March 28, 2024

Bucks Blog: The Least (and Most) Expensive Cars to Insure

A 2013 Ford EdgeFord Motor Co.A 2013 Ford Edge

Not many people consider insurance when they go car shopping, but your premiums can vary a fair bit depending on the type of car you buy. Insure.com each year compiles a list of the 20 least (and most) expensive cars to insure, and a number of S.U.V.’s and crossover vehicles are among the cheapest for the 2013 model year.

In the past, minivans have dominated the list of “least expensive” rankings; last year, for instance, the vehicle listed as cheapest to insure was the Toyota Siena LE.

This year, just two minivans (the Dodge Caravan SXT and the Honda Odyssey EX-L) made the least-expensive list. The vehicle that cost the least to insure was the Ford Edge SE, with an average premium of $1,128. (There are eight other cars on the list that come in under $1,200 as well).

Amy Danise, Insure.com’s editorial director, said in an e-mail that the dearth of minivans on this year’s list is “notable.” Shifts in rankings occur because of insurance claims made over the last year, she said, so when “good” drivers gravitate toward different vehicles, the list changes. This year, the data indicated that drivers of the Ford Edge and the other cars on the least-expensive list have submitted fewer and less-expensive claims than drivers of other vehicles. “That means they’ve had fewer crashes and repair costs are likely not high for the vehicle,” she said.

Even if you are a “bad” driver, she continued, you can benefit from buying a vehicle on the least-expensive list. That’s because even if you have strikes against you on your driving record, choosing a vehicle that’s cheaper to insure can help hold down your costs.

The site also offers a tool that allows you to find national or state average insurance rates for more than 750 cars.

To compile the lists, Insure.com hired Quadrant Information Services to provide average rates for more than 750 car models from six large insurance companies (Allstate, Farmers, Geico, Nationwide, Progressive and State Farm), in 10 ZIP codes per state. Rates were not available for all models, especially the more exotic ones.

The annual rates shown are based on insurance for a single, 40-year-old man who commutes 12 miles to work each day, with policy limits of “100/300/50″ ($100,000 for injury liability for one person, $300,000 for all injuries and $50,000 for property damage in an accident), with a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage. The hypothetical driver has a clean record and good credit, and the rate includes uninsured motorist coverage. (Actual rates vary depending on individual driver factors, Insure.com notes.)

In addition to the Ford Edge SE, other models that can offer insurance savings, Insure.com says, include the Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo, the Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium, the Kia Sportage and the Jeep Patriot Sport.

The list of most-expensive cars to insure includes many Mercedes-Benz models. The 2013 Mercedes-Benz CL600 has the most expensive rates, at $3,357. Other costly models include cars from Porsche, Jaguar and BMW.

How expensive is your car to insure?

Article source: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/15/the-least-and-most-expensive-cars-to-insure/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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