"Cheap High Risk Auto Insurance" Isn't as Oxymoronic as You Think

"Cheap High Risk Auto Insurance" Isn't as Oxymoronic as You Think

Young drivers are always considered to be high risk.

The words "cheap" and "high risk auto insurance" might sound just a little oxymoronic to anyone who's ever tried to go shopping for auto insurance with a black mark or three on their driving record, but believe it or not it does exist. Not every insurance company wants an arm, a leg and your first born child to protect your car in an accident. The trick is in figuring out which insurance companies could be considered by an optimist to be "high risk friendly" and, more importantly, figuring out how to make the most of their policies to bring down your premium.

It's important to understand that cheap high risk auto insurance is a relative term. If you're comparing the premiums you pay to those of a fifty year old woman who's driving a $1,000 car and hasn't had an accident or a speeding ticket in 30+ years behind the wheel, it's going to look like you're paying a fortune. Insurance companies try to do their best to minimize the blow dealt to their profit margins when they pay out claims, and they do that by charging higher premiums to the drivers they see as more likely to be involved in an accident.

If you're a high risk driver insurers are going to slap you with a high risk premium, and they may refuse to insure you at all.

There are many categories of high risk driver out there, and which one you fall into is going to affect not only your premiums but also the options available to you to bring your premiums down. A high risk driver is one who:

1) Has two or more speeding tickets on their license in a five year period. (A single ticket might impact the cost of your auto insurance, but it's not going to disqualify you from coverage or send your rates flying into the rafters.)

2) Has a DUI or a DWI on their driving record.

3) Drives a motorcycle or other "high risk" vehicle.

4) Has only been driving for a short amount of time. (For example, a teenager with a permit and/or new driver's license.)

5) Drivers who have caused one or more accidents in the past five to seven years. (Like a speeding ticket, a single accident probably won't disqualify you from coverage. It will, however, raise your rates, and after you've been involved in a few of them you're going to see a noticeable hike in the number of insurance providers who use the word "Ummm…" when they're reading your application.)

The good news is, even if you have to wait around five years for the DMV to agree to "forget" your infraction, there are still things you can do to lower your insurance premiums. Shopping around will help you quickly identify which high risk auto insurance providers will give you a respectable rate and which will shut the door in your face. Once you find an insurer willing to offer you coverage, take advantage of the many opportunities available to you to send your monthly payments spiraling down.

Driving School

Do you remember when you were in Kindergarten, and the teacher had the little chart on the board that told everyone how good you'd been that day? Being good added stars onto your chart, being bad took them away. The DMV uses a similar system with your license, but they use points instead of stickers. People with few, if any, points on their license pay higher insurance premiums than people with more points (and yes, you can and do drive with negative points). Being a good driver adds points, having an accident or getting a speeding ticket takes them away.

By going to driving school you can add extra points back on to your license, and in some cases you may even be able to remove the ticket altogether (depending on what the judge has to say). Driving school only takes a day or two to complete, and the option now exists for you to take the class online as well. You finish driving school, prove that you understand the rules of the road, and you get a couple of brownie points with your high risk auto insurance provider that might help cushion the blow of your monthly payments.

Your Car Can Help Too!

Did you know that your car has almost as much to do with your annual premiums as your driving record does? An expensive car with lots of toys costs more money for the insurance company to replace than a $1,000 clunker, so you're going to pay more in premiums each year. The moral of the story? Cheap cars cost less to insure, regardless of how high a risk you're considered to be.

Taking steps to keep vandals and thieves from redecorating or relocating your vehicle works in your favor too. Car alarms, GPS tracking systems, the Club, fuel locks and other fun toys that help protect your car or, at the very least, help you find it after it's been liberated from the tyranny of ownership (yours, that is) have an impact on your auto insurance premiums by making you eligible for a larger number of discounts.

Speaking of discounts…

Ask for Discounts

You'd be amazed what insurance providers will cut you a discount for these days. Your profession, your car, your student status and hundreds of other little things will knock small percentages off of your premiums, bringing even high risk auto insurance back into the realm of the reasonably affordable.

Keep Your Nose Clean

The best thing you can do to get your insurance rates down is to keep your record clean and let time wash away those black marks. Most violations don't stay on your record any longer than five years, and while some things are unavoidable (those snow banks and patches of black ice just don't get out of your way like they used to) hitting the highways with care and ditching the "high risk" label altogether is the best thing you can do for your insurance rates.

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