lesz

There are many factors besides how much a vehicle is worth that determine how much insurance premiums for that vehicle are going to be. Among those factors are things like frequency of accidents/claims with those vehicles, how likely the vehicle is to be stolen, whether typical drivers of that vehicle tend to be more likely to be involved in accidents etc.

I'm guessing with some confidence, for example, that, that ES vehicles are stolen at a higher rate than GX vehicles because, even though a GX is worth more than an ES of the same model year, there is a much bigger market for ES parts since there are a lot more ES vehicles on the road than there are GX vehicles. For that same reason, cars like the Camry and the Ford Fusion annually end up being the cars with the highest theft rates.

I can also note that my annual premium for my ES is about 50% higher than my annual premium for my GX. Part of the reason for that certainly is that my ES is newer than my GX, but I'm also sure that a part of the premium difference comes from factors such as a statistically higher probability of the ES being stolen, lower probability of the GX being in an accident, etc.

Mike728

That's interesting. When I went from a 400hp SUV to a Sonata, back in 2008, my rates went up a couple hundred a year. The car was 2009 model in early 2008. The reasoning was, they didn't have crash test results on it yet, even though there were just minor changes to the interior. When the next years bill came out, it dropped about $300/yr. The really strange thing, my ES is even cheaper to insure than the Sonata was. I'm not complaining, though.

lesz

And it can even be the case that it costs more to insure vehicle A than vehicle B in one geographical region, but it costs for to insure vehicle B than vehicle A in a different geographical region based on different claim frequencies for the two vehicles in the 2 regions. Even things like the labor rate for body work in different markets, combined with how likely the vehicle is to need body work, can affect the relative premium costs for different vehicles.

Again, there are lots of factors that get put together in determining those rates, and, as I said in an earlier post, as long as I'm not getting gouged by an insurance carrier, I find value in building up and maintaining a decades-long relationship with an agent and with a company.

Mike728

Totally agree with this! I've been with my same agent since 1980. Yes, I know I'm old.

lesz

Well, I guess I'm really old.

When I was a senior in high school, I had my first fender-bender. When my parents saw what my carelessness was going to do their insurance rates, they gave me the choice of paying the increased premium or seeing if I could find insurance at a lower cost. That was when I switched to State Farm. That was in 1965, and I maintained insurance with the same agent until he died after working into his mid-80s in about 2012. There have been at least 3 or 4 times during my relationship with that agency where they went to bat for me with regard to claims, and I doubt that they would have done so had I been a short-term customer who switched insurance carriers every few years. It is that kind of service that has led me to maintain auto insurance, home owner's insurance, boat insurance, and personal articles insurance with them even though I now live 150 miles away.

prosgal73

Thanks everyone for the great feedback!

wasjr

I agree with this with one caveat. I believed I had such a relationship, but found out that I was just getting renewed each period. Insurance companies continually file revised rates and classifications with state insurance departments. I received a cold call offering to give me a review of my policies. Found out that with the same insurance carrier I qualified for more favorable classifications, and could save a significant amount of money. So make sure your agent periodically shops your coverage.