, of course, you rack up another violation.
Other driving violations that can raise your insurance:
- Failure to obey a stop sign
- Failure to stop at a red light
- Driving under the influence (DUI)
- Driving with an open container
- Driving with a suspended license
- Distracted driving
- Racing
- Doing a “hit and run”
Accidents
Your insurer will investigate your driving history for any accidents. If you have a clean driving record, you can expect to pay less for your insurance rates. But if you’ve been in any accidents in recent years, your insurer is likely to charge you more.
What if you weren’t at fault for the accident? Unfortunately, your insurance company may still raise rates for the not-at-fault claims it receives.
Deductible
A deductible is the amount of money that you agree to pay out of pocket when you file an insurance claim. The smaller that you agree to make your deductible, the more that you will have to pay in insurance premiums. And the opposite is true — the larger that you agree to make your deductible, the less that you will have to pay in premiums over the course of the year.
The Risk of Large Deductibles
Choosing to raise your deductible in order to save money on car insurance may sound like a good idea until you need to file a claim. Then, you might find that your steep deductible is a challenge to pay down. You might not be able to afford it.
If you’re ever in a stressful situation where you can’t pay for your insurance deductible, you can try to borrow funds online. Go to the website CreditFresh and see whether you’re eligible to apply for a personal line of credit there. With a personal line of credit, you can request a withdrawal from your account, which could help you cover the urgent expense in a short amount of time. Afterward, you can commit to a repayment plan.
Only use a line of credit for emergencies. It’s not meant for routine expenses, like your insurance premiums.
These are just some of the factors that influence your insurance premiums. Now you know what to expect when you go rate shopping!
