Higher Insurance for Smaller Cars
Ever since the gas prices have increased, people have been looking for smaller, more fuel efficient cars. Well, the problem with these cars are that, in general, they cost more to insure. More accidents are involved with smaller cars and there are bigger claims, especially injuries. An article was written in the Wall Street Journal by M.P. McQueen explaining this problem.
Driver profile does not even matter in the insurance prices either. An example was given that a 40-year-old male driver would pay an average of $1704 to insure a 2009 Mini Cooper that gets 37 miles per gallon on the highway. This is according to Insure.com, which is an online insurance broker. That same driver would pay about !266 to insure a Toyota Sienna minivan, which gets 23 mpg.
Smaller cars often cost less for property-damage liability, and then tend to have higher theft rates as well. Smaller cars are also often used in street racing. All of these factors contribute to cause the higher insurance rates.
So, when you are looking to buy a new car, make sure that you check on the insurance as well. You might find that smaller cars are not all around cheaper.