When shopping for a vehicle, most people understand that newer, more expensive cars cost more to insure. However, there are several other factors that also determine how much it costs to insure your vehicle.
These factors can result in a difference in premium between seemingly similar makes and models. If you are looking to keep your insurance premiums low, there are a few things to remember, even if you are comparing similar types of vehicles.
Some of the most important factors used to develop your rates are found in the inherent design of your vehicle. In addition to cost, damageability and the likelihood of occupants getting injured are also considered when developing rating plans for new automobiles. These factors help contribute to determine how much premium would be charged for a vehicle.
Damageability is a measurement of how much it will cost to repair a vehicle after an accident. Construction features such as the design of a bumper or the presence of crumple zones may impact a vehicle’s damageability rating. Occupant injury factors are a measure of how likely a passenger in a vehicle will be injured in an accident. Those factors, which include strength of the roof—which can protect a passenger in the event of a rollover crash—are directly related to the cost to insure a vehicle.
To learn more about what vehicles are the most crashworthy, visit the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s website at www.iihs.org. There you will find a breakdown of which vehicles scored highest in crash safety testing. This information can help you find a vehicle that will keep your insurance rates low while also protecting you and your family.