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CAR INSURANCE RATES
By Chuck Wells
In the old days (more than 10
years ago according to today's standards), we figured your
car insurance rates based
upon your driving record. That was simple. The more tickets and
accidents you had, the higher your premium would be. Everyone
understood that and accepted it.
Today, your rate is based upon your driving record and your
credit history. That's right, your credit history helps
determine what you will pay for car insurance now.
Insurance companies are now using complicated formulas to
determine what rating "tier" you will be placed into based upon
your driving record, claims turned in, and how you pay your
bills.
If you do not pay your bills on time, have collections against
you, have too many credit checks (every time you apply for
credit), have too many credit cards, or have too much debt, your
credit rating for car insurance gets worse.
In fact, most companies have a minimum credit rating established
and if you do not meet that, they will not even consider taking
you no matter what your driving record!
How can you get better car insurance rates in the future? Don't
turn in minor claims which will count against you (carry higher
deductibles for collision and comprehensive), don't get tickets,
drive defensively to avoid even not-at-fault accidents, pay your
bills on time, don't have too many credit cards, don't apply for
credit with multiple vendors, and don't let bills go to
collection.
I don't agree with all of this new criteria either but for the
time being, knowing the rules the insurance companies are using
can help us get better rates.
LOOKS ARE EVERYTHING
Men prefer women who are in shape. Researchers placed phony
classified ads in newspapers and found that men would rather
date a former drug addict than a woman who is significantly
overweight.
However, the percentage of men who say figure, shape, or build
is what they first notice about a woman declined from 44% to 37%
in the past ten years while the percentage of women whose eyes
are first drawn to a man's figure, shape, or build has risen
from 20% to 22%.
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