High auto insurance rates? Your job might be to blame. Auto insurance providers use your education and occupation to determine your rates.

Insurance companies ask about your education level and current occupation to determine your auto insurance premium, but have you ever wondered why? Like much of the information that insurance companies use to determine your insurance rates, there are both simple and less obvious reasons for them doing so.

Some occupations are proven to attract prudent drivers. For example, scientists pay some of the lowest auto insurance rates. Engineers, teachers, and pilots are also in this most-preferred tier. Analytical occupations like those found in the scientific community do not attract the risk-taking, swashbuckling demeanor of stock brokers, restaurateurs, and the like. Insurance companies assume that the even-keeled mindset of engineers, teachers, and similar professionals is reflected in their driving habits.

Are you curious to see if your occupation is helping or hurting your insurance premiums? Check your auto insurance rates to compare quotes from the top carriers in the country.

According to a 2007 report from Florida Office Of Insurance Regulation, "The most pervasive use of this practice is currently that of GEICO." GEICO actually places consumers into tiers based on (among other factors) their education and occupation. These tiers are separate companies: GEICO General, GEICO Indemnity, GEICO Casualty, and the original GEICO (Government Employee Insurance Company). These four separate companies, while all ostensibly "GEICO" from a consumer standpoint, are drastically different in their pricing structure.

While the assumptions that GEICO and other underwriters make in regards to education and occupation have merit, they don't tell the full story. A 2004 study by the Quality Panning Corporation (QPC) found that drivers with "preferred" occupations often get in as many or more car accidents. Several surprising occupations made the top ten, including student (#1), doctor (#2), attorney (#3), and engineer (#10).

So why do doctors pay less for auto insurance than manual laborers if they are involved in more car accidents? If doctors cost the insurance companies more money, the insurance companies would be foolish to reward them with better rates (not to mention that such flagrant generosity from a large insurance company would be completely out of character). In fact, in spite of their poor driving records, doctors are still cheaper to insure. Why? Drivers with "preferred" occupations file less claims than drivers with "high-risk" occupations. "Risk" is relative term here—it translates more accurately as "risk of filing an insurance claim" instead of "risk of getting into a car accident." For example, a doctor with a $150,000 salary involved in a minor fender-bender is much more likely to pay for damages out of pocket than a laborer making $10 an hour.

Because many accidents are not reported to insurance companies, state accident data and insurance claim data do not have a one-to-one correlation. Unreported accidents usually involve people with the fortunate ability to pay for the damages out of pocket rather than file an insurance claim. In other words, people that have high-paying jobs file fewer auto insurance claims.

Your occupation directly affects your auto insurance premium, but insurance underwriters weigh its impact differently. Request auto insurance quotes to find out which insurance company treats your profession the best.