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The following is a guest post. Enjoy!
We all know that there are many different factors that play a role in establishing your car insurance rates. From your experience, driving record, your decision to go to driving school and whether or not you decide to test the market and get an insurance quote; there is no shortage of things to think about.
One thing that is often overlooked but plays a large role on the amount of money you pay for your auto insurance is the vehicle that you drive.
Most people are often caught up with the features of the vehicle and seldom think about the impact of their vehicle choice on their insurance rates. But, this is something that more people need to pay attention to if they want to save money on insurance.
The truth is finding out how much insurance you will have to pay for a vehicle is simple and straightforward. All you have to do is take your list of cars that you are thinking about buying and ask your insurance company for a quote. A little work can go a long way to saving you money.
Vehicle Factors That Affect Car Insurance Rates
The type of vehicle you choose to drive plays a large role in your insurance costs. Why? There are a number of vehicle features that insurance companies look at to determine the rates they charge to insure vehicles. Insurance companies factor in the make and model of your vehicle in terms of what the risk factors associated with it might be.
Some important vehicle features to consider include:
Vehicle type: Whether you drive a car versus driving an SUV, pick-up truck, Crossover, or any other type of vehicle will set a baseline for the amount you can expect to pay.
Model: The model of car that you drive will impact your rates. Obviously, driving a sports car will cost more money than regular Sedan. This is why you need to put things in perspective when thinking about insurance costs.
Age: The age of your car plays a large role in not only the price, but also in terms of the type of coverage you need. Since newer and more expensive cars cost more to replace if they are damaged, they are inherently more expensive to insure.
Safety Rating: The safety and collision rating will impact your rates, so it is a good idea to do some research in this area. Vehicles that have a better safety rating will cost less for coverage.
Theft rating: Vehicles that regularly appear on the most stolen vehicle list will cost more money because insurance companies view them as being a car that is associated with a higher risk.
If you really want to save money on your insurance rates, you need to be conscious of the type of vehicles that are preferred by insurance companies. Vehicles that are well built are known for requiring minimal repairs and have a great safety rating will cost you less money in the long run.
How about you all? Has the potential cost of car insurance been a significant factor in influencing any of your past car purchases?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
Jacob's Thoughts - Listed below are my random thoughts as I was reading this article.
Although I haven't ever personally compared car insurance costs on different car models, I definitely have heard that the type of car you have makes a difference in your costs.
For example, I have heard that a fast sports car will likely have a higher insurance cost than say, a Volvo wagon, just because of the nature of how the respective types of cars are generally driven.
I'm curious to hear everyone else's experience with this as well!
***Photo courtesy of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/FEMA_-_38927_-_Cars_at_Cruise_ship_parking_lot_damaged_by_Hurricane_Ike.jpg
