Are you in the market for a new auto insurance plan? Do you feel like there are mysterious forces pulling your rates skyward? Are there dangerous secrets lurking behind those seemingly innocuous quotes?

Okay, there's no conspiracy and the insurance company (probably) won't be sending any shady men in black knocking on your door for reading this article. There are, however, a pretty wide range of factors that influence your car insurance rates. Some of these are pretty commonly known, some are a little more obscure, and some are trade secrets that the insurance companies keep to themselves. This article will provide you with a short overview of a few of these factors so that you can better understand the free insurance quote that you receive.

Actuarial Tables

There is a secret master at your insurance company, and its name is "the actuarial table."

In most cases, actuarial tables are just computer programs backed by huge amounts of data. The purpose of the table is to analyze pretty much everything about you and spit out a rate based on that information. While this may seem a bit like a shadowy figure pulling on the strings of your insurance agent, it is really just a convenient way to determine risk based on demographics.

How does it work? In simple terms, it's all about correlation. The tables try to match up demographic information with statistics on accident costs or the likelihood of filing a claim. The idea is that certain demographic groups will be costlier to insure and so rates for those groups should be higher. This can feel unfair on a personal level, but it is the best way to gauge risk in an impartial manner. More to the point, it is has a proven track record of accuracy.

It's Not Just About Your Driving Record

You may think that your insurance rates are mostly about your driving history, but the insurance company is actually taking a number of other factors into account as well. Even with a clean driving record, your rates may be higher as a result of the area that you live in, the car that you drive, your marital status, or even your credit score. In fact, there are a wide variety of non-vehicle-related issues that could influence your rate up or down.

Remember that the goal of the insurance company is to assess your risk in an objective way. These factors may seem unrelated to car insurance from the outside, but if they affect your rates, then the insurance company has data which shows a correlation with increased claims or accident costs. Insurance agents can sometimes make special exceptions and reduce your rates, however, so it's still worth talking to a human if you aren't happy with the initial quote that you receive.

Your Driving History Is Still King

Even though the all-seeing actuarial tables will peer into mountains of demographic data, it is still ultimately your driving record that has the largest influence on your insurance rates. Making a claim against your own collision insurance, for example, can cause your premiums to increase significantly. Likewise, being involved in an at-fault accident is likely to cause a pretty massive bump in your rates.

So, while it is strangely true that you can potentially reduce your premiums by getting married or improving your credit score, at the end of the day there really isn't a shadowy cabal working to keep your rates up.