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Are you having trouble finding affordable car insurance because of your driving record? You have come to the right place! This article is intended to help answer two main questions:

1. What criteria causes drivers to be classified as "high risk"?
2. What can high risk drivers do to save money on their auto insurance?

In the general sense, most people have a good idea of what "high risk" means as far as car insurance is concerned. There are many things a person can do to become classified as a high risk driver. While some of those things are very obvious (like getting a DUI,license suspension, racking up moving violations, etc.), other things are not. In fact, you will probably be surprised at some of the criteria that car insurance companies use to evaluate the level of risk associated with drivers.

I have compiled a list of criteria to illustrate many of the factors that determine risk, and how they affect car insurance premiums. Keep in mind that each company is different in how they weigh each factor (and many companies choose to ignore some of the factors altogether), which is why car insurance premiums can vary greatly from one company to the next.

So, to answer the first question: What criteria cause drivers to be classified as "high risk"? Here arethe vast majority of factors:

1. Age. Young, newly licensed drivers are automatically considered high risk until they turn 20-25 years old,depending on the company. This is because of their inexperience in driving. Also, elderly drivers are considered high risk because of their diminishing motor skills and reflexes.

2. Gender. All other factors being equal, men pay a higher rate than women do. This is because crash statistics data clearly show that men are more likely to be in an accident.

3. Marital status. All other factors being equal, single drivers pay a higher rate than married drivers do.

4. Driving record. This one is self explanatory. The more moving violations you have on your drivers abstract, the more you will pay. Most violations will affect your level of risk for 3 years. But many companies will go back as far as 5 years for more severe violations, such as at-fault accidents and DUI's.

5. Prior Insurance. Having continuous car insurance is important. If you currently do not have car insurance, or have had recent lapses in coverage, companies will place you in the high risk category. A company looks at a driver without insurance and concludes that either the driver has been driving irresponsibly without insurance, or that there must be a good reason why another company has cancelled them. Either way, it will raise the premium (exceptions can be made if someone can prove a valid reason for not having insurance, such as being hospitalized/disabled for a long period of time or being deployed overseas in the military).

6. Vehicle being covered. A sports car (high performance) will cost more than a sedan. A 2 door vehicle will cost more than a 4 door vehicle.

7. Credit rating. What does someone'scredit rating have to do with their ability to drive safely? Many would argue that a credit score is irrelevant to driving ability. But statistically, people with low credit scores tend to file more claims than people with good credit.

Part 2: How can high risk drivers save money on their car insurance?

Now that we have covered most of the reasons that one could be considered high risk, it is time to focus on ways high risk drivers can save money on their car insurance.....

1. Get "free" online quotes from independent agents. I say "free" in jest because I've never heard of an agent charging a potential client for a quote, not once ever! This is the single best thing you can do to save money on car insurance. Why? Because by going through an independent agency online, you fill out one quote form and get quotes from multiple companies in a matter of a few minutes. This is much more time efficient than trying to contact individual companies individually. In about 30 minutes, you would have time to get online quotes from several independent agencies. This half hour could amount to getting quotes from 10-20 companies. The following tips are helpful and significant but there is no better way to find the cheapest car insurance available, period!

2. Discounts. Every company varies as far as what discounts they offer. The main point you need to understand here is that the companies in many cases don't exactly go out of their way in making you aware of all the available discounts. In many cases, it is usually mentioned for the first time when a long time customer complains about the premium rates. New potential clients usually do not have a problem with missing out on any possible discounts because discounts are a selling tool. But with many existing customers, some of these discounts have selectively flown under the radar. Be proactive!

3. Know what is on your driving record. This may sound trivial, but I am amazed at how unaware people are of their own driving record. Depending on the severity, most violations go off a driver's record in 3-5 years. If your driving record has cleaned up since you took out a high risk policy, chances are that you can once again re-enter the standard insurance market, and save a lot of money. But do not expect your company or agent to call you and say "you no longer fall under the high risk category and can now purchase cheaper insurance". That simply will not happen! A company will not do that because it's not in their best interests. An agent will not do that because they do not have the resources to monitor their clients driving records. Therefore, You must take action.

Be sure to see my upcoming blogs, where I break down each of the above 3 categories into more detail. I've already posted an article about being more aware of your driving record on my blog. I will be adding 2 more parts about online quoting and discounts as well in the next week or so.

Food for thought