By Madeline Klein on December 29, 2016 in Insurance Basics
If you've ever quoted for insurance, clicked purchase and sighed with disappointment as the rate changed, you're not alone. No, it isn't a scheme all of the insurance companies are in on, luring you into their web of lies, hoping you're too complacent to click away and quote somewhere else. It's (most likely) something on a driving record or timing. Let us explain, at least from the Say perspective.
Quote Process
When
you go to fill out a quote, you will be asked for a lot of personal information—name, age,
marriage status, address, car make and model, etc. Then you are asked about your
driving record and if you've had any accidents or violations. Then you'll talk
coverage—what kind, limits, deductible amount, etc.
The personal details help your insurance predict how you'll be as a driver, and the coverage choices assess what kind of cost could be associated with the type of
driver you're predicted to be. As you answer each question honestly, our system
does its best to plug in the information and create a premium price prediction
as close to your actual rated premium as possible.
Why not give the actual rate up front?
Short answer: getting the actual premium costs money.
In
order to make sure we are covering the person they say they are, the car they
said they drive, the driving record they claim they have, etc., your insurance has to
order a motor
vehicle report (MVR). The MVR tells them about any license restrictions, traffic
violations and accidents.
It's
not that we mind paying for those, obviously they're useful, but quoting a
premium prior to running the report helps reduce costs.
Here's
how. Once you have a general idea of what your premium will be, you can
determine whether or not it’s a price you want to pay. If the premium is
outrageous, you know you won't purchase and they know not to order the reports.
If the price seems reasonable to you, running the report seems reasonable to the insurance.
That
being said, if you forgot about the ticket you got two years ago for running a
stop sign, the reports will catch it and your rate might go up. On the other
side, your rate might go down if you reported you had an accident, but it actually
dropped off of your record two months ago.
I was honest, it still changed. Why?
So your
record is claim-free and clean, but the rate still jumped. Still not a scheme,
we promise. One option: You quoted a while ago, came back and the rating system
changed.
Second,
more likely option: You have another driver in your household, and something on
their driving record bumped your rate. Even if you're the only one who drives your
car, living with someone increases the chance that they will drive it at some
point, even if it's as simple as moving spots in the driveway, and insurance
companies factor in that risk.
If
those reasons still don't explain why your rate changed after you hit purchase,
give your insurance a call and they will try to get to the bottom of it with
you.