Benchmark your auto premium by profile — and see which factors are costing you
| Factor you set | Its effect on your rate |
|---|
Auto insurance pricing is a multiplication of factors you can mostly see — age curve, record, credit tier, state, coverage, vehicle — applied to a base rate that varies more between carriers than any factor varies for you. That's the industry's open secret and your leverage: this estimator rebuilds the multiplication so you can benchmark any quote, see exactly which factor is expensive, and know when a renewal deserves the four-quote treatment.
| Factor | Swing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Age (young) | up to 3× | Peaks at 16–19, normalizes by 30; seniors drift up after 75 |
| DUI | 2–2.5×, 3–5 years | Plus SR-22 filing; the single most expensive line on any record |
| Credit tier | up to 2× | Poor-credit clean drivers often pay more than good-credit DUI drivers — banned in CA, HI, MA, MI |
| State | 2.5× spread | Michigan/Florida/Louisiana vs Vermont/Ohio/Maine |
| At-fault accident | +40–50%, 3 years | Accident forgiveness riders pre-empt the first one |
| Vehicle | ±60% | Repair cost & theft rates — EVs and luxury price high on parts |
Identical profiles quote 40%+ apart across carriers because each insurer's model over- and under-prices different niches — young drivers, credit tiers, EVs, ZIP codes. The playbook: quote 4+ carriers at every renewal-plus-one-year, requote after any factor improves (ticket falls off at 3 years, credit tier climbs, car ages into liability-only), and check telematics programs (10–25% off for provably calm driving — with the privacy trade named honestly). Loyalty is systematically overpriced; the industry calls the practice price optimization, and regulators in several states call it illegal — everywhere else, it's your renewal letter.
Check the other multipliers: credit tier (the silent 2×), state, ZIP-level claims data, vehicle repair costs, and age band. The factor table isolates each — and if none explain it, your carrier's base rate is the problem; shop.
Tickets: ~3 years. At-fault accidents: 3–5. DUIs: 3–10 depending on state, plus SR-22 requirements. Set a calendar reminder for each anniversary — carriers don't volunteer the discount; requoting captures it.
For genuinely calm, low-mileage, daytime drivers: 10–25% real savings. The trades: privacy (location + driving data) and, at some carriers, surcharge risk for hard braking. Read whether your program can raise rates, not just lower them.
When comp+collision premiums exceed ~10% of the car's market value — typically cars worth under $4–6k. You're then self-insuring the car while keeping the coverage that protects your assets (liability).
In most states, enormously — insurers' credit-based scores correlate with claim frequency, and poor-credit pricing can exceed DUI pricing. CA, HI, MA and MI ban it. Improving credit (see the Credit Score tool) quietly cuts premiums too.
Some states allow rating on any claim involvement; others prohibit it. Comprehensive claims (hail, theft) usually rate lighter than collision. If a not-at-fault claim spiked your rate in a state that bars it, that's a regulator complaint worth filing.
Yes — every figure computes locally in your browser; nothing is quoted or shared.
Know your multiplication, calendar your factor anniversaries, and make four carriers compete once a year. Auto insurance is the rare bill where an hour of shopping reliably beats a year of coupon-clipping.