3 Factors That Contribute To Being A High-Risk Driver

When you’re paying for an auto insurance policy, you may be wondering why your premiums go up and down. While there are many factors that contribute to this, the primary reason can be the level of risk the insurance company labels you.

Typically, every driver is classified as a certain level of risk. These classifications can include preferred-risk drivers, standard-risk drivers, and high-risk drivers. But among these categories, high-risk drivers are more likely required to pay higher insurance premiums to cover the costs of accidents the driver may get involved with.

Primarily, a high-risk driver refers to someone on the road who isn’t qualified to carry insurance through a preferred carrier. Hence, if you’re labeled as a high-risk driver, you may have to pay more for your car insurance.

To avoid paying these expenses, keep reading this article to know three factors that contribute to being a high-risk driver.

Poor Driving Record

One of the common factors that can make you a high-risk driver is your poor driving record. Generally, having a poor driving record means you’ve committed serious traffic violations for a certain period of time. Some common examples can include driving with a suspended driver’s license or causing road accidents. Also, even if you’ve committed minor traffic violations, like speeding, these can still give a heavy blow to your driving record.

Moreover, it’s important to note that driving without insurance coverage is against the law. This is why insurance companies label those who have no insurance for at least six months as high-risk drivers, too.

Due to these circumstances, it’s best to be careful about your driving record to avoid paying expensive premiums on your auto insurance. Not only that but being labeled as a high-risk driver due to multiple traffic violations may require you to get SR22 insurance. This will show that you meet the minimum car liability insurance requirement provided by the state. If you want to better understand how this SR22 insurance works and how it relates to the different categories of drivers, check it out here for more information.

Driving Under The Influence

Generally, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can be considered a serious criminal offense due to its potential to cause injuries or even death to the victims. It’s even one of the common causes of car accidents around the world.

Because of this, staying sober is one of the essential traffic rules you should keep in mind as a driver. However, when you’re caught driving and drinking, there’s a high possibility the state will suspend or revoke your driver’s license, depending on the circumstances. Also, when you’re found guilty for the offense, you may have to deal with a specific prison time.

More than these consequences, being charged with a DUI offense can also affect the payment of your insurance premiums. Even if you’ve already reinstated your driver’s license, your insurance company will still discover your DUI case and classify you as a high-risk driver. When this happens, you may have to face higher insurance premiums along with an SR22 insurance requirement.

Age And Life Circumstances

Although having a clean driving record won’t make you a high-risk driver, the insurance companies will still consider your age and life circumstances in determining whether you’re high-risk or not. These circumstances can include:

• Being a young driver: Typically, young drives don’t need to do anything to be considered high-risk. Thus, if you’re a young driver, your age alone can make them a high-risk driver because you’re prone to committing traffic violations and getting involved in road accidents. As a result, the insurance companies won’t hesitate to charge you with expensive premiums.

• Being a senior driver: Increased age can also make you a high-risk driver due to the mental and physical impairments you face while driving. So, if you’re a senior driver, you can also be tagged as a high-risk driver, which can affect the amount of premiums you pay for your car insurance policy.

• What you drive and where you live: The condition of the vehicle you drive can also contribute to being a high-risk driver. For example, if your car is old, it may have plenty of problems that make it less safe to drive compared to the new ones. Also, if you’re living in accident-prone areas, such as in big cities, you may be considered as high-risk and, therefore, required to pay higher insurance premiums than those living in low-traffic areas.

Bottom Line

Indeed, being tagged as a high-risk driver is never easy. Aside from paying expensive insurance premiums, the insurance company may also require you to get an SR22 insurance to make sure you have the minimum liability coverage in case you’ll be involved in a road accident. Therefore, if you don’t want this to happen, keep these factors in mind so you’ll know what to do to avoid getting labeled as high-risk.