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10 Most Expensive 2006 Cars & Trucks to Insure

They say ignorance is bliss, but there are some exceptions. One occurs during the car-buying occasion—a time when emotions run high and thoughts of insurance premiums take a back seat to visions of new-car power and performance.

Simply put, when individuals shop for a new automobile, they usually give little thought to the cost to insure it. Many get swept up in the buying experience which quite frankly, can be an emotional process. They work hard to negotiate a price with a dealership, and as the process unfolds, they forget all about how the insurance premium will impact their monthly budget.

This fact is shocking. That’s because the insurance premium difference between the most and least expensive autos to insure can add up, particularly when multiplying that difference by the number of years a vehicle is owned.

To assist car-buyers more intelligently make new-car buying decisions in the context of insurance premium costs, Insure.com has revealed its 2006 Most Expensive Autos to Insure report (autos encompass both 2005 and 2006 model years; see chart below).

The methodology of the report provides a comparison of insurance rates based on a 45 year-old single male with no driving violations or convictions, who drives to work less than 3 miles one way. The methodology (see full details below) used liability limits of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, and $50,000 property damage. Comprehensive and collision premiums were determined using a $250 deductible. The vehicles were selected from information provided by the automotive industry as reported by Reuters News Service.

While nobody wants to buy a car with a high insurance premium attached, there is good news for individuals who bought cars on the Most Expensive to Insure list. 2005 marked a year when many insurance carriers were able to offset these higher premiums by passing along premium savings to customers via other means. David Biewer, vice president of actuarial, for San Francisco-based Esurance, which provides personal auto insurance direct to consumers online, says his company was able to reduce auto insurance rates 2% to 3% in 2005 for customers thanks in large part to Esurance's ability to reduce ’05 loss costs about 1%.

One factor that contributed to Esurance’s more favorable loss-cost position was a significant drop in accident frequency per policyholder within its auto lines. Biewer says this most likely was attributed to the fact that a higher percentage of the U.S. workforce opted to car pool or take mass transit to help counter higher fuel costs in 2005. Fewer autos on the road thus helped draw down accident frequency, he says.

Biewer notes too that better technology enhancements in vehicles continue to play a role in providing a more favorable loss position for carriers. For example, a higher level of efficiency in features such as anti-lock braking systems and air-bag protection means that when autos are involved in an accident, overall damages can often be contained. This in turn softens an insurer's cost obligation when a customer files a claim.

Biewer explains that, going forward, Esurance, a subsidiary of White Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd., plans to explore additional programs to reward policyholders who have exhibited exceptional driving records for a sustained period. The payoff: Reduced premiums—in essence rewarding good drivers for going long periods without filing a claim.

De-mystifying insurance pricing

Indeed, individuals often wonder how insurance companies determine auto insurance rates—why in fact the Ford F-Series Pickup is so much more to insure than, let’s say, the GMC Sierra Pickup. In short, insurers determine auto rates based on four factors: Who uses the vehicle, where it is kept, the accident history of the drivers in the household, and the type of vehicle.

Several insurers, including Esurance, have established their own proprietary rating symbols that take multiple factors into account when pinpointing risk exposure. Another established rating system is the rating manual developed by Jersey City, N.J.-based Insurance Services Office (ISO), an organization that compiles loss data for the insurance industry. ISO’s manual of automobile rating symbols assigns vehicles to one of 27 classifications.

Each classification reflects a variety of loss elements such as damageability, cost to repair, and the extent to which the vehicle may be a target for theft. The higher the numerical classification, the higher the insurance premium for damage to the vehicle (your collision and comprehensive coverage). According to this table, the classification code for a Corvette is 22. Therefore, the collision and comprehensive insurance for it would cost more than for an Impala with a classification code of 11. Not much of a surprise there. While not every insurance company uses the ISO classifications, the greater majority do deploy these classifications.

In 2004, ISO introduced a new system for determining Liability, Personal Injury Protection (No-Fault states), and Medical Payments premiums. The new system applies credits or surcharges ranging from -20% to +25% based on the fact that one auto can cause more damage than another and the fact that passengers are more likely to sustain injury in some autos than in others. Imagine a Hummer involved in an accident with a Honda Civic. Which occupant or vehicle do you think is more likely to be injured? The new program is available in all states but not all insurance companies have adopted it. Therefore, the same coverage could cost you 25% more or less depending on whom you select as your insurance company.

A number of factors may cause your individual premium to differ from the quotes we received in our research. Certainly, if operators in your household have had accidents or traffic violations, your premium will be higher. If you are under 25 or over 50, your premium may be higher or lower. If your commute to work is further than 3 miles or if you use your vehicle in your business, you can expect to pay more for your insurance.

If you are comfortable with a $1,000 deductible on your collision and comprehensive coverages instead of $250 as we used, you might save up to $400 a year depending on where you live (the savings are greater in high density areas such as New York City or Los Angeles). This means that if you are loss free for three or four years, the premium savings for the higher deductible could pay for itself. And, of course, insurance companies do compete for good insureds. It pays to look around before you buy.

The fact that there are literally hundreds of insurers, many of which have not yet adopted the new Liability, Medical Payments, and Personal Injury Protection rating plan described above, gives insurance buyers a very clear message: NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO COMPARISON SHOP! Don’t simply settle for the lowest price, however. If the insurer is not one with which you are familiar, you might want to check them out with the state insurance department.

Each state monitors the complaints it receives about insurance companies. You can ask the insurance department if the number of complaints it has received about that low-cost company is excessive or not. Ask around. Do you know anyone who has dealt with that company before? If you don’t like what you hear, perhaps you should continue shopping. There’s much to be said for the old adage “You get what you pay for.”

The Top 10 Most Expensive Vehicles To Insure

We compared insurance rates from across the country for the top best-selling automobiles to determine which 10 were the most expensive to insure. Of the top 20 best-selling vehicles in the U.S., the most expensive to insure, in ranking order, (includes both 2005 and ’06 model years) are:

1. Ford F-Series
2. Dodge Ram Pickup
3. Ford Explorer
4. Honda Civic
5. Chevrolet Silverado-C/K Pickup
6. Toyota Camry
7. Honda Accord
8. Chevrolet Trailblazer
9. Nissan Altima
10. Ford Focus

Source: Reuters News Service

Report Methodology

Our comparison of insurance rates was based on a 45 year-old single male with no driving violations or convictions and driving to work less than 3 miles one way. We used liability limits of $100,000 per person, $300,000 per accident, and $50,000 property damage. Comprehensive and collision premiums were determined using a $250 deductible. The vehicles were selected from information provided by the automotive industry as reported by Reuters News Service. Using insurance rates provided by Esurance.com, premiums were determined for the 2006 model year of each vehicle in three separate cities, one on the east coast, one in the Midwest, and one on the west coast. The premiums from all three locations were then averaged and the vehicles ranked from least to most expensive.Obviously, you can expect to pay more for insurance in some localities than in others. For example, it may cost twice as much to insure one of these vehicles in Cherry Hill, NJ as it would to insure the same vehicle in Indianapolis, IN. In addition, the particular model you purchase will influence your insurance premium (ISO has classifications for 10 different models of the Honda Civic, for example).