Originally Posted by
Loren
Insurance rates vary wildly depending on which insurance company you choose (some are more preferential to different demographics) and how long you've been with them, where you live, how old you are, your driving record, your CREDIT rating, what you drive, what coverages you choose, and probably the phases of the moon.
What you drive is a factor, but not always for the reasons you might think. The replacement cost of the car is a factor, as is repair cost. But, they also look at the demographics of who typically owns a car and how likely they are to crash. That's why cars that are attractive to younger buyers tend to have crazy insurance rates. That applies to things like Mustangs and Camaros because they're cool and fun... it also applies to things like Kia Rios and Mitsubishi Mirages because they're cheap to buy.
And my 1997 Chevy S10... if I had full coverage on it... would cost more to insure than my wife's 2015 Miata. Why? Because the typical S10 owner is more likely to crash. The typical 2015 Miata owner is expected to be more mature and less crashy. (the Miata is also less likely to crash by virtue of better technology, being newer and in a better state of repair, etc, etc) It's all based on statistics.
If you're under 25, you're screwed. Beyond that... you might have a chance.
I'm 52 with a fairly clean driving record (last speeding ticked was 4-5 years ago, last crash/claim was 20+ years ago) and excellent credit. I live in a bad place for insurance rates (urban Florida). I have a multi-car discount, and discounts for being with Progressive for 15+ years. I'm a homeowner, which is also a factor. I'm married, which is also a factor.
I just renewed my insurance. It was something like $830 for 6 months. That's for four vehicles. An S10 pickup, two Miatas and the Mirage. The Mirage is the most expensive to insure, go figure.
Since it's all online and easy to look up...
On the Mirage:
$65 Property Damage Liability
$81 Bodily Injury Liability
$49 Uninsured Motorist
$38 Personal Injury
$12 Comprehensive
$41 Collision
Lots of $1,000 deductibles. Minimal coverages. ($50k... really should do more these days)
That's a total of $286 for 6 months on a 2015 Mirage.
My wife's 2015 Miata has exactly the same coverages and it's $215. I think she has a 20% "snapshot" discount from driving around with a monitor on her car for a couple months a few years ago. That might be why hers is lower.
Here are all the discounts applied to our account:
Anti-Lock Brakes
Continuous Insurance Discount - Diamond
Driver and Passenger-side Airbag
Driver-side Airbag
Five Year Accident Free
Five Year Claim Free
Homeowner
Multi-Vehicle
Online Quote
Paid in Full
Paperless
Passive Anti-Theft Device
Snapshot®
Three Year Safe Driving
Trying to figure out what your insurance rates are, or should be, is nearly impossible!
What sucks is that I'm paying almost $400/year to keep minimum insurance on my S10... that I might drive once every 2 months. I really need to sell that thing!