Business Development Officer, T.D. McNeil Insurance Services, Fresno, California
The color of a car is not a factor in California. The year make and model of the car, the annual mileage, the driving records of all the household members and the location of the car are the primary rating factors on auto insurance. Other states vary. I have driven a red car for quite a while and have never paid extra.
That is a great question! I think that you are hearing an urban legend at work. Typically the rate will depend a whole lot more upon the car -its make, model and year - much more than its color. A sports car or an import will generally cost more than a sedan will, regardless of the color. I hope that helps, thanks for asking!
Agency Owner, The Thomas G Sheehan Agency, 27 Glen Road Sandy Hook, CT 06482
Many years ago, underwriting and risk analysis that was employed by insurance companies was much less sophisticated than it is today, so there was a time that the color of a car or the number of it's doors or if it was a convertable may have had an impact. Not today, however. Statistical analysis and risk evaluations have become much more in depth and as such, more accurately reflect the pricing for a given rist that an insurance company is willing to take on. Today, though the color of a car may not matter, one's credit score very well may. In addition, companies now have millions of data elements for any particular type, year, make and model of a car that they did not have back in the day.
A lot of agents will laugh at this question, though it's not too far off!
Insurance rates for cars are increasing across the board for a few reasons (bear with me, I promise I'll bring it around to answer your question). First, distracted driving is going up. One in four accidents are caused by a driver looking at their cell phone. Second, cars are becoming more expensive to insure due to the technology (advanced airbags, electronics, other doodads) being installed.
So, a sedan and convertible of the same model might have the exact same cost for liability, as they would cause equal amounts of damage.
The same sedan and convertible may have different costs for comprehensive and collision as they are made of up different components (top motor, different doors, different shape frames).
I've never seen a company charge more for the color of the car. It's usually the person driving the car or everything under the paint that creates the differences in premium.
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Insurance rates for cars are increasing across the board for a few reasons (bear with me, I promise I'll bring it around to answer your question). First, distracted driving is going up. One in four accidents are caused by a driver looking at their cell phone. Second, cars are becoming more expensive to insure due to the technology (advanced airbags, electronics, other doodads) being installed.
So, a sedan and convertible of the same model might have the exact same cost for liability, as they would cause equal amounts of damage.
The same sedan and convertible may have different costs for comprehensive and collision as they are made of up different components (top motor, different doors, different shape frames).
I've never seen a company charge more for the color of the car. It's usually the person driving the car or everything under the paint that creates the differences in premium.