According to some estimates, American drivers overpay, or shall we say “throw money down the toilet” on their auto insurance by an estimated $21 billion per year.

Did you know the exact same driver could be charged $36 per month by one insurance company and $123 per month by another?

Your auto insurance rate depends on who you are as a driver, as well as your age, your credit, your vehicle, and your location. How insurance companies weigh these attributes is reflected in your premium. You could end up paying a lot more by choosing the wrong company or failing to compare enough companies.

For example, having a limited driving history or a poor credit score can be a very big factor for one company but not so much for other.

Some companies offer the best rates if you have a squeaky-clean record, but are more expensive if you don’t. Others are quite the opposite, offering reasonable rates for high-risk drivers who otherwise would find it prohibitively expensive to get insured.

So is it basically your fault for not comparing quotes from multiple companies every 6-18 months to get your rates reduced? Not necessarily. Car insurance companies too have some tricks up their sleeves that get you to pay more. Here are 3 of them that they don’t want you to know about.

1) Safe, loyal drivers aren’t always rewarded with cheaper rates.

You expect your car insurance rates to increase after you buy a new vehicle, cause a crash or add a young driver to your policy. But some insurers jack up prices based on seemingly unrelated data — like your magazine subscriptions or what groceries you buy.

Even if you have a clean driving record and have stayed loyal to your insurance company for the past 10 years, you could be paying higher premiums than someone with the same driving history, car and background. Why? Price optimization.

What is price optimization?

Price optimization is the practice of charging higher rates based on the likelihood that a person will not shop around for a lower price. Insurers create algorithms based on all kinds of personal data, including loyalty to other service providers and shopping behavior, but not your driving habits. This is a separate formula from other common auto insurance rate factors like age, neighborhood, gender and the type of car you drive.

Factors can run the gamut from your magazine subscriptions, the number of phones you buy and your web browsing history. This means a company’s most loyal customers may be most affected by this practice.

And while it’s true insurers often have a loyalty discount, if you’re overcharged by 30%, a 5% loyalty discount isn’t worth it. It’s almost always better to switch companies because rates offered by your new carrier will be significantly lower than what you are currently paying.

2) You don’t always have to insure all drivers in your home.

When you buy a car insurance policy, that policy will cover more than just you, the primary driver. Your car insurance policy covers everyone in your household – like roommates or family members who might drive your vehicle with your permission. Your car insurance company will analyze the risk of other drivers in your household when setting up your policy. If one member in your household has a DUI or an at-fault collision on his or her record, then you might pay significantly higher insurance rates. In this case, you can exclude a certain driver from your policy. You pay cheaper car insurance rates and that driver can’t drive your vehicle.

Similarly, in many states, you don’t need to add a teen driver to your insurance policy at all. If your teenage child is living at home and has a learner’s permit (not a full license), then he or she can drive your vehicle without making any modifications to your car insurance. You still have to abide by the rules of your learner’s permit (like having an adult in the vehicle at all times), but you don’t have to pay exorbitant teenage car insurance costs.

3) When it comes to car insurance, driving less means saving more.

Low-mileage car insurance applies to vehicles that aren’t driven very far or very frequently. There can be any number of reasons for this. Maybe you’re unemployed now or work from home due to Covid-19. Maybe you started using public transportation or rely on rideshare services such as carpooling, Uber, or Lyft. Whatever the reason, if you’re not driving much, then you shouldn’t have to pay more for car insurance.

Am I a Low-Mileage Driver?

In general, low-mileage drivers are people who drive less than 7,500 miles per year. That’s not a hard line, and some insurers use a different number. Additionally, many drivers may not be eligible for a low-mileage discount until they’ve been with their insurance company for a certain number of years or they’ve hit a certain level of mileage.