For most of its history, the car insurance industry was shrouded in secrecy. Now with the internet and sites like carinsurancerates.com, information is more widely available and customers are better educated. But some car insurance myths still persist.
Urban Legend #1 - The Red Car Myth
Studies have shown that red cars are involved in more accidents than their blue, green, or gold counterparts, and it is a fact that, on average, drivers of red cars pay higher car insurance rates. But it’s also a fact that car insurance companies do not take a car’s paint color into account when determining premiums. How can both statements be true?
Well, it isn’t the color of the car that matters, but the driver of the car. Some people are perfectly safe drivers of perfectly safe red cars. These people pay low car insurance rates. Others are perfectly safe drivers of not-so-perfectly safe red sports cars. They pay the same car insurance rates as equally safe drivers of blue or gold sports cars. Then, of course, there are the not-so-perfectly safe drivers of red sports cars - these people pay the highest rates.
The issue isn’t the color of the car, it’s the type of car (a greater percentage of sports cars are red than any other color), and the type of driver (aggressive drivers are more likely to prefer red). So it’s true that if you compared the car insurance rates of every red car driver and every blue car driver, the red car drivers would be paying more. But it’s also true that if you wanted to drive either a red or a blue car, the cost of insuring them would be the same.
Well, it isn’t the color of the car that matters, but the driver of the car. Some people are perfectly safe drivers of perfectly safe red cars. These people pay low car insurance rates. Others are perfectly safe drivers of not-so-perfectly safe red sports cars. They pay the same car insurance rates as equally safe drivers of blue or gold sports cars. Then, of course, there are the not-so-perfectly safe drivers of red sports cars - these people pay the highest rates.
The issue isn’t the color of the car, it’s the type of car (a greater percentage of sports cars are red than any other color), and the type of driver (aggressive drivers are more likely to prefer red). So it’s true that if you compared the car insurance rates of every red car driver and every blue car driver, the red car drivers would be paying more. But it’s also true that if you wanted to drive either a red or a blue car, the cost of insuring them would be the same.
Urban Legend #2 - Two-Door or Not Two-Door, That is the Question
This is another myth that is partially true. If you took insurance data from all two-door cars and all four-door cars, it would be true to say that the drivers of two-door cars pay higher rates. But do you really get a discount for having the extra two doors? Of course not.
First, a two-door car is more likely to be a sports car, and sports cars are more expensive to insure than sedans. If a two-door car is not a sports car, then it is probably a compact car, which is more likely to sustain damage, both property and bodily, due to its petite size.
Secondly, if a two-door car is neither a sports car nor a compact car, it is probably very old. Older cars are less safe, and thus more expensive to insure.
And finally, the driver of a two-door car is more likely to be single, male, and a less than perfectly safe driver. All of these factors contribute to higher car insurance rates, but that doesn’t mean that you pay higher rates for driving a two-door car. A married woman with a perfect driving record would pay the same to insure a late-model two-door sedan as she would a four-door model.
First, a two-door car is more likely to be a sports car, and sports cars are more expensive to insure than sedans. If a two-door car is not a sports car, then it is probably a compact car, which is more likely to sustain damage, both property and bodily, due to its petite size.
Secondly, if a two-door car is neither a sports car nor a compact car, it is probably very old. Older cars are less safe, and thus more expensive to insure.
And finally, the driver of a two-door car is more likely to be single, male, and a less than perfectly safe driver. All of these factors contribute to higher car insurance rates, but that doesn’t mean that you pay higher rates for driving a two-door car. A married woman with a perfect driving record would pay the same to insure a late-model two-door sedan as she would a four-door model.
Urban Legend #3 - Parking Tickets Cause Your Rates to Go Up
Unlike the other two myths, there is virtually no truth to this one. Presumably, this legend stems from the common knowledge that "tickets" cause your rates to go up. This is true, but only tickets received as a result of traffic infractions. People don’t use the term "traffic infractions" when they’re talking to their friends about car insurance, so that’s how this myth was born. But while this myth has no present-day truth, it may be a predictor of things to come. After all, if car insurance companies can charge you higher rates for having bad credit, they could probably also make an argument that getting parking tickets demonstrates carelessness and lack of responsibility. If so, they could start charging higher rates to frequent ticket recipients.
Before the internet, car insurance information was passed along by word of mouth. Not exactly the most stimulating subject, this meant that people learned what they did in small bits and pieces, leading to a lot of misinformation. The more you know about insurance, the more accurately you will be able to determine the right policy for you. As the saying goes, "knowledge is power," or in this case, knowledge is money.
Before the internet, car insurance information was passed along by word of mouth. Not exactly the most stimulating subject, this meant that people learned what they did in small bits and pieces, leading to a lot of misinformation. The more you know about insurance, the more accurately you will be able to determine the right policy for you. As the saying goes, "knowledge is power," or in this case, knowledge is money.
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