Study Finds Good Driving Record Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Lowest Rate

[Teh One Who Knocks]

CBS 4 Denver




DENVER (CBS4) – A new study looked at how much insurance companies charged customers, and it was a bit surprising.

A good driving record doesn’t necessarily mean the driver will get the lowest rate. In fact, the new study by the Consumer Federation of America says the rate has little to do with getting behind the wheel at all.

“(The study found) that the impact of factors like education, occupation and credit scores, things like that, are more important than your driving record,” J. Robert Hunter with the Consumer Federation of America said.

The study compared two women drivers. One was a receptionist who had a high school education, was single and rented her home; but she had never been in an accident. The other was a woman with a master’s degree and married. She had been in an accident with hundreds of dollars in damages.

“Two-thirds of the time the person with no accident was paying more, sometimes as much as 2,000 more, than the person with the accident,” Hunter said.



The study looked at five different auto insurance companies in 12 cities, including Denver. The Consumer Federation of America found GEICO and Progressive charged the better driver — the receptionist — more for a year’s policy.

“We did this particular study to confirm what we found all over the country,” Hunter said.

CBS4 asked the American Insurance Association about the report, and it claimed the report draws overly-broad conclusions.

The bottom line is to shop around.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

What does your credit score have to do with your driving?