Diving into the world of car insurance can reveal some truly fascinating insights. Here are five that might just make you rethink everything you thought you knew about this industry.
- It might come as a surprise, but auto insurance companies often provide police departments with laser guns, more challenging to circumvent than traditional radar guns. This investment works in favor of insurance companies, as it leads to an increase in detected traffic violations, consequently causing a rise in insurance premiums. This interplay between law enforcement and insurers creates an interesting cycle of benefit.
- Here’s a fact that’ll make you blink – in 2017, title insurance firms in Texas wrote policies amounting to an astounding $1.8 billion. Yet, the sum of claims they paid out was a meager $24 million in comparison. This stark contrast underscores the unpredictable and lucrative nature of the insurance sector.
- Brace yourself for this statistic – an average American motorist lodges a collision claim approximately once every 17.9 years. Meaning, if you embarked on your driving journey at 16, you’re likely to be involved in a crash around the age of 34. During a typical driving lifetime, you’re expected to experience three to four accidents overall.
- Across many U.S. states, your credit score can significantly influence your car insurance premiums. A higher credit score could lead to lower premiums, while a lesser score may elevate what you have to pay. Critics argue that this practice could unduly impact individuals with lower incomes, potentially affecting premiums based on factors that aren’t associated with driving capabilities. Yet, it’s worth highlighting that a few states, including California, Hawaii, and Massachusetts, ban the use of credit scores in deciding car insurance rates.
- In a deviation from the norm, residents of Virginia can opt out of auto insurance. By simply paying a $500 fee, they can choose to “drive at their own risk”. This distinct feature of Virginia’s insurance laws provides an interesting contrast to the mandatory insurance rules found in most other states.