Many high risk drivers wonder if they’ll ever be among those people who get low rates on a great policy. While the truth is they will pay higher rates than other drivers, there is still an opportunity for them to pay the lowest price among their group. And, during this time, they can work on improving driving habits to get them out of the high risk category.

Who Is A High Risk Driver?
A high risk driver is someone who has a “high risk” of being involved in a traffic incident. This is determined by the previous actions on a driver’s record mixed with statistical evidence. These previous actions include getting a high number of traffic tickets, accidents, or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol just once. Also lumped into this category are new and young drivers who do not have experience. All of these drivers have a large chance of not driving safely, and there is a strong possibility they will end up filing a claim with their insurer.

Every auto insurance company has their own terms for what equals a high risk driver. Some companies may deem someone high risk because they’ve had three traffic tickets within 12 months while other companies may give the title to someone who has been given two tickets within 12 months. It all depends on the insurer, and it would be smart to know what qualifies as a high risk driver before the insurer issues the title out. One thing that stands firm for most insurers is a driver who is found guilty of driving under the influence even one time will be classified as high risk.

What To Do As A High Risk Driver
If you are finding yourself in this category of high risk drivers for the first time, don’t fret. We understand you will be paying significantly more to insure your vehicle and that can be frustrating. When a driver is notified by their insurer that they will no longer be willing to provide coverage, that driver does not immediately need to turn to the Facility Association, who mandates high risk drivers to be insured, to find guaranteed coverage, especially if it’s related to a low number of tickets. Instead, try searching for another insurer before you go to the Facility Association.

One way to search for a different insurer is by using our quote comparison tool. It doesn’t matter what kind of driving history a driver has, we allow all drivers to see what is available to them via our comparison tool. Plus, as mentioned earlier, other insurers may not see your driving record as high risk even if your current insurer does so it will pay off to shop around. Start the comparison by locating the white box on our homepage requesting the local zip code information. Once that has been entered and “Go” is clicked, a new page will open which starts the questionnaire. The questions that are asked are about the driver and the vehicle. We need to know about the driver, such as their age and gender and address, and then also some things about the vehicle such as the year, make and model. There is a question regarding the driver’s history, and this question should be answered honestly and accurately. We take this seriously and base the quotes off of the answers that are given. If any of the answers are false, this will result in a quote change at the end if the driver decides to purchase a policy from the list of quotes. Most likely the quote will increase in this situation. The insurance company has a way to verify that the information you are providing is correct and may decide to not offer you their coverage if they discover you were being deceitful.

After the questions have been answered, the driver will be given permission to view another page that contains a list of quotes from surrounding insurance companies. Some of these companies may specialize in insurance for high risk drivers, and some may not. It will be up to the driver to decide what steps to take from there. They can either purchase one of the policies offered, or they can continue in their search.

Companies Insuring High Risk Drivers
There are auto insurance companies that specialize in providing car insurance for high risk drivers, and some of them only provide insurance to this specialized group. They know if they can attract these drivers, they can increase the number of people who are paying for a policy and can therefore offer lower rates than other companies can afford to do. Checking out what these companies can offer to a high risk driver may also help save money.

Can’t Find A Policy?
The Assigned Risk program is one where the state will assign a driver to an insurance company. Every insurance company, whether it’s one that specializes in high risk drivers or not, is required by law to provide coverage to a certain number of high risk drivers. This keeps it fair among insurance companies who do not prefer to insure these drivers. Because the state requires drivers to carry auto insurance, this is a way to be able to make sure it is available for every driver. Again we’ll remind you to check out quote comparison tool if you haven’t already. Instead of contacting individual insurers, answer our set of questions once to receive a number of quotes from local companies.

High risk drivers should do their best to keep their rates low by looking around at what other companies are offering as well as continuing to try to lessen their high risk status. They will save a significant amount of money by cleaning up and keeping their driving record clean because insurers will not view them as a high chance of filing a claim. However, this takes years to do and other ways to save money on insurance, such as using discounts and shopping around, should be practiced while the driver is working on having a clean record. High risk drivers have a right to be insured, and doing everything possible to save on insurance will allow them to see lower rates than they have previously seen. online auto insurance can help drivers find high risk auto insurance at no cost to them and in little time.