Import car insurance tends to cost a lot, but the cost also depends on the vehicle. Most of the time when people talk about import cars they mean Mercedes Benz, BMW, Porsche… you get the idea. All of those cars that actually look good and cost a small fortune as well. Kias and Hyundais are import cars as well, but the car insurance companies rate all cars by their own rules and not by whether the car is import or domestic.
The insurance company knows how much to charge to insure a certain car, be it import or domestic by using statistical data. For example, an insurance company receives a list of all of the accidents within a year or five years and this report has in it the types of cars that were stolen/totaled/ got into accidents the most/were the least safe. Based on this information an insurance car will raise or lower an insurance premium for a certain car.
That’s the reason why it costs so much to insure a brand new Mercedes Benz; one of the main factors that make the price of that insurance policy so high is that a car like that is an eye-candy for thieves, so the comprehensive insurance will go up. Imagine if your brand new Mercedes suffered hail damage. It would sure cost more to repair it comparing to a 1993 Honda Accord. That’s why comprehensive coverage premium is high comparing to other cars.
Now, the collision coverage is high on a brand new car such as a Mercedes not because it’s an import car, but rather because it costs a lot, therefore the insurance company will have to pay out a lot or buy you a new vehicle in case of a total-loss accident or an accident that requires a specialized body shop to fix the problem.
Sometimes the uniqueness of the car dictates the high insurance premium cost. If there are only a few specialized places where a car like yours can be fixed, it will all make an impact on how much you have to pay for your car insurance. Another factor that adds to the price is the fact that most import cars are considered to be “sports” cars by the auto insurance agencies because of their high horse powers. Sports cars cost more to insure because of the risk associated with them. The faster you can go in your vehicle the more risk of getting into a serious accident you have. During a very serious accident your car insurance agency will have to pay you out a lot of money (liability coverage, collision, your health coverage) so in order to pay for the risk it charges you more for car insurance.
Of course, if you’re older than 25, haven’t had an accident for three years, live in an area with no intense traffic and overall a good, safe driver then your car insurance rates will not be as high as if you were 19, had a DUI and drove the same import car. Here’s the big list of all the things that make you pay less in premium payments to your car insurance company:
- Insured with your auto insurance company for 3 years
- No claims or accidents for three or more years
- No DMV (Division of Motor Vehicles) points
- More than 3 years of driving experience
- Policy limits are greater than those required by law
- Full coverage (liability, comprehensive, collision) on one or more car on the policy
- Absence of non-payment cancellations
- Low annual mileage
- No DUI, DWI charges
For more tips on how to save on your import car insurance go to the Comparing Cheap Car Insurance article and also check out Cheap Car Insurance For Women for even more tips on how to lower your import car insurance premiums.