These Factors Can Impact Your Car Insurance Premiums As Much As Your Car Model

Your car’s make and model aren’t the only things dictating your insurance bill. Insurers crunch a long list of personal data—credit history, age, gender, marital status, driving record, and even where you live—before setting your premium.

Power and price of the car still matter, but a six-figure exotic sports car will cost far more to insure than a mainstream SUV like a Honda CR-V or Mazda CX-5, and a crash into a high-value car can hike rates too.

The impact of these extra factors is real: drivers with credit scores below 580 pay on average 69% more than those with scores of 800+, according to insurance comparison site The Zebra.

Age and experience cut both ways—older drivers often pay less, but premiums can rise again after 60 unless you take voluntary safety courses, which some insurers reward with discounts.

Gender also plays a role: women statistically file fewer claims, so in many states they pay less, though several states—California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania—ban gender-based pricing.

Marital status nudges rates too; married drivers usually pay less because joint or multi-car policies spread risk, but if a spouse has poor credit, it can drag both partners’ premiums up.

A clean driving record is the fastest route to lower costs, but even minor speeding tickets can inflate rates for three to five years, while serious offences like DUIs can haunt you longer. If your record is blemished, insurers like Geico and Progressive specialize in high-risk policies.

Bottom line: shop around, clean up your credit, take a defensive driving course, and bundle policies to cut costs—because your insurer isn’t just looking at your car.