Agency Owner, The Thomas G Sheehan Agency, 27 Glen Road Sandy Hook, CT 06482
More than likely not these days. There was a time many years ago when having a red car, or one with 2 instead of 4 doors or a convertible vs a hard top may have had an effect on car insurance premiums. I think we would all agree that looking back on it, these were pretty subjective standards. These days underwriting is much more sophisticated. Today, companies use vehicle identification numbers to track statistics for loss history and repair costs among a great many other things in order to develop proper premium.
Business Development Officer, T.D. McNeil Insurance Services, Fresno, California
Insurance companies hire people call actuaries. These people sift through mountains of data from insurance claims to look for factors that might predict future claims. If the color of a car was statistically significant, the company could appeal to your state insurance commissioner and ask that color be a part of the rating scheme. The fact that it isn’t indicates that there isn’t sufficient proof that red cars have more accidents; however, if they have a red light on the roof they might have a higher accident rate.
However, a higher percentage of drivers of red cars tend to drive faster, which could contribute to higher pricing on their own policy.
Live answer provided by: Ed Harris - Car Insurance broker since 1980.