Why does my job impact my car insurance?

When it comes to insuring your car, your occupation and what you use your car for can increase or decrease the premium you have to pay. Read this guide to find out more.

Do you use your car for business purposes?

Insurers want to know if your job requires you to you travel regularly and if your vehicle will be carrying stock or equipment.

Even if you only use your vehicle to go to work and come home, your occupation can still mean that you have to pay more – and, even if you don’t use your car to commute, it can still be a rating factor. However, your job isn’t the only factor used to calculate your premium. Other factors like your age, where you live, and how many years no claims discount you have will be considered, too.

What are the most expensive occupations?

The occupations that top the charts are those that insurers deem as most likely to make a claim.

As the insurer’s view of the level of risk is used to determine premiums, drivers with occupations that are considered to be high-risk can usually expect to pay the highest prices for their car insurance.[1]

Be open and honest 

When applying for motor insurance, you’ll be asked to select your occupation from a list provided by the insurer. If your occupation isn’t listed, you should select the occupation that’s closest to it or contact your insurer. 

If you select an occupation that isn’t similar to what you really do because you want a lower premium, you risk invalidating your policy, if you make a claim in the future. It’s also worth noting that some occupations are not acceptable to some insurers. 

You’ll also have to state whether you need your policy to cover social, domestic, pleasure, commuting, business and/or commercial use. 

If you don’t need to drive your car as part of your job, you should be fine selecting a social, domestic, pleasure and commuting policy, which allows you to drive to and from one place of work. If you do need to use your car as part of your job or you need to travel to more than one place of work, you’ll require either business use[2] or commercial insurance[3]. 

To find out about the car insurance Rias can offer, and to get a quote, click here >