Insurance companies are in business to make money, not necessarily to provide you with the best service.

They calculate rates based on formulas that frequently change. There really isn't much of a rhyme or reason beyond wanting to maximize profit.

My insurance company has tried to raise my rates in this way a few times. Each time, they say that the parent company adjusted the boundaries of city limits and that slightly adjusted rates.

Call around to a few other companies. Ask them for quotes.

After you receive them, call your current insurance company and send them the lowest 2 quotes you have received. Ask them to beat it or you're leaving.

If you have a good payment history and few or no claims, they'll roll.

Factors can influence the price of your insurance rates. being married, owning a home or land, having kids, being over or under a certain age range. I know this because I have experienced the rate changes myself. If you really want to know call your agent and ask him to explain it. After all you are paying him for a "service" I use the term loosely.

I think you already answered your own question. "I've maintained the same job with the same distance driven to work." Just because your the same doesn't mean the environment your living in is. Has the population in your area changed? more people? more people with no or little insurance? have the roads in your area change? how about the state laws?(did the change the minimum coverage required?)

The assumption I think you made is that insurance is based on you as a driver solely. This is actually not true. It's based on many factors. So in your case the age of your car actually works against you. As your car gets older it's prone to more failures some of which could cause you to have an accident.

There is inflation. Your dollar isn't worth as much as it was 6 months ago. In your case if it's been steady for a couple of years they could have been holding your rate at the same amount and just finally reached some threshold at which they decided they need to compensate for inflation.

It's obvious that some people who have answered already feel that insurance is a evil empire. Although it is true that they work to maximize profits it's also true they do so to mostly your benefit. The try and group you into a pool of folks who have the same basic risk and give you all a better rate because of it.

Finally you could just ask your insurance company. Why they raised the rate. I also agree with somebody else idea that you should probably shop around if you have been with the same insurance for a while. But be ABSOLUTELY sure you compare apples to apples. Make sure all parts of the insurance are the same the deductibles, payouts, and exactly what is covered(what one insurer considers acts of god does not always match anothers).

Good Luck in your quest!

Insurance companies are now using credit reports as a part of the coverage process. They can grant/deny insurance based on your credit score and premiums an also be affected.

hmmm.. Auto insurance rates for an area is based on claims made for the area. Some insurance providers have been adding a poor risk based on credit ratings, which can be affected {negatively} by such sillyness as how many times it's checked. It's also possible your coverage may be more then the worth of your vehicle

Three possible reasons come to mind:

1) All rates are increasing throughout the company portfolio to change the balance sheet. For example, if your company experienced greater losses in the previous year than anticipated, it would pass the increased cost to customers in the following year.

2) You and your vehicle can age into and out of different risk categories. The most notorious of these, by the way, is the young male aging into lower rates as he hits milestones in his 20's and 30's.

3) Finally, the company is passing on a "cost of living" style increase in anticipation of inflation during 2009.

~ Toast