Car Insurance Rates by Body Style
Everyone knows that someone who drives a 2011 Porsche Carrera GTS with 408 horsepower will have a higher car insurance bill than someone who drives a 1997 Toyota Corolla with 100 horsepower. In most cases, the disparity in auto insurance rates between these radically different vehicles will average in the thousands... but why? Four factors account for the price difference among various body styles: age, cost to repair, risk, and size. Newer, pricier, faster, and larger vehicles all typically cost more to insure because of what they would cost to replace or repair, how likely they are to get into an accident, and how much damage they are likely to inflict in the event of an accident. Read on to find out how and why vehicle body type is so strongly correlated to insurance rates.
Body Styles & Average Auto Insurance Price
Before we discuss the other mitigating factors, let's take a look at the various body style classifications and their average associated annual insurance payment.
- Microcars - $1,049 Annually / $87.42 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Smart Car Fortwo - Compact Minivans - $1,164 Annually / $97.00 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Kia Rondo, Mazda5 - Minivan - $1,171 Annually / $97.66 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Chrysler Town and Country, Ford Galaxy - Mini Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) - $1,191 Annually / $99.29 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Jeep Wrangler - Compact Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) - $1,245 Annually / $103.81 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 - Mid-Size Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) - $1,325 Annually / $110.48 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Ford Explorer, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Chevrolet Tahoe - Compact Car - $1,358 Annually / $113.25 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, Chevrolet Cruze - Full-Size Car - $1,386 Annually / $115.53 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Ford Crown Victoria, Chevrolet Impala, Hyundai Sonata - Subcompact Car - $1,395 Annually / $116.30 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Aveo, Hyundai Accent - Mid-Size Car - $1,429 Annually / $119.09 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Volkswagen Passat, Chevrolet Malibu, Ford Taurus - Compact Pickup Truck - $1,439 Annually / $119.98 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, GMC Canyon - Mid-Size Pickup Truck - $1,445 Annually / $120.48 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Nissan Frontier, Toyota Tacoma - Full-Size Pickup Truck - $1,509 Annually / $125.75 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Ford F-150, GMC Sierra, Nissan Titan - Full-Size Heavy Duty Pickup Truck - $1,600 Annually / $133.40 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Chevrolet Silverado, Ford Super Duty - Entry-Level Luxury Car - $1,635 Annually / $136.25 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Audi A4, BMW 3-Series, Cadillac CTS - Full-Size Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) - $1,658 Annually / $138.21 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Cadillac Escalade ESV, Chevrolet Suburban, Toyota Land Cruiser - Sports Car - $1,667 Annually / $138.97 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche 911, Lamborghini Gallardo - Roadster - $1,716 Annually / $143.04 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Audi TT, Honda S2000, Lotus Elise - Mid-Size Luxury Car - $1,802 Annually / $150.22 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Audi A6, BMW 5-Series, Lincoln LS - Full-Size Luxury Car - $1,963 Annually / $163.63 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Audi A8, Lincoln Town Car, Mercedes S-Class - Convertible - $2,036 Annually / $169.75 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the BMW 6-Series, Mercedes CLK, Volvo C70 - Grand Tourer - $2,097 Annually / $174.75 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Jaguar XK, Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, Maserati GranTurismo - Supercar - $33,333 Annually / $2,777.78 Monthly
Includes vehicles such as the Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari Enzo, Pagani Zonda
(NOTE: These are average annual prices based solely on body classification. Vehicle age, driver history, and several other factors may impact your rate to a high degree.)
Additional Body Style Attributes and Auto Insurance Premiums
Below, we've summarized the four traits of different body types that have the most substantial impact on car insurance rates. The factors are why the rates listed above may vary so highly between body style classification.
- Model year: Newer cars cost more to repair or replace when they are damaged in an accident, which is why drivers with late-model vehicles pay more on average for their auto policies. Remember this is only true if you include collision and comprehensive in your coverage.
- Cost: One of the reasons why trucks, SUVs, and sports cars usually cost more to insure is that they tend to cost more initially than a garden-variety sedan, for instance. The more you pay for a vehicle up front, the more you will pay for auto insurance because, once again, pricier vehicles cost insurers more to repair or replace.
- Power and speed: Powerful trucks and fast sports cars typically have engines with massive amounts of horsepower, and insurers have learned that most drivers tend to have difficulty resisting the urge to utilize this power and/or speed. Insurers have discovered that the amount of horsepower a vehicle has directly correlates with riskier driver behavior. As a result, drivers of vehicle types like high-powered sports cars are significantly more likely to be involved in an accident. Consequently, drivers almost always pay more for sports car insurance and truck insurance.
- Size: In the case of SUVs, trucks, and other large automobiles, these vehicles are far more likely to inflict serious (read: costly) damage in the event of a collision because of their size. That means insurers will have to shell out larger settlements when the other parties file claims against the at-fault insured driver. Generally speaking, then, the bigger the body style of your vehicle, the higher your car insurance rates will be. However, there are a few exceptions—minivan and SUV body styles tend not to elevate insurance rates substantially because even though they are larger vehicles, they tend to be lighter and generally less likely to get into an accident in the first place than other large vehicles.