Allstate Rates Camaro, Firebird as Costliest to Insure

Two domestic muscle cars top Allstate Insurance Co.’s annual list of automobile insurance rates, but the insurer noted Wednesday that other American-made models dominate the lower end of the rate scale.

Owners of the Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z28 and the Pontiac Firebird TransAm--both made by General Motors--are being charged rates 100% to 140% higher than standard for collision and comprehensive coverages, according to the survey of 1987 and 1988 models of foreign and domestic cars.

Allstate rated the Porsche 944 and Chrysler’s Conquest as the second most expensive to insure, charging drivers of those cars insurance rates 60% to 100% more than standard rates.

In its survey, Allstate assigned each car a standard rate based on the car’s price new and a hypothetical suburban Chicago residence for the driver.

Ford’s LTD Crown Victoria, a full-size sedan, was rated the least expensive to insure, with costs 35% to 50% lower than the standard rate, Allstate Vice President Mike LaMonica said.

A Break for U.S.-Made Cars

Forty-three of the 49 cars being charged 10% to 40% less than standard rates were domestic models, the report said.

“One of the things that we have found is that American-made cars seem to be getting better treatment than foreign cars,” LaMonica said, attributing the difference to the cost of repair and parts and to the frequency of thefts.

The rating guide for 119 car models is based on the company’s own loss experience for the collision and comprehensive portions of its auto policies, the insurer said.

The cost of insuring a particular model is generally based on its price new, LaMonica said. But the “loss experience,” or the amount Allstate has paid out in claims for that model over time, affects the insurance rate, he said.

The standard annual rate for the LTD Crown Victoria--the best rated car on the list--had been $550 but was reduced to $360, based on claims filed with Allstate for that model, LaMonica said.

The TransAm initially was given a standard rate of $550, but that rose to $1,296, based on Allstate’s claim record for the car, he said.

Pontiac spokesman Bill O’Neill blamed the TransAm’s high insurance costs on the car’s theft rate and its popularity with younger, mostly male drivers.

High Theft Rates

“The Firebird series, especially the TransAm has . . . among the highest theft rates in the country,” he said in a telephone interview.

“It is a performance-oriented machine. . . . This is prime pickings for people who like to steal automobiles,” O’Neill said.

But he said the TransAm’s theft rate had dropped by about 50% since last year, when the auto maker began equipping each car with a special ignition key. Without the key, the car will not start for three minutes--about the time it takes to steal a car.

Susan Kane, spokeswoman for Chevrolet, said all 1989 Camaros also would be equipped with the “Pass Key” to help eliminate theft problems and possibly to decrease insurance rates for the model.

In releasing its survey, Allstate denied claims by critics who contend that insurance companies are not doing enough to keep their prices down.

“Those critics are ignoring the fact that our research into repairability has led to our drive for stronger bumpers and cars that are easier and cheaper to repair,” said Ray Kiefer, president of Allstate’s personal property and casualty unit. “We share that information with auto manufacturers.”