As you strive to find the best rates for your homeowners and auto coverage, you might think shopping around is the way to manage affordability. However, costs are increasing for everything–groceries, gasoline, and other household expenses–and so are costs for insurers that impact your premiums. Before changing your policy or carrier, consider some factors that can affect your rates and learn how an annual insurance checkup can position you to get the coverage right for you.

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Auto insurers price their policies based on a number of factors. Sometimes these cost factors go up, and sometimes they go down. In most states, costs are currently rising. Your actions, as a policyholder, can affect what you pay, too. For instance, if you add another car, or a teenaged driver to your policy, your costs will increase. Alternatively, your costs will decrease if you drop either a car or a driver from your policy.

Auto insurance premiums are calculated using a many factors—and some insurers give more weight to some factors than others. The cost of an auto insurance policy is generally determined by the amount of coverage, types of coverage chosen and other factors.

Once you have a clear picture of how you use your car and your priorities, you’re ready to shop for insurance. Generally, it’s a good idea to compare policies from at least three different insurers.

You’ll want to consider fundamental factors such as coverage and price, but it’s also worth evaluating prospective insurers as well. The following are the most important factors to consider.

The vehicle you own, your personal priorities and your budget all factor into your unique auto insurance needs. Before comparing policies and insurers, evaluate how you use your car and what risks you face to figure out what options make the best sense for you.

For parents, the excitement of having a first-time driver in the house is usually tempered with worry. With little driving experience, immature drivers are at a higher risk for accidents. Of course, safety concern is uppermost in most parents' minds but other stressors—like the high cost of insuring your new driver and the financial liability implications of a teen driving mishap—can be reduced with these steps.

When purchasing an auto policy, it’s important to understand the factors that affect your policy costs and coverage. Unfortunately, there's a lot of bad information that passes for "common wisdom"—here, we separate myth from facts about car insurance.

In order to obtain a price for an auto policy you'll need to provide your insurance professional with the following information.

About the car

For each car you want to insure, know: