When it comes to buy something, all of us want to pay the lowest amount possible.
No matter whether you are buying a toy car or a real car, we want to pay the least, and when it comes to paying for car insurance, undertaking an extensive search for the lowest deal is understandable.
However, what most of us fail to understand is why the premium value differs from one car to another and what is the least premium option available in the market.
Your personal profile can be used as a judgment of whether you are a safe driver or a hell rider.
Personal details that may be used to draw up a risk score can include your age, job description, marital status, number of dependents, lifestyle, etc. Needless to say, the riskier you appear to be to an insurer, the higher you can expect to be quoted for insuring your vehicle.
But above all, the one factor that probably plays the most significant role in determining your premium is the category that your car falls into.
Surely you cannot expect the premium for a Lamborghini Gallardo to be the same as a Toyota Corolla even if the driver is the same.
There is a definite logic that works behind the determination of the premium value of the car insurance.
Most insurers take many factors into consideration while deciding on the quote and most surprisingly the value depends a lot on what category of car is getting insured. The major points about the car category that plays a pivotal role in finalization of the car insurance premium amount are:
- Vehicle safety rating of the car
- Historical track record of the car in terms of getting stolen
- The manufacturing brand of the car
- Susceptibility of the occupant injury
What is the safety rating of the car?
A majority of auto insurance companies develop a safety report for almost every model of car available in the showrooms.
This rating is determined by factors like collision damage index, liability rating index, damage and theft index which is being determined by collating various reports and customer claims over many years.
This is common sense at a most fundamental level.
If a particular model of vehicle has a high safety rating, if an accident do occur, there will be a higher possibility of lesser damages and lesser probability of loss of life.
Major damages and death can mean huge claims being made.
When the risk is higher, naturally the cost of coverage will be lower. So a vehicle with a great safety standard will result in a lower risk. Thus lowering the price of coverage accordingly.
Does the car get stolen very often?
Is the car model so very tempting that it gets stolen more frequently than other models?
Or possibly the locking mechanism of the car model is not very safely designed and invites a lot of burglars.
If the car is more susceptible to theft, then the premium that will be charged by the companies will be much higher than usual.
If a serial car thief is on the prowl, an expensive sports car has a higher chance of being hijacked compared to a regular salon car. It’s business as usual.
Since the task of stealing a vehicle is rather similar whether it is an expensive on or a cheap one, the instinct of a criminal will be to choose the one with the better return.
This is why sports or luxury cars are more vulnerable to theft than regular hatchbacks.
A reflection of driving habit
The cause of accidents and other misfortunes on the road are usually caused by reckless drivers, not the vehicle itself.
Cars are not dangerous, it is the drivers who are dangerous.
Because if you are to park a vehicle in the parking lot, it will not be a threat to anyone no matter how fierce or intimidating it looks on the outside. It is only when a driver takes up the steering wheel with itchy feet on the paddles that a seemingly innocent machine can suddenly become a monster on the road.
A buyer of a sports car has a higher tendency to race it compared to a family car.
A sports car is after all made for speed, acceleration and fancy maneuvers. Why would people buy one unless they are going to speed and maneuver on the highway from time to time.
When a vehicle belong to a riskier category, you can expect to see a whole new range of coverage pricing.
Is it a famous brand?
The more famous the manufacturing brand of the car, the more you can expect in the premium value that you would be required to pay.
Branded cars from manufacturers of world reputation will tend to have a higher safety rating. And ideally should mean cheaper insurance.
But being branded also means that it is more vulnerable to theft and a higher cost of repairs should an accident indeed happen.
Spare parts of branded automobiles cost significantly higher than those of generic brands. Just like you can expect cleaning services for a Prada hand bag to cost more than cleaning a bag with a local unknown brand.
How safe is it to sit in the car?
There are certain categories of car which host an interior design that will cause more injury to the occupants in case of an accident.
These cars will cause more injuries when bad things happen resulting in higher claims being filed.
This is why a convertible is perceived as a little more dangerous than one that has a fixed hard top. More danger equates to higher quotation.
Thus we see that the category of the car that you would be driving can play a major role in determining the insurance premium that you need to pay.
Hence when you plan to buy the next car for your garage, do a thorough research on these points and then choose a coverage friendly vehicle. Unless money had never been an issue to you when choosing the type of wheels you prefer to drive around town in.
