[hellbannedguy]

We need to start listing what we all pay here for auto insurance.

I have a feeling it's a rigged industry, and has very powerful lobbyiests. (That part after the comma is true in California.)

I'll start:

1. age 50

2. no moving violations.

3. bare bones legal minimum in CA. (15-30-5)

4. $550 year, with a Covid credit of $6.30

5. I'm with Mercury.

(I looked into pay per mile, but I don't have a computer in my vechicle.)

[phonon]

Pricing for auto insurance is all fully public information, that states' approve. There is no "discretion". You can look it up yourself. Search for "SERFF" and your state.

Also, auto insurance has the lowest profit margins of any type of insurance.

[nimih]

Unfortunately, in some states, even after reading and cross-referencing dozens of obtuse rules and tables from a given company's rules and rates filing, you may eventually find that the final premium relies on the output of some manner of GLM/tree model that you'll never have access to.

[phonon]

True, you might need to review those rate/rule filings across several states to tease out the more obscure aspects...or any large actuarial firm can do it for you.

[ArnoVW]

All of those things are for sure taken into account, but the key input for pricing is:

  - type / year / color of car (gives price and your attitude)
  - how many km driven / year (no risk if it stays always on your drive!)
  - where is it parked

A small anecdote: I did a project for an insurer once. When we discussed the extreme detail the actuarials wanted for each policy, the client remarked half jokingly that the color + engine size was almost enough for the actuarial model.

[Kalium]

(Disclosure: I work for a car insurance company. I am not an actuary and have no special insights into how premiums are calculated.)

Gender famously matters too - a 18/M is (statistically) likely to be a worse driver than a 18/F. Rates reflect this. Having once been a 18/M, I have no trouble believing this.

That said, it's very difficult to compare across states. Car insurance is regulated at the state level, so inevitably different states (or territories, or DC, etc.) have made different choices over time. You can do a dollars-to-dollars comparison between any two states but there's a good chance the elements of the policies and liability rules aren't the same.

I suspect there's also some adjustment to premiums done for how much it costs to repair things where you live. Medical care, building repair, and car repair are all things that likely come up a lot on claims. If you're some place where these are twice national averages, you might have higher premiums than you would in a place where these cost half the national average. In addition to the chance of a loss varying by location.

[nimih]

You should probably include your full credit history as well, since in most US states (i.e. where legally allowed) that has a very large impact on your premium.

[adamhp]

Need to include your area and make/model.

29, Clean record for 7+ years, 2013 honda civic, $1140 a year with Geico, in DC/NoVA.

[alariccole]

All fine and good, but wouldn’t you need to list the price of your vehicle as well?

[lotsofpulp]

You would need coverage amounts and driving histories. Even then, it’s impossible to do comparisons without having all the data for losses in various locations and personal history of claims.

Car insurance is extremely regulated and transparent. If you think you’re getting ripped off, go to a different website and shop around.

[Kalium]

Usually insurers get make/model/year of the car, and do a Kelly Blue Book or equivalent lookup.

[lotsofpulp]

That is only relevant if the person buys coverage for the car. Legally, you only have to buy liability insurance, so you can compensate any other parties you injure or damage.

If you borrow money for the car, the lender might require coverage for the car itself. I pay for $500k bodily injury and $100k property damage liability only coverage for $40 per month per vehicle for 10k miles per year.

I had Geico on the east coast at a similar price ($50), but they were more expensive on the west coast so I switched to Amica.

[Kalium]

You're right, I forgot about PL/PD versus total coverage. Thanks!

[edgyquant]

28

1 speeding ticket

Full coverage

1080 a year

Toyota