Cars that let you save on insurance

Do you think much about car insurance rates before you buy that car you've been dreaming of for years? If not, you should be, because the car you ride makes a big importance in what you will pay for insuring it. The Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) accumulates and analyzes information regarding the insurance costs of every car make and model present on the road according to theft rates, repair costs, number of claims filed, safety and damage to infrastructure. the cost to insurance companies from theft, collision, and injury claims as they relate to cars.

For example, two door cars are much likely to be stolen than their four door peers. A convertible Chevrolet Corvette has a theft rate five times higher than that of a Buick LeSabre. And Toyota Celica is 67% more likely to be stolen than her sister Toyota Camry.

Another primary factor determining the cost of insuring your car is safety of those who are inside when the car crashes. Some cars will leave the passengers intact, while others have frightening lethal rates even with non-devastating collisions. So if you want to keep your life and pay lower insurance premiums, you should definitely check out the crash test ratings and see if your dream car fits into the "safe" category.

The same should be done with car theft rates. Every year these lists change, because newer and more exclusive cars tend to become the target of car thieves more often than older models. However, some car models keep on appearing in top theft lists, contributing to their "popularity" and high insurance rates respectively. These cars are:

• Toyota Camry


• Toyota Corolla


• Toyota Pickups


• Honda Accord


• Ford F-150


• Acura Integra


• Nissan Sentra

Another factor that may raise your insurance rates is how much a single theft claim costs according to the car stolen. This variable is determined by how often such claims are filed and how much the car costs. Currently the most expensive theft claims are filed on the following cars:

• Cadillac Escalade


• Chevrolet Corvette Convertible


• Lincoln Navigator

Respectively the lowest theft claims come with the following vehicles:

• Buick LeSabre


• Volvo V70 Station Wagon


• Mercury Grand Marquis 4-four

In what concerns injury claims and passenger safety, the rule of thumb here is the bigger the car, the safer it is. Vehicles with a smaller mass tend to get damage more in accidents, and the same applies to faster sports cars. Thus the rating of the most expensive vehicles in terms of injury claims:

• Suzuki Esteem 4-door


• Kia Rio 4-door


• Mitsubishi Mirage 2-door


• Kia Spectra 4-doors

While the cars with cheap car insurance due to low injury claims are:

• GMC Sierra 2500


• GMC Yukon XL 1500 4-wheel


• Chevrolet Silverado


• Chevrolet Tahoe 2-wheel

So it is better to investigate your cheap car insurance options before actually buying the car you were dreaming about. Because in reality it may turn into a real nightmare, with costly insurance premiums, high repair costs and the risk of being stolen the other day you actually buy it.

© 2010 Ranjan Kumar