10 most costliest cars to insure
- Mitsubishi Lancer Evo
- Mercedes CL-Class
- Dodge SRT-4
- Subaru Impreza WRX
- Jaguar XK convertible
- Lexus IS300
- Honda S2000
- Acura RSX
- Nissan 350Z
- Jaguar XJ
Why some cost more
Collision-damage costs are one of the main factors in differentiating the cost of insuring one type of car over another, says Rader. To a lesser extent, you also want to look at how attractive the car is to thieves.
Vehicles that top the insurance-cost list tend to be either high horsepower, high dollar or expensive to repair, Rader says. An expensive choice: “Sporty cars that are favored by young drivers who are risky drivers, so they are crashing a lot.”
Higher horsepower means the driver is more likely to be going faster and getting into more accidents. That will send insurance rates up for everyone who owns a similar car.
Many of the vehicles that are expensive to insure “share a common problem, and that is horsepower,” says Kim Hazelbaker, a senior vice president with the Highway Loss Data Institute, an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
“When you look at the statistics and insurance claims, small sports cars tend to be in more crashes,” he says. Adding to the problem: “They tend to be engaged in faster driving.”
From a statistical standpoint, the safest models tend to be the full-sized family sedan-type cars, he says.
As sport utility vehicles have become more popular, insurance companies have had to study and factor that issue into premiums, Salvatore says. As a result, if you drive an SUV, your liability premium (which covers damage to other vehicles), could be higher because of the increased damage a vehicle of that size can cause in an accident, she says.
“A safe car is not necessarily the cheapest car to insure,” Salvatore says. The car itself could also be expensive or just expensive to repair after an accident, which would increase insurance costs.
But a high rate is a red flag to ask a few questions. For instance, if a car has a lot of horsepower and is involved in a lot of crashes, that can also send insurance rates up, even if the car itself is relatively inexpensive.
So if you’re getting ready to buy your teenager that dream model and the insurance rate comes back sky high, it may be a tip that it’s time to search for another make and model.
Insurance companies and crash analysts have noticed that vehicles most often associated with family transportation – such as minivans, station wagons and family sedans – get in fewer crashes than the high horsepower hotrods that appeal to young male drivers.
In addition, many (but not all) of the vehicles that rank low in collision costs also tend to be “generally, not real expensive vehicles,” he says.
The 10 least expensive models to insure, in terms of collision losses, starting with the least expensive are:
- Volvo XC90
- Chevrolet Malibu Maxx
- GMC Safari
- Buick Lesabre
- Nissan Pathfinder Armada (2004 only)
- Pontiac Montana (standard model)
- Mazda MPV
- Ford Thunderbird
- Pontiac Montana (extended model)
- Ford Taurus (station wagon)
Just as with the most costly picks, a variety of reasons can land a vehicle on the least expensive list. For instance, the Volvo XC90 and Chevy station wagon that make the top of the “best” list are “likely to be family vehicles, driven differently than the vehicles on the “worst” list,” Rader says. And the Ford Thunderbird, he says, “tends to be a second or third car and is not driven as often.”
