Ranking the Cheapest Cars to Insure

You pride yourself on being a smart shopper. When you’re looking for a new — or new-to-you — vehicle, you research features and compare prices to make sure you’re getting the best deal. And you might also want to look up average auto insurance premiums for the cars you’re considering. Rates vary, sometimes significantly, depending on the kind of car you drive.

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NerdWallet found the three best-sellers in each of 10 popular vehicle categories, according to Edmunds. Then we crunched the numbers to determine which models were the cheapest to insure.

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Cheapest cars to insure among popular models

Rank	2016 Vehicle	Average annual insurance premium	Manufacturer's suggested retail price	Vehicle type
1	Honda Odyssey	$1,015	$29,400	Minivan
2	Dodge Grand Caravan	$1,028	$22,095	Minivan
3	Toyota Tacoma	$1,033	$23,300	Compact truck
4	Honda CR-V	$1,041	$23,745	Compact crossover SUV
5	Ford Escape	$1,044	$23,600	Compact crossover SUV
6	Jeep Cherokee	$1,045	$23,395	Midsize crossover SUV
7	Toyota Highlander	$1,061	$29,990	Midsize crossover SUV
8	Chevy Silverado 1500	$1,078	$26,520	Large truck
9	Toyota Sienna	$1,084	$28,850	Minivan
10 (tie)	Jeep Wrangler	$1,086	$23,895	Midsize traditional SUV

Why car models influence auto insurance rates

It’s simple: Car insurance companies price policies based on the risk you and your vehicle present, so they examine vehicle claim histories to find out which ones have the most accidents and most frequent incidences of car theft. Higher risk means higher car insurance rates.

That’s why vehicles with strong safety features tend to cost less to insure. They hold up well in accidents and are at lower risk for damage and bodily injury claims. And cars with lower horsepower are generally cheaper to insure than sports cars that are designed for speed.

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Avoid these vehicles to save on insurance

Owning other types of vehicles  — including the following — often drives up car insurance costs:

• High-cost sports cars have some of the highest auto insurance rates. Statistics from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show that they’re often driven by younger, riskier drivers and are involved in more accidents, driving up the cost to insure them.


• High-end luxury cars are typically expensive to insure because repairing them can be pricey, and it costs more to replace them if they’re totaled.


• Larger vehicles, such as big SUVs, can have high insurance premiums because of their potential to inflict a greater amount of damage to other vehicles and their occupants in an accident.


• Cars most targeted by thieves also cost more to insure. About one-third of a typical comprehensive auto insurance premium goes to pay for auto theft claims, according to the Insurance Information Institute.

Rates vary quite a bit from company to company, so it’s always a good idea to shop around and compare quotes. NerdWallet’s comparison tool can help. Ask your carrier about discounts, too. Many offer price breaks if your car has features that reduce the risk of injuries or theft.

Think of it this way: You can’t do anything about some auto insurance pricing factors — such as your age, gender or the frequency of accidents where you live — but the car you choose to drive is one factor within your control.

NerdWallet staff writer Alex Glenn contributed to this article.

Juan Castillo is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email:jcastillo@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @JCastilloNerd.

The article was updated. It originally published Feb. 12, 2015.

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Source: http://docphy.com/business-industry/personal-finance/insurance/ranking-cheapest-cars-insure.html