Insurance Rates for 2006 models

Insurance Rates for 2006 models

Insurance comparison service reveals striking rate differences for 2006 models

By Bill Roebuck

Nov. 25, 2005 - Can you believe it could cost more to insure a Honda Civic than a new Hummer? This and other anomalies of insurance costs were revealed this week by a Canadian insurance rate comparison website, InsuranceHotline.com.

The company compiled the rankings for accident benefits, collision and comprehensive coverage for each model tested in the 2006 Canadian Car of the Year (CCOTY) TestFest, held by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC) in October, with some surprising results.

The winners in each of 11 categories of vehicles are to be announced in December at an event in Toronto. In October, teams of AJAC members tested 64 all-new 2006 vehicles back-to back on highways, through small towns and on country roads, as well as on a racetrack.

The insurance report on these vehicles, done independently from the AJAC evaluations, includes a sample rate range comparison for each model (although no data is available yet for certain completely new models such as the Ford Fusion).

Significantly, some of the vehicles with the poorest ratings, like General Motors' Hummer, have good insurance rates. In one example, rates were calculated for a driver with a clean record, compared to one having a ticket and one accident, for a Hummer and a Honda Civic. At the lowest rate, the Civic driver only saves $49 compared to the Hummer driver, but at the potential highest rate, could pay over $2,500 more (see Example 1).

Example 1	Clean Record		One Ticket & One Accident
Vehicle	Lowest	Highest	Lowest	Highest
Hummer	$1,651	$3,138	$2,812	$8,769
Honda Civic	$1,602	$3,125	$3,182	$11,271

With such variations in insurance pricing, it's no wonder that a recent poll by InsuranceHotline.com found that 75% of drivers fear what their insurance would be if they were to buy a new car.

When comparing insurance rate information, the service also unveiled some other surprising findings in the 2006 TestFest categories:

- A family car under $35,000 can cost more to insure than one over $35,000.

- Some sport utility vehicles can cost less to insure then a family car under $35,000, as in the Hummer/Civic example.

- Luxury cars are one of the most expensive vehicle types to insure, costing about $500 more annually to insure than family sedans, SUVs, muscle cars or alternative vehicles. Also, they are classified as having a high cost to repair and have a high theft ranking.

- Most drivers who purchase alternative vehicles do so to save money (less fuel cost), yet they're not going to do so when the cost of the insurance is taken into account. Alternative vehicles can cost as much to insure as some muscle cars.

Included in the report's listings are the rankings the insurance industry has given each of the vehicles according to:

1) Accident Benefits Coverage: How safe is the vehicle? This is an indicator of the amount paid out by insurance companies in injury or death claims.

2) Collision Coverage: Indicator of the cost paid out to repair the vehicle.

3) Comprehensive Coverage: An indicator of the amount paid out for fire, theft, vandalism, etc.

To see a spreadsheet of the insurance rate comparisons, click here or visit www.insurancehotline.com, click on 'Resources', select 2006 Canadian Car of the Year Awards under the 'Insurance Quoting' heading, and click on the link 'Here are the 2006 cars….' in the first paragraph.

The insurance costs for each model are not a factor considered by the judges in choosing the Canadian Car of the Year winners, but they likely will be considered by consumers who will be shopping from among the category winners.

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