Is Your Car on the Expensive Insurance List?

Between higher gas prices and climbing insurance rates, finding savings is becoming ever more important. Each year, using public data, a non-profit organization called Highway Loss Data Institute puts together a list of cars with the most insurance losses. Because insurance companies use the same type of data to optimize and set their premiums for customers, it gives you a unique opportunity to “profile” the exact vehicles as well as the types of vehicles to avoid.

Year after year the data presents similarities and the same cars land on the top 10 list. It allows us to see the clear trend that small “speedy” cars are definitely a category to avoid. I am sure your age and location play a role but you have to remember that insurance companies are statistically driven. If your particular car model is generating large numbers of insurance claims you will more than likely take a hit with an increase.

There are other factors, besides potential for accident claims, that drive the data also. The fact that the large and often leisurely driven Cadillac Escalade tops the list leads us into the next factor; claims for vandalism and theft. Regardless of the reason for loss, an insurance claim is a claim. Besides the fact that a vehicle like the Escalade is far more expensive than average, they attract more attention from thieves.

Here is our “expensive insurance” list of cars with potentially higher premiums:

1. Cadillac Escalade EXT 4WD
2. Subaru Impreza WRX 4WD
3. Hyundai Tiburon
4. Mitsubishi Lancer
5. Scion tC
6. Acura RSX
7. Nissan Sentra SE-R
8. Suzuki Forenza
9. Nissan Sentra/Mitsubishi Eclipse
10. Chevrolet Cobalt two-door

You can analyze this information thoroughly and come up with all kinds of trends. Try to think like an insurance company, the kind of car that you drive says quite a lot about you as a driver and the potential you have for accidents. For example, if you drive a four-dour sedan, generally speaking, you are not going to participate in street racing. However, if you have a Mustang Cobra or a Mitsubishi Lancer EVO you might have a thing for speed… and possibly competition on the streets! Thinking along those lines will allow you to find a car that you might enjoy that doesn’t fit into their high risk category. Be an “insurance smart” car shopper and you will save on insurance in the long run.