Understanding Car Insurance Criteria

What Car Insurance Criteria Means

Very briefly, car insurance criteria means what is taken into account by insurers, to decide whether they will give you a policy or not. Some of the common insurance criteria and what they mean are:

• Age – If you’re under 30 or over 75, you’re likely to have a higher costing policy as many accidents involve younger or older drivers.
• Gender – Men statistically cause more accidents than women so might see a higher cost.
• Experience – The less experienced you are, the more at risk of an accident you are – and insurers take this into account.
• Car type – Companies have records on the makes of the cars that are most involved in accidents. They will want to know the insurance group your car type sits in. 
• Where the car is kept overnight – Parking on the street is less safe than leaving it on a driveway, for example.
• Location – Certain postcodes have a higher rate of car theft.
• Mileage – How often you drive affects the chances of insurance payouts.
• Excess – The more you’re willing to pay in towards any individual claim, the less you will pay on an ongoing basis.
• Driving history – The length of time you have had your licence, any points on your licence, any previous claims or convictions. 

This is the basic information that insurers need to present you with a cost. Each insurer grades them differently and offers can vary hugely, so it is important to shop around when getting quotes.