Variety of variables complicate car insurance picture

By Sara Malik
Read This! writer

Face it, if you have a car, you have to have insurance. And it can cost you some serious cash.

Shopping for insurance can be confusing because a lot of factors determine your rate: age and gender, driving experience, where you live, your car model and make. And prices vary from company to company, so be prepared to shop around and do some research.

One way to control costs is to consider insurance rates for the kind of car you would like to buy. Daphne Lau, an agent for Farmers Insurance in Fremont, said she advises teens to go for older cars because new cars are more expensive to insure.

``A one-year difference can make a day-or-night change in the price,'' she said.

You can also save money with discounts offered by some insurance companies:

Good-student discounts. A high grade-point average, high class ranking, or a place on the dean's list or honor roll can qualify full-time students for lower rates.

Group discounts. Think about being listed as a secondary driver on your parents' policy, Lau said. Being listed as the primary driver of a car is a more expensive option.

Good-driver discounts. Traffic tickets and accidents lead to higher insurance rates.

To illustrate how many factors go into figuring out prices, Lau offered these unofficial rate quotes as examples: A 17-year-old girl who qualifies for the good-student discount, drives a 2004 Honda Civic LX, lives in Fremont and has full coverage with a $1,000 deductible pays $130.33 a month.

Teen boys pay more than teen girls. If the 17-year-old driving the Honda were a boy, the monthly rate for the same policy would jump to $211.47.

Daniel Goulart, a senior at Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, knows he could pay a lot for insurance, so he has done things to keep his rates down.

``For one thing, I've only gotten one ticket,'' he said. ``I've never had any points against me. I've never had a fender bender.''

He said one reason he bought a 1966 Volkswagen Beetle was cheaper insurance.

And thanks to a handful of rate discounts -- good-student discount, good-driver discount and classic-car discount -- Goulart pays $78 a month.

``For a male driver, I don't pay much,'' he said.