For Low Cost Auto Insurance, Know Your Vehicle Insurance Rating
by Efin Advisor | September 19, 2009
When it comes to getting more insurance value for every dollar, you’re in the driver’s seat if you’re sitting at your desktop or laptop computer. By shopping online for low-cost insurance, you can easily navigate among rates from several companies quickly and easily on the Web. While online insurance comparison shopping can put you miles ahead in the category of automobile insurance, another important factor where car insurance is concerned is the vehicle insurance rating.
Insurance underwriters evaluate an automotive policy by rating a vehicle in terms of size, weight, performance, theft ratings, crash ratings, and safety features. If the cost of insurance is a concern, you would be well advised to get quotes on a few different cars you’re interested before finalizing the purchase decision. The difference in premium between an older 4 cylinder compact car to a newer truck or SUV can be substantial.
Why are SUV’s and trucks more expensive to insure?
Higher premiums on larger vehicles are a rule of the road for several reasons. The logic is simple. If you’re involved in an accident in a larger vehicle you are at higher risk of causing serious injury or death to the other driver. If the truck is a four wheel drive vehicle, the insurance company runs the risk of an off-road accident.
You will find the rates on a smaller four-door vehicle more affordable than you will on any truck, SUV or high performance car. While this is true for most smaller vehicles there will always be a few smaller cars that still hold higher rates due to theft statistics. In 2007 the Honda Civic made the number 1 spot for highest theft occurrence. The Ford Taurus was noted to have the lowest theft rating. With a smaller vehicle you in most cases will cause very little damage to the other vehicle in an auto accident.
High performance sports cars
Of course you will see some of the highest rates on high performance sports cars. Sports cars have such high rating on these vehicles, young drivers can’t even come close to owning a sports car unless they are prepared to pay the high cost premiums that come with them. Some just wait until they’re 60 or 70 before buying their dream sports car. You’ve seen them on the roads.
When planning a purchase of a new vehicle, you need to keep in mind the tips above to estimate how much the insurance will cost you. When in doubt, you can always call your insurance agent.
SUV drivers pay a ton to insure their vehicles by virtue of their mass. Maybe with the fuel crisis hitting Americans hard, more drivers will turn to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles in the coming years.
Reply
I’ve always been fascinated by the notion that a red sports car will be stopped more often for tickets than any other color. Wonder if that means higher insurance?
Reply
What if you own a high maintenance vehicle AND a tow truck? I;m guessing the insurance policy would discount the towing portion. Seems like climate ought to play a bigger part than car type as it is more difficult to drive a car in snow and rain than on dry pavement.
Reply
Shopping online is the ONLY way to go to get the best deal on ANY kind of insurance. Unless, that is, you like being pressured into buying the one policy your local agent is selling. Thanks Efinancial for giving us a choice!
Reply
I’ve been working on cars for nearly 30 years as a certified mechanic and can vouch for the fact that some cars are simply more expensive to repair than others. Naturally the insurance premium needs to take those differences into account.
Reply