Reader question:
How does my car model affect my car insurance rates?
Tim
Great question.
It’s common knowledge that driving certain kinds of cars will most likely make your insurance rates go up. Cars like flashly sports cars and luxury vehicles, things that are more likely to encourage theft or reckless driving, place you in a different insurance bracket than the family station wagon. Be that as it may, it isn’t a rule.
As a matter of fact, the comprehensive and collision coverage rates for a car depend on the loss history for that individual vehicle, more often than not. Now, considering the types of cars they are, that sports car is still pretty likely to get you in the higher bracket, but you could find some unexpected cars taking you there as well.
Insurers tend to use what are called actuarial companies in order to rate cars and figure out what comprehensive and collision coverage should cost. The company most often used to get these rates is the main one, Insurance Services Office. It assigns a number to each vehicle, and insurance companies use these numbers to weigh the prices of their policies.
Ratings from the ISO aren’t available to the public. Still, you can get an idea by asking your insurer before you buy a new car what kind of rating the cars you’re interested in have. One thing to consider when looking for a car is that SUVs have begun to join sports and luxury cars in the higher rate class, as they tend to cause more damage in collisions.
Cheers,
Fashun Guadarrama.