Low Cost Auto Insurance – Vehicle Insurance Rating

More people today are finding out the benefits of shopping online for low cost auto insurance. By shopping online you can easily compare rates from several companies quickly and easily from on the Web. Although comparison shopping will save you several hundreds on your auto policy, you should not forget about the vehicle insurance rating factors that come into play. Below are a few more things you should consider if you’re in the market to purchase a new vehicle.

Insurance companies will begin by rating your vehicle by size, weight, performance, theft ratings, crash ratings, safety features. If the cost of insurance is a concern you should get quotes on a few cars you’re interested in prior to making the purchase. You’ll find a big decrease in premium when you compare an older 4 cylinder Sentra to a newer truck or SUV.

Why are SUV’s and trucks more expensive to insure?

You’ll find higher premiums on larger vehicles for a number of reasons. We Americans love our larger vehicles. They never come large enough. There’s a whole industry built to help you make your already large truck or SUV even larger. If the truck is a four wheel drive vehicle, the insurance company runs the risk of an off-road accident. If you’re involved in an accident in a larger vehicle you are at higher risk of causing serious injury or death to the other driver.

The benefit of smaller cars

You will find the rates on a smaller four-door vehicle much more affordable than you will on any truck, SUV or high performance car. Although this is true for most smaller vehicles there will always be a few smaller cars that still hold higher rates due to theft statistics. In 2007 the Honda Civic made the number 1 spot for highest theft occurrence. The Ford Taurus was noted to have the lowest theft rating. With a smaller vehicle you in most cases will cause very little damage to the other vehicle in an auto accident. I remember rear-ending a Ford Explorer one day with my Sentra. The damage was minimal on the Explorer. However, I needed a new hood.

High performance sports cars

Of course you will see some of the highest rates on high performance sports cars. Sports cars have such high rating on these vehicles, young drivers can’t even come close to owning a sports car unless they are prepared to pay the high cost premiums that come with them. Some just wait until they’re 60 or 70 before buying their dream sports car. You’ve seen them on the roads.

When planning a purchase of a new vehicle, you need to keep in mind the tips above to estimate how much the insurance will cost you. When in doubt, you can always call your insurance agent.

You can find more tips on how to save more on auto insurance here.