If you’re in the market for a new vehicle purchase, then you’ll have a lot of things to consider. And, believe it or not, the vehicle you choose will have a significant impact on how much your insurance payments are each month. The make and model of your new vehicle will have a significant impact on your insurance payments. This is in addition to your location, life circumstances, and personal driving record.
Pricey and popular cars are the most expensive cars to insure, whereas cheap and unpopular vehicles are usually much less expensive to cover, especially if the car comes with a high safety rating. In addition, high-horsepower cars are more costly to insure because they are statistically more likely to get into an accident, even if they don’t have a high sticker price. Speed is often a factor when it comes to accident risk, and who isn’t going to drive with a heavier foot if the engine on their vehicle can take them from 0-60 in under 10 seconds?
Top 10 Most Expensive Cars to Insure in 2016
The new king of expensive-to-insure vehicles for 2016 is the Dodge GT Viper, according to the yearly 2016 rankings of Insure.com. The average middle-aged man with a clean driving record can pay approximately $4,048 per year on insurance for that particular hotrod. The next most expensive cars to insure are the Mercedes SL65 AMG, Porsche Panamera S Executive, and the Nissan GT-R Nismo.
Placing on the other side of the spectrum (the cheapest cars to insure, that is) is the Honda Odyssey LX for around $1,113 monthly. As informative as this survey by Insure.com is, though, it is limited to only the most popular vehicles on the road, and casual observers can see a distinct lack of reviews for mid-sized sedans on their list. When searching for the cheapest vehicle to insure, don’t limit your search to SUVs and sports cars – keep in mind that there are other vehicles out there, too.
Findings on Risk by Type – How Risky is Your Ride?
On one end of the spectrum, sports cars are the riskiest cars to insure. Statistical data claims that speedier cars tend to get into more accidents. On the other hand, minivans and sedans tend to be less accident prone.
In regards to age, males 25 years old and younger tend to fall into a high risk category, mostly due to inexperience behind the wheel and poor decision making skills associated with youth. Conversely, elderly drivers over the age of 65 are also a risk to insure; slow reaction time and poor eyesight associated with their age group make them more likely to get into an accident.
Sports cars in general are the most expensive cars to insure. Cars like the Pontiac Firebird or the Camaro are considered high-risk vehicles to insure, usually based on risky behaviors associated with their drivers. Some sports cars, however, have higher safety features and therefore cost less to insure, such as the Chevrolet Corvette.
Risk Level Associated with Different Types of Vehicles
Insurance companies rate cars not just on overall risk, but the combined risk to both other drivers and to the driver of the insured vehicle. Aside from the reliably risky sports car, pickup trucks pose both a risk to the driver and other motorists. SUVs are next, with a slightly smaller risk to their owners and other drivers. Subcompacts are less risky still, but safety ratings are highly varied among these categories.