Does where you live impact your auto insurance premiums? Getting a clear understanding of its effect will help you make better decisions when buying your next house: You will see how saving a few hundred on a new home might actually cost you thousands in auto insurance costs over the course of a few years.

Here are some of the reasons.

Your new home’s location will largely determine your automobile mileage in a number of ways. If you live far from the places you frequently go to you will accumulate higher mileage. Take your place of employment for example: If your home is 20 miles from your place of employment and you drive there five days a week, you’ll accumulate four times as much mileage as your neighbor whose office is just 5 miles away.

The area you live in will determine whether you’ll have access to standard public transit. Using public transit will definitely help you cut down your rate.

If your place of residence has a high crime rate, this will be a major factor in determining your auto insurance rates. The reason for this is your area’s crime rate will affect your risk of vandalism and theft.

If you are deciding to move to new home in a different area, take some time out to do these calculate. The little bit of money you save on your new home might be totally negated by the rate increase you incurred on auto insurance premium.

Furthermore, take some time to do thorough comparison shopping to locate insurers who offer better rates to your zip code. Different insurance company’s rates will vary widely.

Remember when you’re shopping for a new place to live; get multiple auto insurance quotes to compare auto insurance for the different areas you are interested in. If your new area adds $200 to your annual auto insurance costs, you’ll pay an extra $4,000 over the course of 20 years!