Honestly, from what I've seen, insurers definitely factor in location quite a bit—but each company seems to have its own secret sauce. Some are hyper-sensitive to zip codes, crime stats, or even local weather patterns (seriously, hail claims can be brutal). Others seem to lean more into driving history and personal details. I had a client once who moved literally two streets away—same town, same everything else—and got hit with a noticeable rate bump. When we asked why, the insurer basically shrugged and pointed to their mysterious "risk assessment algorithm."
I guess the skeptic in me wonders if they just spin a wheel sometimes... But joking aside, it might pay off to shop around every couple of years. Different insurers tweak their formulas constantly, so what's pricey today could be cheaper tomorrow. Curious if anyone else has noticed weird quirks like this with their premiums...
"I had a client once who moved literally two streets away—same town, same everything else—and got hit with a noticeable rate bump."
This reminded me of when I moved across town a few years back. Same city, same driving habits, but my premium actually dropped a bit. I was puzzled at first, but after some digging, I realized I'd moved out of a neighborhood that had a higher rate of car break-ins. Apparently, insurers track crime stats pretty closely, even down to specific streets or blocks.
But honestly, I think driving record still matters more overall. My brother lives in a super safe suburb with almost zero crime, but after two speeding tickets in one year, his rates shot up way more than mine ever did from location changes. Seems like insurers weigh location heavily for baseline risk, but your personal driving history can really swing things one way or another.
Definitely agree about shopping around every couple of years though—I've saved hundreds just by switching providers periodically.
Had something similar happen when I moved just a mile away—premium went up slightly. Turns out my new street had more accidents at intersections nearby. Still, nothing compared to the jump after my fender-bender... driving record definitely hits harder than location in my experience.
Funny you mention intersections—I swear some streets are just cursed. My old neighborhood had this one intersection everyone called "bumper car corner" because accidents happened there weekly. Oddly enough, my premium barely budged when I moved away from that chaos, but one minor speeding ticket later... ouch. Makes me wonder, do insurers weigh speeding tickets and minor accidents equally, or is one worse than the other? Seems like they're both pricey mistakes, but maybe someone here knows the inside scoop.
"Oddly enough, my premium barely budged when I moved away from that chaos, but one minor speeding ticket later... ouch."
Yeah, insurers seem to really zero in on speeding tickets. Had a similar experience myself—clean record for years, then one little ticket and bam, rates jumped noticeably. Accidents matter too, but tickets seem sneakily worse on premiums. Hang in there...
