What's a High Risk Driver?

A second. A second of inattention is all it takes to guarantee that you're going to be spending the next five years scrambling for car insurance that isn't going to leave you on a strict diet of Ramen and water as you pay more in premiums than you pay for your mortgage. Why? Because you're now considered to be a high risk driver.

What's a high risk driver? Think of it this way. Insurance companies make their money off of the premiums they collect every year. They use some of that money to pay claims, the rest of it goes into their overhead costs, marketing costs, development costs and, finally, their profit margins. Their goal is to get as much money as possible from point A to point B, and the easiest way for them to do that is to minimize the amount of money they pay out in claims.

Of course, since they can't actually sit behind you in your car and make sure you're following safe driver practices to a "T" (although they'd probably like to sometimes) the best they can do is screen their policy holders to identify who's less likely to be involved in an accident and, therefore, is less likely to need to file a claim. These customers cost them less money and, as a result, pay them less money each year.

On the flip side of the coin you have your drivers who are statistically more likely to be involved in one or more accidents each year and, by default, are likely to be both expensive and high maintenance. These are your "high risk" drivers, a list that includes:

1) Teenagers.

2) Anyone else who hasn't been driving long enough for the ink to dry on their driver's license.

3) Stunt drivers.

4) Drivers with a penchant for flying down the highway or doing zero to sixty in a residential area-and who have the speeding tickets to go with it.

5) Drivers who have been responsible for multiple accidents in the past five years.

6) Anyone with a penchant for slipping behind the wheel after one too many Long Island Iced Teas.

7) Motorcyclists, and other "high risk" (read: fun to drive recklessly) vehicle drivers.

There are some things that can't be avoided, like kamikaze squirrels and all-but-invisible black ice, and insurance companies recognize this. You won't be labeled a "high risk" driver the first time you go off the road in a white out, although you may catch an ear full about why you were out there in the first place. After your fifth or sixth accident, however, you may find that finding affordable insurance coverage isn't as easy as it used to be. Enough tickets and accidents and you may not be able to find insurance at all. Being labeled a high risk driver is the final nail in the coffin of affordable car insurance.

Anthony M. Peck is the Senior Developer, Software Project manager and Director of Business Development for QuoteScout.com. For more information on cheap high risk auto insurance visit them on the web at http://www.QuoteScout.com