Car Insurance Costs May Vary for Select SUVs

Insurance premiums depend on several factors, including your age, sex, place of residence, and driving record; the amount and type of coverage you select; and whether you drive your vehicle primarily for business or personal purposes. This explains why one driver might pay a different premium than another for the same make of motor vehicle.

But why might it cost you more to insure one sport utility vehicle (SUV) than another?

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In addition to the factors listed above, insurance companies also:

• Consider the likelihood that a particular brand of vehicle will be stolen, vandalized, or involved in an accident
• Track the costliness of repairs
• Obtain their information by consulting various claim statistics

The Highway Loss Data Institute, for example, indexes the amount of money insurance companies have paid out (on average) for collision, injury, and theft claims for various types of motor vehicles. Therefore, the SUV that is most attractive to thieves across the country will probably be more expensive to insure than the one that is stolen least often.

In addition to these industry wide statistics, insurance companies consider their own experience with claim payouts. For instance, if one company has paid numerous claims regarding a particular make of SUV, it may charge higher insurance rates for that type of SUV than another company would. For that reason, it's wise to obtain quotes from several insurance companies before insuring your SUV.

Note: In some cases, the state, not the insurer, decides how each vehicle is rated.

Please note that this description/explanation is intended only as a guideline.