Before looking at which cars have the cheapest insurance, it’s a good idea to understand how the insurance rates are calculated. While we all want to have cheap insurance on our cars, there isn’t a set price for any car when it comes to insurance. The rates we’re quoted may take age, sex, marital status, and driving record are into consideration, as well as the type of car and the age of the car being insured. Consequently, a car that has an extremely high insurance rate for an 18-year old male could have an average rate for an 18-year old female.
How do they decide what rates to charge?
As listed above, many factors go into determining the rates for individual insurance. The factors themselves are figured using local, state and nationwide statistics. For individuals, the statistics for age, sex, and marital status are used to determine which demographic group has the most and least accidents, both at fault and no fault. Statistics are also used to determine the group that has the most expensive accidents and those with the least expensive. Some insurance companies even use your credit report as a factor for figuring your insurance rate.
For cars, repair costs and the frequency of accidents contributes to the base insurance cost for each particular model. But as mentioned before, once you pair an individual with that car, the rate can change dramatically. A sporty family car could have a very high rate if you put a young male on the policy, but have a much lower rate if it’s an adult married female on the insurance.
Research rates
When you’re thinking about buying a new car, use any of the insurance sites available online that will give you instant quotes based on your demographics and the car you’re thinking about buying. Just filling out their questionnaire doesn’t commit you to buy the insurance from them, but it can give you an idea of what rates you can expect to pay. Just remember that if the site you’re using isn’t your current insurance provider, your company’s rates could be higher or lower than your estimated quote.
So get with it already!
Now that you understand how rates are figured, let’s get to the cars with the cheapest base rates for insurance. You’ll find that these cars have one thing in common – they’re all ones that are considered luxury family cars.
2008 Buick Lucerne
2008 Buick LaCross
2008 Toyota Camry
2008 Volvo V70
2008 Toyota Avalon
2008 Mercury Grand Marquis
2008 Volvo S80
2008 Mini Cooper
2008 Volkswagen New Beetle
2008 Chevrolet Impala
Now, before you run out and buy one of these cars simply because of its low insurance rate, remember that you’ll need to take several other factors into consideration. If you can’t afford to buy a new car at all, don’t stretch yourself just because your insurance costs will be lower. Similarly, if you’re a member of an “at-risk” demographic – according to the insurance companies – don’t think that buying one of the models listed above is your ticket to a low cost auto insurance policy.
