People can quickly go from good to bad these days. All it takes is one careless moment to get a speeding ticket or have an accident. Also, everyone starts as a novice driver who would have to pay high vehicle insurance premiums. Having been classed as a high risk would certainly make it tougher to get good deals and may force some people to drop coverage.
Motorists with clean driving and traffic history, good financial standing and great zip code shouldn’t have any problem finding inexpensive auto insurance even in the current climate. The same cannot be said for people who have blemishes on their records. So, let’s have a look at the situation from their point of view and see if we can suggest some solutions.
Who Are High Risk Drivers?
Car insurance premium calculations are all based on statistical evidence and probabilities these days. There are mainly four risk groups and the people we talk about usually fall into the third category right before the uninsurable. Usually, most models allow small issues and don’t penalize people for them.
What makes people a high risk is the repetition and lack of history to help them out. Obviously, when you are a teenager, you really don’t have anything to comfort automobile insurers. You don’t have a credit trail, driving history and experience and you have everything against you. Statistically, you are likely to cause some sort of problems and companies are worried that it would probably be big.
It is safe to say that teenagers (especially boys) are pretty high risk but they can still get coverage. Then there are people with serious driving charges like DUI or reckless driving. They will find it hard to get insured once they get their license back. Repeat claimants are the next group in the undesirable motorists list.
Is Going for Basic Policies a Solution?
If you choose this option by design, you may know what you are doing. For example, parents can get their teen drivers started with a cheap car and basic liability policy. Then, they know that the vehicle isn’t insured and they are fine with it. They do expect a young driver to scrape the car at least once or twice and they hope that they don’t cause accidents with other drivers.
On the other hand, you cannot just drop the coverage on your vehicle when it costs a few thousand dollars. It is literally impossible when you have a loan on it because the lender will be notified the moment you do that. Then, they may go and arrange a forced-insurance on the car and send you the bill which would be much higher.
Reducing Mileage May Be a Better Solution
There are many policy options that allow people to save a lot of money by driving under certain mileage. Most companies would agree to that and only require mileage at the end of the year. You may use your vehicle locally and take the train or place when you go faraway places for the next couple of years.
Also, there are policies that require a monitoring device to check mileage and driving patterns. They save you more money providing you don’t drive erratically or in the early hours of a Saturday. These innovative policies are highly recommended when you are finding it hard to find reasonably priced auto insurance coverage.
Increasing Deductibles is the Next Option
When the companies consider you to be liable to causing accidents, you may want to see their position and offer them something to feel better. When you tell them that you will take a larger share of a claim by increasing deductibles, they may be inclined to offer you better vehicle insurance rates in return.