According to the California insurance regulator, in CA an auto premium is based on three primary factors: how long you have had your license, how many miles you drive in a year, and how many accidents or tickets you have.

California Proposition 103, which was enacted in 1988, established uniform guidelines upon which your CA auto rates would be determined. The three primary factors were then established.

An insurance company can also use a variety of secondary factors to determine premium, but the most important secondary factor is the frequency and severity of claims the company has experienced in the area where you live. Since claim experience differs between companies, the premium charged by insurance companies can greatly vary. That is why you need to shop around for the best car insurance rates.

In all there are 16 secondary rating factors which may be used in any combination to determine your specific rates and calculate your individual premium based on an insurance company’s filing with the California Department of Insurance (CDI).

The secondary factors must not be weighted as heavily as the primary factors in the rate premium calculation. These secondary rating factors may include marital status, frequency and severity of claims in the geographic area where your car is garaged, gender, vehicle type, etc.

So age and gender may be secondary factors used by some insurance companies however factors such as of your driving record, the number of miles driven annually and the number of years of driving experience will still be primary factors that are weighted more heavily.