The most and least expensive 2010 vehicles to insure

What's it like to drive a Porsche with 530 horsepower and an MSRP of $194,000? Thrilling, no doubt — not that most of us will ever know. On the bright side, most of us will never have to pay the insurance bills associated with such a car.

Insure.com's annual ranking of average car insurance rates reveals that the Porsche Carrera GT2 two-door coupe is the most expensive vehicle to insure among 2010 models. A 40-year-old male would pay a national average of $2,943.78 for car insurance annually — and that's assuming the driver has a good driving record.

On the other end of the scale is the Mazda Tribute I (2WD four-door SUV) — the least expensive 2010 vehicle to insure among all vehicles examined. Looking across other categories, the Dodge Caliber is the least expensive car to insure, the GMC Canyon WT (2WD 2 Door 2.9L) is the least expensive pickup to insure, and the Honda Odyssey LX (5 Door 2WD SOHC) is the least expensive minivan to insure.

"The least expensive vehicles are ones you have to drive and no one wants to. The most expensive list includes cars that people don't have to drive but want to," observes Kim Hazelbaker, senior vice president of the Highway Loss Data Institute, a division of the Insurance Institute for Highway safety.

The profile of the average person who drives a particular model has great influence on the average premiums for that vehicle because pricing for collision and comprehensive coverage is based on the model's "loss history." For example, small cars that are often driven by young, inexperienced drivers tend to be more expensive to insure.

In many ways, the "soccer mom" driving a minivan is among the best insurance customers, says Hazelbaker — she is much less likely to make a claim because she generally doesn't drive during peak commuting hours, doesn't drive often late at night, and is probably not an aggressive driver. (The ideal insurance customer doesn't drive her car at all.)

Car insurance rates also tend to rise with horsepower. Hazelbaker says, "The number of series available with 500 hp and up has exploded. The Viper is 600 hp. These are insane numbers. The Carrera is a race car in street clothing. And they're being driven on occasion by people using this horsepower. And these are expensive vehicles, $100,000 and up, so if you have a total loss, that's a big factor [in insurance rates]."

The least expensive 2010 vehicles to insure
Rank	Make and Model	Style & Type	Cylinders	Avg. national premium
1	Mazda Tribute I	2WD 4 Door Utility	4	$1070.25
2	Honda Odyssey LX	5 Door 2WD SOHC Van	6	$1095.26
3	Mazda Tribute I	4WD 4 Door Utility	4	$1103.29
4	Chrysler Town & Country LX	2WD 4 Door 3.3L Wagon	6	$1119.83
5	Jeep Wrangler X	4WD 2 Door 3.8L Utility	6	$1124.38
6	Mazda Tribute S	2WD 4 Door Utility	6	$1128.29
7	Dodge Grand Caravan SE	2WD 4 Door 3.3L Wagon	6	$1131.06
8	Toyota Sienna CE	4 Door Wagon	6	$1133.97
9	Hyundai Tucson GLS	2WD 4 Door Utility	4	$1134.08
10	Kia Sportage LX	2WD 4 Door Utility	4	$1138.41
11	Honda Odyssey EX	5 Door 2WD SOHC Van	6	$1139.80
12	Hyundai Santa Fe GLS	4 Door 2WD Utility	6	$1141.07
13	Jeep Patriot Sport	2WD 4 Door Utility	4	$1145.58
14	Honda CR-V LX	5 Door 2.4L Utility	4	$1146.29
15	Dodge Grand Caravan C/V	2WD 4 Door Van	6	$1146.53
16	Mazda Tribute S	4WD 4 Door Utility	6	$1146.69
17	Toyota Sienna LE	4 Door Wagon	6	$1148.78
18	Dodge Journey SE	2WD 4 Door 2.4L Utility	4	$1149.59
19	Ford Escape XLS	4WD 4 Door SUV	4	$1149.67
20	GMC Canyon WT	2WD 2 Door 2.9L Truck	4	$1152.39
Source: Insure.com, from a study commissioned by Insure.com from Quadrant Information Services

 

The most expensive 2010 vehicles to insure
Rank	Make and Model	Style & Type	Cylinders	Avg. national premium
1	Porsche 911 Carrera GT2	2 Door Coupe	6	$2943.78
2	Mercedes S65 AMG	4 Door Sedan	12	$2863.03
3	Dodge Viper SRT-10	2 Door Coupe	10	$2851.89
4	Porsche Panamera Turbo AWD	4 Door Sedan	8	$2837.39
5	Dodge Viper SRT-10	2 Door Convertible	10	$2815.90
6	Mercedes CL600	2 Door Coupe	12	$2754.80
7	Audi R8	2 Door Coupe AWD	8	$2751.55
8	Porsche Panamera S	4 Door Sedan	8	$2744.78
9	Mercedes SL600	2 Door Convertible	12	$2715.86
10	Porsche 911 Carrera Turbo	2 Door Coupe AWD	6	$2706.04
11	Mercedes CL65 AMG	2 Door Coupe	12	$2699.74
12	BMW M6	2 Door Convertible	10	$2689.13
13	Mercedes S600	4 Door Sedan	12	$2667.48
14	Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series	2 Door Convertible	12	$2655.15
15	Mercedes SL65 AMG	2 Door Convertible	12	$2653.53
16	Mercedes CL63 AMG	2 Door Coupe	8	$2646.92
17	BMW M6	2 Door Coupe	10	$2627.27
18	BMW 760Li	4 Door Sedan	12	$2565.59
19	Jaguar XKR Portfolio SC	2 Door Coupe	8	$2537.79
20	Jaguar XKR Supercharged	2 Door Coupe	8	$2533.48
Source: Insure.com, from a study commissioned by Insure.com from Quadrant Information Services

 

Average car insurance premiums for the top 10 selling vehicles
Rank (by sales)	Make and Model	Avg. national premium (averaged across all styles for model)
1	Ford F-Series pickup	$1492.71
2	Toyota Camry	$1274.61
3	Chevrolet Silverado pickup	$1383.10
4	Toyota Corolla	$1302.68
5	Honda Accord	$1301.20
6	Honda Civic	$1362.97
7	Nissan Altima	$1399.35
8	Honda CR-V	$1161.52
9	Ford Fusion	$1354.84
10	Dodge Ram pickup	$1467.63
Premium source: Insure.com, from a study commissioned by Insure.com from Quadrant Information Services. Top-selling vehicles in 2009 according to Reuters.

 

To arrive at the average premiums, Insure.com commissioned a study from Quadrant Information Services that calculated the average premiums for a male driver (see full profile below) using car insurance rates from six large carriers (State Farm, Allstate, Progressive, GEICO, Farmers and Nationwide) in 10 ZIP codes per state. Not all models are available for calculating average rates, especially exotic cars, which is why you won't see Bentleys and Lamborghinis on the list — although you can assume those carry hefty insurance bills.

Averages are based on a single 40-year-old male driver who commutes 12 miles to work, with policy limits of 100/300/50 ($100,000 for injury liability for one person, $300,000 for all injuries and $50,000 for property damage in an accident) and a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage. He has a clean driving record and good credit. The policy includes uninsured motorist coverage. Average rates are for comparative purposes; your rate will depend on your personal factors.

For questions, a FREE Risk Management Review or a free copy of your insurance credit report, contact Daniel @ 609-203-8293 or  http://danielguest.webs.com

 

For a FREE copy of my new book "The Circle of Safety: How to Protect Yourself and Your Family With Today's Insurance"  click Daniel.Guest@HUBinternational just put "book" in the subject line