Your Vehicle Type and Why It Matters for Auto Insurance | Leavitt Group News & Publications
Safety Ratings and Equipment
One important factor insurance companies use in determining policy price is the relative base hit of the vehicles being insured. They use versatile sources to figure this out. For model, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety ( IIHS ) is an industry research group that rates vehicles based on guard features adenine well as actual performance in collisions. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation, besides tracks and publishes information about vehicle safety. insurance companies consider data from these and early sources to rate the safety of each car for which they write a policy. Besides overall “ crashworthiness, ” indemnity companies besides consider any particular equipment your vehicle has that makes it more safe. This is one reason you ’ re asked about your car or hand truck ’ mho year, make, model, and “ trim level ” when you get a quotation mark for indemnity. Trim level ( or “ trim software ” ) is basically the specific shape of criterion and optional features for your fomite character. As an exemplar, the 2016 Nissan Maxima comes in five different shave levels. All of them have anti-lock brakes and standard airbags. The S and SV trims don ’ t include any extra safety features, while the SL, SR and Platinum packages include Predictive Forward Collision Warning, Forward Emergency Braking, Rear Cross Traffic Alert and Blind Spot Warning. The extra condom equipment on the top three trims would most probable resultant role in slightly lower premiums than the lower ( and less expensive ) trims.
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Trim level is coded into the fomite designation number ( VIN ) of the car, which is why your insurance agent will need to get the VIN for each vehicle on your policy. Some of the equipment that they ’ ll want to know about includes :
- Seat belts by location and type, as well as child car seat anchors
- Airbags for driver and passenger, plus curtain and knee airbags to help prevent additional injuries
- Anti-lock braking systems (ABS), which help keep a vehicle from skidding out of control
- Daytime running lights, which increase your visibility to other drivers
- Tire pressure monitor systems, to help you maintain correct tire pressure
- Rear backup cameras, which provide a video view behind you when your car is in reverse
- Parking sensors, which produce an audible warning when the vehicle is in danger of hitting an obstacle
- Theft-deterrent systems, such as alarms and recovery devices like LoJack
- Adaptive headlights, which pivot to light up curves in the road
Cost to Replace
In summation to safety, your insurance company needs to know the rate of your vehicle and the relative cost to repair it. It ’ mho easy to understand why pinning down your vehicle ’ randomness respect is indeed significant. If your car is totaled in an accident, the policy company needs to know how a lot it will cost to replace it. Your insurance company may get its numbers from Kelley Blue Book, from the values published by the National Association of Automobile Dealers, or from some other source. You can by and large assume that the more expensive a car is to buy, the more expensive it will be to insure.
Read more: Understanding Car Insurance Rates | Bankrate
besides, it ’ second crucial to note that some insurance companies offer “ actual cash value ” coverage, while others offer “ surrogate cost. ” The difference is the adjustment for disparagement, which is the personnel casualty of value caused by the casual use of your fomite. If you get in an accident and have to replace your fomite, you ’ ll credibly prefer getting a “ surrogate cost ” control over the option .
Cost to Repair
Your car indemnity ship’s company will besides consider how expensive your fomite type will be to repair. Some makes and models require more expensive parts or animate technicians who need special aim. Because of this, haunt shops charge higher denounce rates on some vehicles than on others. The cost could besides vary based on the handiness of parts and components, on whether your fomite has a performance engine, or based on special features such as a turbocharger. According to Automotive.com, the most expensive new vehicles to repair include the Dodge Viper, with an MSRP of $ 86,995 to $ 107,995 and a five-year animate cost of $ 2,084, the Porsche Cayenne, with an MSRP of $ 61,700 to $ 113,600 and a five-year repair price of $ 2,072, and the Audi S3, with an MSRP of $ 41,100 to $ 47,000 and a five-year repair price of $ 1,989.
Gone in 60 Seconds?
A final component factored into your car policy premium is the likelihood of your vehicle being stolen. function of this relates to where you live, as some neighborhoods have more car thefts than others. indemnity companies besides pay attention to which vehicles are stolen most much. If you drive a vehicle character that ’ s in high demand with chop shops, you may see a little increase in the cost of indemnity coverage. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the top ten most steal vehicles from the most late year are :
| Vehicle | Number Stolen |
|---|---|
| Honda Accord | 53,995 |
| Chevrolet Silverado | 27,809 |
| Ford F-150 | 26,494 |
| Toyota Camry | 14,420 |
| Dodge/Ram Pickup | 11,347 |
| Dodge Caravan | 10,911 |
| Jeep Cherokee/Grand Cherokee | 9,272 |
| Toyota Corolla | 9,010 |
| Nissan Altima | 8,892 |
Shopping for Cars and Insurance
Does it make common sense to pay attention to the relative price of car insurance when it ’ mho time to shop for your adjacent vehicle ? Why not ? If you have several makes and models that you ’ ra looking at, you might consider talking to your independent indemnity agent to find out whether one car or truck might cost more to insure in the long run. All other things being equal, the cost to insure your vehicle type could turn out to be the deciding factor in picking your future ride .