The vehicle you own, your personal priorities and your budget all factor into your unique auto insurance needs. Before comparing policies and insurers, evaluate how you use your car and what risks you face to figure out what options make the best sense for you.

Rating variables are an indispensable tool for setting the cost of insurance and restricting their use can have unintended consequences, according to a new paper released jointly by the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) and the Insurance Information Institute.