What Determines Your Car Insurance Quote

You went to a car insurer's website, answered lots of questions, including some very personal ones --and a dollar figure just appeared on your computer screen. How was that quote determined? Andwhy might you receive wildly different auto insurance quotes when shopping around to differentinsurers?

Auto insurance companies may weigh the factors differently. But generally, the things that expertssay can influence an auto insurance quote include:

o Your age.

o Your driving record.

o The type of car you drive.

o How often and how far the car is driven.

o The amount and types of coverage that will be purchased.

o The size of the deductibles you choose.

o Where you live.

o Your credit score.

Gender also can play a role in determining auto insurance quotes, says David Marlett, an insuranceprofessor who chairs the department of finance, banking and insurance at Appalachian StateUniversity in Boone, N.C. "Teenage males are higher risk than soccer moms," he says.

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Purchasing multiple insurance policies with the same company also might influence a quote, saysLarry Thursby, vice president of auto product and pricing at Nationwide Insurance.

"Some insurers offer discounts for customers who choose them for both their auto and homeprotection, maintain continuous insurance coverage or complete a driver safety course," he says.

While insurers have different formulas for determining prices, a consumer's driving record and themake and model of a vehicle tend to have the most influence on car insurance quotes, says MichaelBarry, spokesman for the New York-based trade group the Insurance Information Institute.

"This goes into what's it going to cost to repair, or, in the event of a total loss, to replace thevehicle," Barry explains.

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You can control your driving habits to keep your record clean and score a better rate, notes MichalBrower, a spokeswoman for State Farm insurance. You also want to choose your make and modelwisely. "I think a good question to ask (about) that vehicle that you are looking at purchasing is:'Does it have a strong safety rating' or 'Is it a particular model that is often stolen?'" Brower says."Sometimes doing a little research -- that you can simply do online now -- will answer some of thesequestions and help you choose a car that you can possibly get a better (insurance) rate for."

Picking the right deductible also can help cut down on the insurance premium that you're quoted,Brower says. The deductible is the amount you agree to pay toward claims out of your own pocketbefore your coverage kicks in.

"The type of deductible that they choose will play a major role in what type of payment they aregoing to have every month and what their total premium will be," she says.

Some of the other factors that influence auto insurance quotes may be less important, depending onthe insurer.

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For instance, because of the growing trend of telematics, or "pay as you go" programs that useonboard devices to monitor your driving, any estimates you're asked to give for your annual orweekly mileage may not matter as much.

"I think that has diminished in importance mostly through technological advances," Barry says."What used to be a lot of estimates are now something that auto insurers are able to quantify."

A few other factors that are perceived to have an influence on the cost of car insurance are merelymyths, notes Nationwide's Thursby.

"The color of your car has no bearing on the price of your insurance, and there is no difference incost for cars parked in a garage versus those that remain parked on the street overnight," he says.

Once you have gathered several auto insurance quotes, how do you choose which company to gowith? One way to guide your decision is to vet each company by reviewing its reputation andfinancial strength.

"From a consumer's perspective, you want to make sure that behind the policy is a company that hasthe financial wherewithal to pay out all of its legitimate claims," Barry says, adding that ratingsservices such as A.M. Best provide the public with insurers' financial information.

But Marlett says auto insurers are regulated by state authorities and it's rare for an insurer to gobankrupt, so consumers may not need to focus on company financials quite so much.

"What they should focus on is the level of claims service and customer support," he says.

That means checking with your state's insurance department about consumer complaints filedagainst any company you're considering.

Read this story on Bankrate.com.

The bottom line is that you shouldn't go with an insurer solely on the basis of its auto insurance

quote. Because a vehicle is one of the largest purchases you'll make, it's necessary to insure it with acompany you trust, says Brower.

This work is the opinion of the columnist and in no way reflects the opinion of ABC News.