Do you know a school bursar would be quoted £372 while a so-called window cleaner would be subjected to £4,607 when both of them are ensuring the same vehicle in the same postcode? Yes, your occupation would have a decisive impact on your insurance rate. Make no mistake, it’s not about income, but what you do for a living or precisely your job title would play a key role in determining the rate of your insurance premium. Many professionals don’t know that a high-risk job always means a higher insurance rate.

It’s worth noting that there are certain careers that are statistically tagged with a higher risk of accidents and, hence, are dubbed as high-risk job careers. When you are in a job that is likely to witness crashes and collisions, it would invariably heighten the possibility of claims for the insurance companies, and they share the burden with you with higher premiums. For example, suppose you are a professional car racer. In that case, you are more likely to get into accidents given your extremely speedy driving compared to one in a much safer profession, say a teacher. Needless to say, here, insurance companies view you as a high-risk job and hence always subject you to a higher insurance rate than the teacher.

According to market studies, insurance companies deem medical professionals as the most high-risk drivers, while car dealers are considered to be the least accident-prone drivers. Consequently, doctors are supposed to pay higher insurance rates, while auto dealers face some of the lowest premiums. Studies reveal that 28% of GPs make a minimum of 1 insurance claim in 3 years, but on the contrary, only a meagre 3.95 per cent of car dealers are found to make a claim in three years.

Here is a brief overview of which jobs are considered high-risk occupations by insurance companies and, hence, are subject to higher premium rates.

• Doctors
• Estate Agents
• Lawyers
• Architects
• Salespeople
• Business owners & executives
• Athletes
• Photographers

Now, why are such careers considered high-risk careers? Well, the logic behind it is pretty simple. All the jobs usually involve overtime, higher stress levels and fewer hours of sleep. Most of these professionals have to work in chaotic situations that stress them more. Now, all such factors contribute to a restless mind that can eventually drive to higher accident risks during driving. As we all know, the greater the risk of accidents, the greater the number of claims for the insurance companies, which materialize with increased insurance rates.

Besides, most such jobs require the professional to stay on the road for a longer period of time, and the longer you stay on the road, the greater the likelihood of on-road mishaps.

Again, some occupations are considered low-risk jobs by insurance companies as they are believed to have a lower number of crashes and collisions compared to high-risk job careers. It’s little wonder that insurance companies would be more relaxed with these occupations and hence would extend lower insurance premiums. These jobs include:

• Teachers
• Artists
• Accountants
• Scientists
• Nurses
• Accountants

It’s because such professions are deemed stable, and the professionals here are generally detail-oriented. A detailed-oriented persona would generally show a calmer and more patient mind and hence would be naturally gentle with the steering. When you are so responsible behind the steering, there will always be fewer risks of accidents and invariably fewer chances of claims.

As you can see, if you are in a so-called high-risk job, you can’t avoid higher insurance rates. But still, if you can tweak the job title slightly, you can somehow receive a comparatively lower rate. Now, that certainly doesn’t mean that you would lie about the actual job, as it would be a fraudulent activity on your part. If the insurance providers find out about the truth while paying the claims, you might have to pay dire consequences. Basically, the word “tweaking” here implies presenting the job title in a certain way that would not place you as much in a high-risk job category. This is especially applicable to jobs that have multiple job descriptions.

Here are a few examples of how to achieve lower insurance premiums if you are in a high-risk occupation.

Nurse vs. care assistant

If you describe your job as a “nurse”, you might have to pay £334 instead of £375, which is common with jobs described as “care assistants”.

Administration vs. civil servant

A job described as “civil servant” would generally get £30+ savings compared to a job described as “administration clerk”.

Studio photographer vs. wedding photographer

If you are into wedding photography, it’s smarter to describe your job as “photographer” or “studio photographer”. Citing your job directly as a “wedding photographer” would result in £120 more in insurance premiums.

Factory worker vs. machinist

If you quote your job as a machinist, you might subjected to a £392. But if you are smart enough to quote it as “factory worker”, you would be quoted a much lower £364.

Newspaper reporter vs. journalist

The job of a journalist is often deemed as a high-risk occupation and hence attracts higher insurance rates. But then, if you quote it as “newspaper reporter”, you can save as much as £27 on your insurance premium.

However, as well as tweaking your job title, you should also make a comparative study between insurance companies while finalizing your insurance policy. It’s to stress here that regardless of the job title, the quotes will always vary a little from one provider to another, and you have to make the most of it. So, never settle with the first insurance provider you come across. Always get a comparison study on at least four potential insurance providers. Besides, you should also keep in mind the insurance provider’s reputation.