What Color Cars Have The Highest Insurance?
Red cars have a reputation for being more expensive to insure. We have run into many people who avoid buying a red car for instance, even though they love the color because they imagine that it would be more expensive to insure. However, that isn’t the case but ask any insurance company and they will deny it.
Car color does not have an effect on insurance rates. Whether you have a black, yellow, green or any other color car, be assured that you will not have to pay more for them. Similarly, some colors like white or black aren’t cheaper to insure. Most times, car insurance companies don’t even know what color car you own. Your vehicle’s VIN or Vehicle Identification Number is all that insurers have, which does not mention the color. The VIN identifies other vehicle information like the year, make, model, body type, etc.
What does affect your car insurance rates is how safely you drive (driving record), the type of vehicle you own, and a few other factors, of which color isn’t one. However, color can be a factor if your vehicle has a custom paint job.
Should You Avoid Buying Specific Car Colors To Avoid Paying Hefty Car Insurance Premiums?
As mentioned earlier, color will only be a factor if it is a custom paint job. The custom paint job will be considered “additional expensive custom parts and equipment.” However, even with a custom paint job, you don’t have to pay exponentially more. It is a minor charge added to your vehicle’s original premium at best.
Sure, many people believe that flashy colors like yellow and red are more likely to be pulled over for driving recklessly; there is no statical evidence to support this argument. Anyone concerned about being pulled over may want to avoid certain models, which police are more likely to pull over, but it certainly has nothing to do with color.
Now statically speaking, white cars have lower incidences of accidents. So, statically, if you own a white car, you are less likely to get into an accident. Furthermore, car thieves tend to prefer many colors, including white. Colors of choice for car thieves include silver, black, gold, and green but even these factors don’t affect your car insurance coverage.
It is also worth considering that some models are more popular amongst car thieves, get into accidents, and get ticketed, but there are other factors at play here than simply the car’s color. In other words, there is no data to suggest that a vehicle’s color, in particular, is associated with a certain type of risk if all things are equal. There is also no proof that any specific car color is safer than others or even riskier. That’s why the color does not matter when calculating insurance premiums. There is also no such thing as red car insurance.
Why Do People Assume That A Vehicle’s Color Affects Auto Insurance Rates?
One of the questions many people have is if there is no direct correlation between color and the cost of insurance, then why do so many licensed drivers believe that it is more expensive to insure a red car? So, the answer could be that, on average red cars cost more to purchase, i.e., they are expensive.
According to sales data from various car companies across the US, black, white, red, and blue happen to be the most expensive car colors mainly because they are in high demand. Popular colors aren’t cheap because dealers don’t have to negotiate to sell a vehicle, owing to their high demand. Dealers will also sell these color vehicles for more money, and so the more expensive a vehicle, the more it costs to insure. Looked at in another way, your vehicle’s color could mean you pay more for insurance because it costs more. In practice, color does not impact the vehicle’s value enough for auto insurance premium to be noticeably higher.
Regardless of what you may have heard about the color of your vehicle, the premiums for more family-oriented vehicles are lower. Luxury or sports class vehicles are more expensive, and hence they cost more to insure on average regardless of the color.
What Factors Affect Your Insurance Rates According to Insurance Companies?
A handful of factors affect your vehicle insurance in a big way. Here are a couple of factors that insurers will consider:
Drive less and pay less – Your auto insurance rates are largely calculated on part based on how much you drive. Statically, drivers who are driving more are more likely to be in an accident. That’s why reducing how much you drive, i.e., the number of miles may help qualify you for lower premiums. Some insurers have programs that are meant for low-mileage drivers.
Maintain a decent credit score – People with low credit scores are generally more likely to file a claim as compared to people with good scores. That’s why the higher your score, the less you pay. Make sure to take steps to improve your credit score, as that will have a direct effect on how much you pay for insurance coverage.
Find discounts – Insurance companies tend to offer many different types of discounts. However, it is your job to ensure that all the discounts you qualify for are applied.
Pay for coverage you need – While you certainly don’t want to skimp on coverage and be stuck with paying for expenses out of pocket, but you also shouldn’t pay for coverage that’s not needed. So, choose to get enough coverage but do not go overboard.
Conclusion
When buying a car, color is a major consideration for many buyers second to maybe the car model. However, you shouldn’t choose a color because it is considered more expensive or cheaper to insure. After all, as we just discussed, auto insurance companies don’t factor color into premium rates. So, choose any color car you want, but make sure to drive safely.
