Subarus are popular cars for many young drivers, but owning one can push up annual insurance costs by as much as $300. Photo / Wairarapa Times Age
Subarus are popular cars for many young drivers, but owning one can push up annual insurance costs by as much as $300. Photo / Wairarapa Times Age
Young drivers could be costing themselves a packet in insurance by picking some popular car models over others.
While Toyota Corollas and Subaru Impreza's both make the top five most quoted car models for drivers under the age of 25, through AA Insurance, buying an Impreza could cost $300 extra a year to insure.
An online quote from AA Insurance for a 1.8L 2005 Toyota Corolla for an 18 year old with a clean driving record living in Auckland would cost $1215 a year for comprehensive cover with an excess of $500.
But a 2L 2005 Subaru Impreza would cost $1529 per year with the same conditions.
A spokeswoman for AA Insurance said the type of car a person chose to drive could affect their premium.
"Our data shows that some cars are involved in accidents more often than others, while some are stolen more often than others.
How to cut your car insurance costs • Choose a lower value car with a small engine size • Avoid cars that may be expensive to fix such as European models • Avoid cars that may be attractive to thieves or have accessories which may mean it is more likely to be broken into • If you are considering different cars check out the insurance costs before you buy through an online quote • Shop around - different insurers may take different factors into account
"These events can be attributed to the driver as well as the type of vehicle they choose to drive.
Subarus are popular cars for many young drivers, but owning one can push up annual insurance costs by as much as $300. Photo / Wairarapa Times Age
"Based on this information, which is constantly refined, we can calculate an individual's vehicle insurance premium."
Younger drivers - those aged under 25 and lower excesses - also tended to increase the premium costs, she said.
"This is because claims data shows younger drivers, with less experience, are more likely to make a claim."
But the spokeswoman said there were a number of ways young people could keep their insurance costs down.
Top 10 quoted vehicles for main drivers under-25 and cost to insure:
• Toyota Corolla -Low • Subaru Legacy - High • Suzuki Swift - Low • Honda Civic - Low • Subaru Impreza -High • Mazda Axela - Average • Honda Accord - Average • Volkswagen Golf - Average • Nissan Primera - Average • Nissan Pulsar - Low Source: AA Insurance quote data 1 November 2014 - 1 November 2015
"Lower value and older cars will typically cost less to insure, as will cars with lower levels of performance, generally with smaller engines.
"It's also worth noting that European vehicles tend to cost more to repair and this is often reflected in the cost to insure them."
Judith Harvey, general manager product personal lines pricing and underwriting at IAG which owns insurance brand AMI, said smaller cars with smaller engines were generally cheaper to insure.
"This is because cars with larger engines tend to go faster and have more power than cars with smaller engines, and consequently can be less forgiving of mistakes or lapses in concentration leading to more accidents or greater damage when accidents do occur.
Older cars generally have less sophisticated security and are therefore more prone to theft than newer cars
Picking a mass produced car could also result in cheaper insurance as parts typically cost less, she said.
"Parts cost and complexity of repair also play a large role in premium level and in this case newer cars can be more costly to insure as they can include more high-cost technology in parts (such as sensors and cameras in bumpers) and require specialist repair methodologies and materials."
Harvey said car shoppers should look to avoid makes and models that were more likely to be stolen if they wanted to keep costs down.
The likelihood of a car being stolen may also influence the cost to insure.
"Additionally some makes and models, particularly higher performance cars, are more appealing to thieves than and consequently present an increased risk to the insurer.
Harvey said a break down of the most insured cars also found males were more likely to insure larger cars than females.
She said that could be linked to the ego boost associated with males driving a certain type of car while for many females a car was more about getting from A to B.
Harvey said it always paid to get a quote before buying a car to know what the premium cost could be.
