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The Cheapest 2017 Cars To Insure



The Cheapest 2017 Cars To Insure

Aside from raising your deductibles and ensuring you’re getting every discount to which you’re entitled, the best way to save money on your auto insurance premiums is to choose a car or truck that’s inherently cheaper to cover.

For 2017, nine of the 10 least-expensive to insure vehicles are family friendly SUVs, with no less than five of them coming from Jeep. The top model in this regard is again the Honda Odyssey minivan, boasting an industry-low average annual premium of $1,112. That’s according to Insure.com’s annual cost-to-insure rankings, which we’re featuring in the accompanying slide show.

“The family-friendly Honda Odyssey tops the least expensive list for the second year running,” says Penny Gusner, Insure.com’s consumer analyst. “Being a favorite of mature parent drivers and having a great safety record avails it to cheaper insurance premiums.”

By contrast, the most-expensive mainstream models to insure for 2017 ­are all among the richest and quickest luxury and sports cars, with the rip-roaring V12-powered Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG Cabriolet (MSRP: $250,000), leading the pack with an average annual premium of $3,835. We’re featuring the 10 costliest to cover models in a separate post.

A given model’s insurance rates are largely based on a combination of data that includes the vehicle’s original sticker price, estimated repair costs, safety ratings, and its claims history. For starters, cheaper cars are automatically assigned lower rates than more expensive models because they tend to be less costly to repair, and reach a lower threshold before being “totaled” after an accident. Models getting top marks in crash tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration likewise catch a break here for their top occupant protection. Also, models that fare the best in terms of claims history, including the cost of physical damage the car both incurs and inflicts upon other vehicles in a crash and the severity of personal injuries involved, likewise enjoy the lowest rates.

“Vehicles that cost less to insure are normally those driven by safe drivers, such as those ferrying around children,” Gusner says. “As more parents have moved to driving SUVs, we have seen SUVs take over the least expensive list.”

Unfortunately, this is only part of the equation. Auto insurance premiums are otherwise based on personal factors including a policyholder’s age, sex, marital status, address, credit rating, and driving record, which combine to provide his or her statistical likelihood of getting into an accident or having a vehicle stolen or otherwise damaged. It always pays to shop around for coverage because the so-called actuarial formulas used to compute car insurance rates are moving targets that can vary significantly among providers, with some companies charging more or less to cover certain combinations of risk factors than others.

In Pictures: 10 Least-Expensive Cars To Insure For 2017.

The Fine Print: Insure.com’s survey was conducted by Quadrant Information Services, with rates based on more than 2,800 car models quoted from six large carriers (Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, Nationwide, Progressive and State Farm) in 10 ZIP codes per state. Some models, particularly exotic cars, were excluded. Estimates are based on an unmarried 40-year-old male driver with good credit, no accidents or moving violations who drives 12 miles to work each day, with policy limits of 100/300/50 ($100,000 for injury liability for one person, $300,000 for all injuries and $50,000 for property damage in an accident) and a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage.

Excerpt extracted from Forbes

See also: The Costliest 2017 Cars To Insure.

 

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