Demystifying that is part of the reason we’re

reinventing insurance and trying to empower our customers to be in control of their price.

We know a price increase isn’t something anyone wants to see, especially when you’re a good driver. With HiRoad, it’s possible that your insurance rates may change over time, but you still have the chance to drive down your price every month based on your smart driving choices.

With any insurance company, there are various factors that can affect your price. Wondering why rates increase? Here are some of the most common reasons.

Changes around you

More claims

Essentially, insurance is a group of people sharing a pool of money, so if something happens to any of them, they’re covered. Due to the unpredictable nature of car accidents, repair costs and other events, sometimes you pay more into the pool than you get out. Other times you take out more than you’ve put in.

The way rates work is to ensure the money is there when you

do need it. Insurance companies may increase rates when trends show an increase in the claims that could be paid out versus what customers pay in.

More fraud

It’s a sad reality that there are cases where fraud occurs. Fraud encompasses things like people lying about how badly their car got damaged or faking the severity of an injury.

The result of this is similar to paying out more claims than the insurance company has collected in premiums. This can lead to a price increase for everyone. In cases of fraud, a few bad apples really do spoil the barrel.

More tech

Vehicles that are new, shiny and loaded with smart technology are more expensive to repair—and therefore—insure. Examples of complex car components include features like:

• Back-up cameras

• Built-in navigation

• Distance sensors

• Electric motors

• Infotainment systems

Changes you make

Your car

Lots of things can happen to affect rates based on vehicle-rating factors—and those take into consideration the type of car, truck or SUV you drive along with information like:

• Age

• Make

• Model

• Likelihood of theft

• Safety rating

Your coverage

The price of your insurance might change as you require more (or less) coverage.

If you have a one-driver policy and commute with an old beater car, you might skip full coverage (with collision). If you have relatives or friends in your household who also drive your car, you could add them to your policy. If your car is in the shop for repairs and you really need a rental to get around, you might add Rental Reimbursement coverage.

Your address

Moving is a rate-change determiner too. Zip codes with instances of high vandalism or high frequency of accidents are greater risk factors for drivers. You might also move to a new neighborhood and see your rate decrease.

Your incidents

This is kind of a no-brainer, but at-fault accidents and traffic violations that occur will likely increase your insurance rate.

Companies have to account for this to make sure that, in “insurance speak”, they can accurately match your price to your probable risk based on past events.

The good news about HiRoad and your smart driving habits

We believe that HiRoaders are people who make thoughtful choices about their driving habits, their communities and the larger world. Our whole reason for being is to recognize and reward you for being the best driver you can be.

With HiRoad, the trends of your good driving habits affect your bill, so by nature, your monthly price is variable based on how you behave behind the wheel.

Each day, week and month, you have the opportunity to take positive actions such as driving at safe speeds, braking more smoothly and taking corners with more care. And that good driving behavior results in a monthly discount on your insurance bill.