Texting And Driving Impact On Your Car Insurance

​The decision to text and drive is a dangerous one, but many people continue doing it as if their insurance rates don't matter. It's not just the person on the phone who suffers; everyone else does too, due to increased car accident risk.

What Happens If You Personally Text and Drive
So how safe are you really when it comes to texting and driving? A lot of insurance companies have been tracking cell phone use for the drivers they insure, which means that if this doesn't stop soon then car insurance premiums will continue to increase. 

Car accidents happen every day because people think nothing can go wrong as long as they're not on their phone while driving but many lives depend on your hands being off the wheel at all times!

If we don’t change our habits now in regard to texts during a drive, rates may keep rising until eventually, no one is able to afford coverage even with good grades or without any major violations.

Types of Distracted Driving 
Distracted driving can be physical, manual, or cognitive. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says that these three categories fall into four main types of distractions: visual, mental, auditory, and other sensory disturbances like pain from an injury. 

• Visual: when people's eyes are off the road they might not see something in front of them coming which could cause a car accident to occur.
• Manual: when their hands come off the steering wheel 
• Cognitive: any time you're mind does anything besides just drive 

How Much Should You Expect
Dedicated attention to the road is becoming a hard-to-find commodity. Since 2011, insurance premiums have risen by 20 percent nationwide because of distracted drivers who are not solely focused on their driving while behind the wheel. 

This can be attributed in part due to teenage and young adult drivers as well; these demographics will see larger increases than others when it comes time for them to shop around for car insurance coverage options.

Other Reasons Why Insurance Premiums Are Rising
While distracted driving is a significant factor, it's not the only factor. Insurance companies have to weigh many different factors before setting rates. These include gas prices, a booming economy, congested roads that lead to accidents, vehicle upgrades, and repairs. 

How to Avoid Paying More for Car Insurance
You can make your driving experience safer and more rewarding by using the tools that insurance companies provide such as tracking apps in order to monitor your behavior. Using these new technologies, you will be able to avoid accidents while earning discounts on car insurance rates for good safety habits.

Conclusion
A piece of advice: Stop texting and driving. You don't only save money from paying increased rates in car insurance, but you could save someone else's life too. 

At Hayek Insurance, we do our best to ensure that our clients are well-protected with affordable and comprehensive policies. We make sure to go the extra mile to help you with your needs. To learn more about how we can help you, please contact our agency at (805) 496-8835 or Click Here to request a free quote.