Car choices are influenced by several factors such as family size, use, class, fuel consumption, and cost.
But above these factors, you may also want to consider how much it will cost to insure the specific car you intend to buy. After all, the car model is a significant factor in determining insurance cost, meaning some cars are more expensive to insure than others.
If you intend to buy a car any time soon, this post will help you understand how your car model can affect your premium rates.
What Else Can Affect How Much You Pay for Car Insurance
Besides the make of your car, where you buy your coverage can significantly affect the cost of your insurance. Therefore, it is essential to compare what different providers have to offer before you settle on one.
Unfortunately, shopping for insurance is a hustle that no one wants to get into. But with the increasing cost of living, anything that could stretch your dollar is welcome, and shopping around for better auto insurance deals is one way of stretching it.
If you are not sure how to go about it, learning these interesting facts about insurance can help you keep your premiums low.
So, How Does the Car Model Affect Your Premiums?
Cost
Comprehensive insurance covers third-party liability and damages suffered by the insurance carrier. This means that the more expensive a car is, the higher the cost of repairs or replacement and, consequently, the cost of insurance.
So, before you drive a car out of the showroom, be sure you can afford its insurance. If not, the best idea would be to compromise and go for one that would give almost the same level of service but at a cheaper cost.
Its Safety Features
Every car entering the market today will have some crash avoidance system. However, the technologies can differ from one model to the other.
Some models have very advanced technologies that they can almost self-drive. Such high crash avoidance technologies mean the car has a reduced risk of getting into an accident, and if it does, damages suffered are minimal.
Most insurers depend on a car safety feature to determine the insurance cost. Although the price of a car increases significantly with its safety features, the insurance cost may not be as high as for a vehicle with a similar price tag but with fewer safety features.
Body Type
The body type affects the safety of a car and consequently its risk rating and cost of insurance. The bigger the vehicle, the more challenging it is to operate.
In other words, a sedan can come at the same price as an SUV or minivan, but the latter two are more prone to accidents based on body type, which earns them a higher risk rating.
Also, larger vehicles are more likely to inflict more damages to third parties in case of an accident, so insurers tend to charge more premiums.
Safety Ratings
Over the years, insurance companies and governmental agencies have collected data that help them identify car models that are most prone to accidents.
Every car model has an assigned safety rating based on this data. Unfortunately, most car buyers are unaware of this fact and don’t consider it when buying a car.
Buying a model with a poor rating affects you in two ways; it affects your safety on the roads and the cost of your auto insurance. So, before you pick a model, confirm its safety rating.
The best place to check for any model safety rating is the IIHS website. Other agencies, such as Highway Loss Data Institute, can offer you a good insight into a car safety rating.
