An Automobile Insurance Myth

Gasoline is not the only necessity that is costing you more these days.. auto insurance rates are going up. But before you panic.. you need to know the reasons for any change in your rate.. Our investigation of auto insurance rates, shows one of the factors you think might influence the price you pay, may not have as much to do with it, as you think..

Walter Few is a truck driver.. today, he's getting insurance coverage for his daughter. He says, he's always thought that if the number of traffic fatalities and accidents went down, auto insurance rates ought to do the same. "if accidents and deaths are down, they should cut you a break," Mr. Few says. "Everything else is so high."

In fact, our research indicates between 2006 and 2007, the number of fatalities nationwide dropped almost 4 per cent. In Tennessee during that same time, fatalities dropped almost 6 per cent.. in Georgia, the drop was 3 per cent.. in Alabama, the number of fatalities dropped 8 per cent. In Tennessee and Georgia, the number of motor vehicle accidents also dropped in those two years.

We did some digging, and found out, the drop in accidents and fatalities, plays only a very small role in what you pay for insurance. "You can't go by the fatalities," says David Colmans of the Georgia Insurance Information Institute, "but you certainly can go by the experience of the drivers."

As a result, we've discovered from our experts, that insurance rates are based on individual drivers and situations.. The age and sex of the driver, the number of accidents in that age group, where the driver lives, the government crash test results of a particular vehicle, the replacement cost of vehicle parts, even in some cases, the education and marital status of the driver.. All of those factors are way ahead of whether a particular state has had fewer wrecks and fatalities..

"That doesn't sound fair," says Mr. Few. "It may be true, but if things are down, they should give everybody a break." Our experts also say, you need to shop around for auto insurance AND insurance agents, just like you would for anything else. Compare prices and service.. that way, you'll be ready for any change that might happen in the insurance rate..