Keeping Auto Insurance Costs Down - Even for Nice Cars

The CNN/Money article titled: “Car insurance: Cheap to cover - Insurance can add a lot to the cost of owning a car, but you don’t have to drive a snoozer to save” gives some good advice when looking to save money on car insurance.

Insurance costs can vary widely based on the car that you drive. Usually the new the vehicle and the more expensive it is, the more your insurance will cost. But CNN/Money says “the good news is that you don’t have to buy a boring minivan to save money. ” They then give some ways to keep your insurance costs down.

First and foremost, one of the most significant predictors of how much you will have to pay is YOU (and people like you):

If you’ve had accidents in the past, that means you are more likely to get into wrecks in the future. If you’ve had tickets, that’s another factor that will increase your insurance premiums. If you live someplace with high auto theft rates — that means anyplace near an international border or seaports — same thing.

What’s more, if people like you — your age, your gender, with similar credit histories and marital status, etc. — file a lot of auto insurance claims, that will probably mean higher rates for you, too.

Next would be your car. What kind of a history does this type of car have? Why do you think a minivan (usually driven by a mom with kids in the car) has the cheapest insurance. You can get an idea about where your car measures in the statistics by going to the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI). The ‘better’ your car’s statistics the more likely your rates will be lower.

The HLDI compiles the average cost of claims for various vehicles. Cars that have an above-average cost of claims will likely cost you more to insure, said Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president of the HLDI.

Infuencing those costs are, first, how likely the car is to get wrecked or stolen and how much it costs to repair or replace the car.

Generally, more expensive cars will cost more to repair or replace and, therefore, will cost more to insure. Injury costs will usually have less effect on your premiums, said Hazelbaker.