DARIEN, Ill., Jan. 15, 2007; Insure.com, Inc.,today released the 2008 Insure.com Car Insurance RankingReport, its fourth annual listing of the most and least expensive vehiclesto insure in the coming year.
Culled from a list of the 20 best-sellingcars and small trucks in the U.S., Insure.com determined that the threemost expensive autos to insure are the Dodge Ram, Chevrolet Silverado C/KPickup and Toyota Prius.
The three least expensive autos to insure for the2008 model year are the Chrysler Town & Country, Ford Escape, and GMCSierra Pickup.
Based on a list of the 20 top-selling vehicles in thenation, Insure.com calculated average car insurance premiums across threestates and multiple insurers to put together the 2008 report.
Top 10 Least Expensive Top 10 Most Expensive Vehicles to Insure Vehicles to Insure 1. Chrysler Town & Country 1. Dodge Ram pickup 2. Ford Escape 2. Chevy Silverado C/K pickup 3. GMC Sierra pickup 3. Toyota Prius 4. Chevrolet Impala 4. Honda Accord 5. Ford Econoline Club Wagon 5. Nissan Altima 6. Ford Fusion 6. Toyota Corolla 7. Ford F-series pickup 7. Ford Focus 8. Honda Civic 8. Chevrolet Cobalt 9. Toyota Camry 9. Honda CR-V 10. Toyota RAV-4 10. Dodge Caravan
Vehicles can land on the most expensive list for numerous reasons. Theymay be targets of theft, which can increase comprehensive premiums for allowners of that model; they may have high repair costs, which can increasecollision premiums; or passengers may suffer more injuries in accidents,which can affect personal injury protection premiums.
Insure.com's 2007 report named the Chevy Cobalt, Dodge Ram Pickup, andFord Focus as the most expensive vehicles on the list. The ChevroletSilverado, GMC Sierra Pickup, and Chrysler Town & Country were named theleast expensive cars to insure in 2007, showing a substantial increase ininsurance cost for the 2008 Chevrolet Silverado. Insure.com has compiledand published its annual Car Insurance Ranking Report for the past fouryears. Individuals can view the previous reports online athttp://www.insure.com.
Report serves as a wake-up call for consumers to investigate insurancecosts prior to purchasing a new vehicle
The 2008 Insure.com Car Insurance Ranking Report strives to makeconsumers more informed in the new-car buying process. Investigating andobtaining auto insurance quotes can save consumers the possible negativefinancial surprise before they drive their new car off of the dealer's lot.However, there's still a long way to go. Robert Bland, Chairman and CEO,states that too often consumers do not take into account the price of autoinsurance while purchasing a vehicle.
"Too many consumers neglect to get an auto insurance quote during thebuying process. Instead, they blindly purchase a car and add it to theirpolicy before discovering just how much their premium has changed,"explains Bland.
Katherine Mazeika, editor of Insure.com, recommends that car buyerscomparison shop for auto insurance quotes in order to secure the bestrates. Consumers may also want to investigate the savings in switching to avehicle that's more insurance-friendly. Mazeika also notes that consumerscan keep auto premiums low by getting all the discounts to which they'reentitled, keeping their driving record clean, and maintaining a good creditscore.
Auto premiums stabilize
The good news for consumers considering a vehicle on the most expensiveto insure list is that auto insurance rates stabilized in 2004/2005according to a report issued by the National Association of InsuranceCommissioners (NAIC) in September 2007. This auto database report providesthe average costs associated with personal automobile insurance nationwideand features state-by-state auto insurance data. Despite steady autoinsurance rates, certain popular cars are still pricey to insure, withadditional insurance premium variations occurring on a state-by-statebasis. In 2005, the average cost of auto insurance declined by 1.3%,according to the database report. New Jersey has the highest average annualexpenditure ($1,182), followed by the District of Columbia ($1,113) andLouisiana ($1,070).
Ranking methodology
Based on a list of the 20 top-selling vehicles in the nation,Insure.com calculated average premiums across three states and multipleinsurers to put together the 2008 Insure.com Car Insurance Ranking Report.In order to develop the insurance premium for each of the autos, we assumeda single male driver, age 40, who owns his own home, has a bachelor'sdegree and no accidents or driving convictions. The insured works as anadministrator in a hospital and drives 5 miles to work one way.
The policy limits for our imaginary driver were $100,000 per person and$300,000 per accident for bodily injury and $50,000 for property damage.Minimum Personal Injury Protection (No-Fault) was included whereapplicable. The policy has a $500 deductible for comprehensive andcollision losses.
The list of top-selling of vehicles was provided by the automotiveindustry as reported by Reuters News Service. Insurance premiums were thendeveloped for three different cities, one on each coast and one in theMidwest. Quotes were obtained from four different insurance companies ineach city. The insurance cost for each auto was then averaged across allthree cities and all insurance companies to come up with the final results.
The vehicles in the 2008 Insure.com Car Insurance Ranking Report are onthe top 20 best-selling vehicles list for numerous reasons, none of theminsurance related. When it comes to purchasing a vehicle, a consumer'sfinal decision is usually based on the overall desire to own the vehiclewithout taking into account the possibility of high insurance rates.Although consumers typically do not obtain auto insurance quotes beforepurchasing a new vehicle, knowing the average insurance rates for thenation's top-selling vehicles lends itself to a more practical car buyingexperience.
Recent accolade for Insure.com
In its November 2007 issue, Kiplinger's Personal Finance once againnamed Insure.com as a "Best Site" for life insurance. In a special reporttitled "The Best List: 25 Web sites You'll Want to Bookmark," Kiplinger'sstated that Insure.com offers "... accurate price quotes from up to 30 topinsurers, along with detailed criteria you must meet to qualify for thoserates."
About Insure.com
Insure.com provides a comprehensive consumer information service andcompanion insurance brokerage service that caters to the needs ofself-directed insurance shoppers. Visitors to the Company's flagship Website, http://www.insure.com, are able to obtain free, instant car insurancequotes, instant life insurance quotes, home, business and health insurancequotes from leading insurers and have the freedom to buy online or by phonefrom any company shown. Insure.com also plays home to over 2,000 originallyauthored articles on various insurance topics and also provides freeinsurance decision-making tools that are not available from any othersingle source. Insure.com generates revenues from receipt ofindustry-standard commissions, including back-end bonus commissions andvolume-based contingent bonus commissions that are paid by participatinginsurance companies. We also generate advertising revenues from the sale ofWeb site traffic to various third parties. Insure.com was originallyfounded in 1984 as Quotesmith Corporation. Shares of the Company's commonstock trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol NSUR.
