5 Common Myths About Car Insurance

When purchasing your car insurance, you are probably already have a few things in your head about how insurance companies work and the things that affect your car insurance. How do you differentiate what the truth is and what is fiction in the world of car insurance? There are a few false beliefs out there that discourage the purchase of cars and car insurance and their relationship with each other. Here are a few myths that you should take into consideration. You'll be surprised to find which ones are real and which are fictional.

• Sports car can affect your insurance rate. You've probably heard this one before. Even though insurance carriers take into account the car's year make and model, they tend to look at the car's history and the owner's driving history too. Having a high performance car or a sports car is taking into consideration but information such a clean driving record can offset such information. Statistics also show that the drivers of expensive sports cars are usually careful with their driving because of the higher cost to repair the vehicle.

• The color of your car affects your insurance rate. This is one of the more famous myths out there. Most drivers out there believe that the color of your car, or specifically the color red, is harder to insure because cars with that color get into more accidents. Although this statistic is true and companies look at such statistics, the color of your car cannot affect your insurance rating. Your driving history and the brand or type of your car is the significant statistic that insurance companies look at.

• SUVs cost less to insure. It is often thought that heavy vehicles such as SUV cost less to insure because of its safety features and the overall weight and size of the vehicle. However, recent studies show that in a vehicular accident, while keeping the driver and its passengers relatively safe, SUVs generally cause more damage to the colliding vehicle. Because of the weigh and mass it carries, most heavy vehicles are built to stand the brute force in an accident and cause more damage to the vehicles it crashes into or to the vehicle that crashes into it.

• Women drivers are harder to insure. This myth is perpetuated by the myth that women in general are worse drivers than men. Although statistically this is true, insurance companies look at the driver's history, type and brand of car and geographic location as the standing facts that determine a driver's insurance rating.

• It is almost impossible to renew your insurance policy. Most people believe that the insurance that they purchased years ago is the insurance that they will have to live with until it expires because it is almost impossible to renew their current insurance. Although policies and insurance ratings differ from one insurance carrier to another, most insurance companies offer their clients a chance to change or renew their insurance policy after a certain period of time. Most companies offer clients that keep a clean driving record after a year, a chance to renew their insurance policy to a lower costing one.