Five ways that you can take charge of your car insurance premiums

While there are some factors contributing to your car insurance premiums that you really don't have much control over, such as your gender or age, the good news is that most other factors are within your grasp of influence. Here are some ways that you can lower your car insurance rates.

Drive safely. One of the most influential factors contributing to your auto insurance premiums is your driving history. If you have a record of making reckless decisions on the road, and frequent involvement in collisions, this will definitely raise your rates. Interestingly enough, research has shown that persons in certain professions are more likely to offend this way: particularly physicians and lawyers. Knowing this, if you are a member of one of the “offending” professions, your own personal driving record is even more important in lowering your rates.

Pay your bills on time. Insurance providers read your credit history as a way of determining the likelihood of future losses. By paying your bills on time, you demonstrate your responsibility; that responsibility in your financial affairs is seen as commutative across other areas of your life: insurers expect that if you do well with your finances, you will do well with driving.

Make your insurance payments on time. Even one day's delay in making your insurance payment can cause your policy to

become canceled. Sending in a late payment doesn't necessarily guarantee that your old plan will automatically restart. If this happens, you will likely find yourself facing the prospect of paying a higher rate for similar services to what you were getting before.

Drive less. To be sure, the whole purpose of owning a car is to drive it; it won't do you much good sitting unused in a garage, collecting dust. That said, by exercising judgment about how and where you use it, you can save money on your premiums. By carpooling and walking when it's convenient to do so, you lower the mileage on your car, which in turn lowers your rates.

Get married. It's true: not only does getting hitched provide you with a lifetime of bliss, it lowers your insurance rates. But methinks our readers do protest...maybe this one isn't as much in your control as the others, so we'll give you one last suggestion.

Shop carefully. If you're in the market for a vehicle, new or used, it's worth sitting down with your insurance provider beforehand to learn which makes and models are expensive to insure, and which are the most affordable to insure. This is because certain vehicles are more prone to theft, while others are expensive to repair or replace. For example, minivans and SUVS are among the cheapest types of cars to insure. Since the specifics of this information changes from year to year, you definitely want to speak to a pro about this one.