Car Insurance by Make and Model

You don’t want to wait until you actually have an accident to find out how much your auto insurance is going to cost you - and, unfortunately, neither does your provider. Insurance companies may not be the big bad wolf in the business world, but premiums and deductibles still represent a big portion of your budget. Because these expenses aren’t going to wait until you hit something before they start appearing in your checkbook, you shouldn’t wait on your planning. No matter if you own a Mercedes, a Kia, or just an empty garage looking for vehicular companionship, knowing a little about how insurance companies look at the make and model of your car will help you in purchase and insurance decisions.

Driver history and age as well as location and level of coverage all influence how insurance companies set premiums, but these factors are dependent upon life, work, and other harder-to-regulate causes. When it comes to your insurance, your type of car is one factor over which you have more control; as well, the safety of your driving is another, related issue that you can address. The Highway Loss Data Institute compiles a yearly list of top-rated vehicles for safety regarding various types of cars. Insurance companies generally offer less expensive rates to lower-risk, lower-cost, and safer vehicles. Larger cars often fit some of these criteria, but no matter your car, we can use data from HLDI to show you how it places in the scheme of insurance pricing.
Three years of top safety-rated vehicles are available from HLDI. Among those that have been on this list in all three years are the Audi A6, Audi A4, Saab 9-3, Subaru Legacy (with optional electronic stability control), Volvo C70, Hyundai Entourage, and Kia Sedona. A number of SUVs have made the list for two years running and can be seen on HLDI’s website.

The top ten hardest and easiest cars to insure are

Also available are lists for least and most expensive cars under the headings of comprehensive, liability, and collision-only insurance and associated charges. In that way, comprehensive insurance, though often the most expensive type, may be a good fit depending on the model of your car. The tables follow:

Keeping in mind that these represent averages of past studies, take some time to think about what is sitting in your garage. Whatever the car, drive safe and smart. Find the insurance that best fits your car [maybe “fits your car”=link to the homepage of the site being built]. Don’t wait until you have the accident-and this way, when you do, you, your car, and your insurance policy are ready for it.