Your premium is calculated using different factors and variables, the most important of which is the policy or package you carry (the more options, the more coverage, the higher the premium). The coverage limits you specify also play a role.

The higher your coverage limit, the more coverage you’ll receive, but you’ll generally pay higher premiums for that coverage. (Lowering your coverage limits typically lowers your premiums. Talk to your agent to see if you can save money.)

For example, let’s say damage repairs total $1,500. If your deductible is set at $500, then you’ll pay the first $500, and we’ll pay the remaining $1,000 to get your car fixed and back on the road. Alternately, if your accident results in, say, $500 worth of damage (or less), you’ll cover all repair costs, as the amount falls within your set deductible.

A lower deductible means you’ll pay less out-of-pocket after an accident; however, this increased coverage will result in a higher premium. (Alternately, increasing your deductible can help bring your premiums down, but will also increase your out-of-pocket expenses.)

When evaluating your road résumé, in most states, we’ll look at the last 36 months on record. (If we’re investigating past accidents, we may look at the past 60 months on record.) A clean driving record means you’ll likely pay a lower premium, as well as qualify for money-saving discounts as a result of your safe driving.

Alternately, if you have a number of moving violations, accidents, or previous insurance claims within that time period, you may have to pay a higher premium to cover the additional risk associated with poor driving records.

Your insurance score is an excellent predictor of the insurance losses you may incur in the future. If you’re a customer who’s less likely to incur insurance losses, these scores also help us reward you with lower premiums.

Some of the factors that help determine your insurance score include: long-established relationships with credit lenders, low debt balances, a low number of recently-opened accounts, and a low number of requests for higher credit limits or additional credit.

Insurance scores also take into consideration things like bankruptcies, judgments, collections, and delinquencies. And we’ll evaluate all of these variables in a very grounded, balanced way, allowing positive factors to outweigh negative ones for a solid overall rating. (These factors may vary from state to state.)

For more information about how we use your credit information, click here: http://www.allstate.com/about/credit.aspx

As you can see, a lot of different things work together to determine your premium. If you still have questions, or if you’d like to make any changes to your policy, talk to your Allstate agent or call 1-800- ALLSTATE® and one of our qualified, knowledgeable insurance representatives will be delighted to help.