Personal and environmental factors can affect your auto insurance.

The thought of insurance rates being calculated leads many to image someone working with lots of different numbers to try to come up with a way to squeeze the customer for every penny. Part of that analysis may be true - it does take a lot of calculating to come up with auto insurance rates, but low cost insurance is certainly an option for the savvy customer who has researched and knows what steps they can take to lower their risk to an insurance company.

Your age is a primary factor that affects your auto insurance rate: over twenty-five and under sixty is generally the sweetest spot for insurance rates, but while you cannot affect your own age, you can affect certain factors surrounding the age differential. If you use corrective lenses as an older driver, consider an investment in surgery to correct your vision. Not having to wear contacts or glasses when you drive is a bonus with many insurance companies and the premium savings could well pay for the surgery over time.

Where you live is another important factor for your insurance rate. For obvious reasons, it is less expensive to insure a car in a low-population, rural area with only a handful of other drivers than if you lived in a bustling metropolis with millions of other cars and drivers on the road. While you aren't likely to up and move just to save a few dollars on insurance, consider driving your vehicle less if you live in a major city with public transportation. Reducing the mileage driven each year can bring hundreds of dollars in savings.

Did you know that your credit score may affect your auto insurance rate as well? In some states, insurers are given permission to glance at your credit report and take that into consideration when setting your premiums. Why? Well, statistically, people with poor credit are more likely to file insurance claims. Fight this rate increase and keep your low-cost insurance by keeping an eye on your bills and your credit score, and if you know it has seen significant improvement since you first got your policy, consider hinting your insurance agent in to that fact.

Everyone knows that having a poor driving record will eventually cause your auto insurance rates to increase, but did you know that you can mitigate this increase by taking defensive driving courses, or working to have mistakes expunged from your record? If you have to appear before a judge, try a little negotiation next time to keep the offense off the record.