Ford Edge is cheapest vehicle to insure, website says
The Ford Edge, which generally has garnered good reviews as a comfortable and affordable crossover vehicle, is at the top of this year’s list of the cheapest cars to insure.
The SE model of the Edge beat out some 750 vehicles reviewed by the price-comparison site Insure.com for the 2013 model year.
Crossovers and sport-utility vehicles dominated as the least expensive vehicles to insure — including models from Kia, Hyundai and Chrysler’s Jeep brand — highlighting a shift away from minivans as the go-to vehicle for families. Family vehicles generally report fewer crashes, which holds down expensive insurance claims.
The Honda Fit, squeaking in at No. 19, was the only small car to make the top 20.
The site also produces a list of the most-expensive cars to insure, and not surprisingly, luxury cars with powerful engines and European pedigrees were well represented. Mercedes-Benz models dominated, taking eight of the top 10 and 11 of the top 20 slots on the most-expensive list.
Vehicles with the highest price tags tend to cost more to insure because the value pushes up repair and replacement costs. Luxury cars often are made in limited numbers, which also jacks up repair costs.
Other factors that affect premiums include frequency of accidents, bodily injury claims and incidence of theft.
Insure.com’s nationwide rankings were based on average car insurance rates from six large carriers — Allstate, Farmers, Geico, Nationwide, Progressive and State Farm — in 10 ZIP Codes per state.
The sample driver used for the study was a single, 40-year-old male commuting 12 miles to work each day with certain policy limits, a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage, plus a clean driving record and good credit.
Based on that criteria, the average annual premium for the Ford Edge SE was $1,128. That compared with an average annual insurance bill of $3,357 for the most expensive vehicle to cover: the Mercedes-Benz CL600 with a sticker price of about $160,000.
Here’s the top 10 lists of least- and most-expensive cars to insure, as tallied by Insure.com.
Least expensive:
1. Ford Edge SE
2. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo
3. Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium
4. Kia Sportage
5. Jeep Patriot Sport
6. Chevrolet Express 1500
7. Subaru Outback 3.6R
8. Hyundai Tucson GLS
9. Ford Explorer
10. Hyundai Tucson GL
Most expensive:
1. Mercedes-Benz CL600
2. Mercedes-Benz CL65 AMG
3. Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG
4. Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG
5. Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG
6. Mercedes-Benz S600
7. Mercedes-Benz SL63 AMG
8. Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG
9. Porsche 911 Turbo
10. Porsche 911 Turbo S
Sabatini writes for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
