Whenever we need to buy any kind of insurance, we start by comparing the annual premiums, and then we compare the coverage criteria. However, if you consider buying car insurance, you often get an unpleasant surprise to see higher premiums quoted in your car insurance quotes, as compared to someone else with a similar car.

This happens because we do not have a complete understanding of the underwriting principles applied by the insurer when they give us a quote for, say, auto insurance. There are several factors that could affect our premium amount, many of which we are not aware of when we ask for a quote.

Let us have a look at some of these lesser-known factors:

Education
Insurers assume that the more educated a person is; the chances of the person damaging his own health or that of his car are lesser. Therefore, when two people compare car insurance for the same vehicle, the person who has a lower education or holds a blue-collar job is likely to be charged a higher premium.

Family health
While looking for health insurance, most people get irritated at having to fill up complete details about prior diseases and present health condition of family members. However, if your parents happen to be diabetic, then your health insurance premium might increase automatically even if you are not diabetic yourself.

Location
If you are taking home insurance, then your premium is likely to be higher if your home is located in an area which has a higher crime rate; even if your own house is pretty secure.

Location, again
When you are looking for a cheap car insurance, the state where you stay would affect your premium. Insurers check the past claim history of that state and adjust their premiums accordingly.

Profession
For life insurance and health insurance, the kind of job you have would play a big role in deciding the annual premium you would be charged. Too sedentary a job (like a clerk) would invite higher health insurance premiums, while too risky a job (like a firefighter) would affect the premium rate differently.

Hobbies
Not only having a regular job but also taking part in risky hobbies like skydiving or cross-country motorcycling can jack up the insurance premiums for life insurance.

Driving behavior
Just as past diseases can result in a higher health insurance premium, similarly a person looking for cheap auto insurance would not be able to get the best rates if he/she has any speeding tickets or parking fines history.

Driving power
Even the horsepower of your vehicle would affect the car insurance premium. The stronger the engine, the higher the insurance premium rate.

Earlier history of homes
Insurers usually share and exchange claim history with each other and this is true for home insurance as well. If a particular house has had a history of water seepage claims, then the premium would be higher.

Credit scores
This is the last, but by no means the least surprising element on this list. Your credit score is not only assessed when you apply for a loan, but some auto insurers also consider a low credit score to be an indicator of rash driving.