Most drivers know their car insurance premiums will increase if they drive recklessly, cause an at-fault accident or receive too many speeding tickets. But many cautious policyholders don't realize that other activities, such as texting while driving, can also cause their premiums to rise.
Auto insurance companies are paying close attention to the everyday factors that cause people to get into wrecks, says Robert U'Ren, senior vice president of Quality Planning Corp., a San Francisco company that helps auto insurers to validate information for underwriting policies.
Anything a person does that distracts him while driving, from reading a text message to drinking coffee, increases the chance that he could get into an accident and makes him riskier to insure, says U'Ren. "If the driver does get into an accident as a result of his behavior, his next policy renewal would reflect it."
Experts say the following five activities could bump up the car insurance rates of unwitting drivers.