| American culture attributes the car we drive to our | | | | 4 Kia Sportage |
| persona - defining our values, our sense of style, and | | | | 5 Chevrolet Equinox |
| to some extent, our eccentricities. It's the reason that | | | | 6 Ford Escape |
| Corvette owners wave to each other, and why | | | | 7 Kia Optima |
| everyone feels the need to catch a look to see who's | | | | 8 Subaru Tribeca |
| driving the Hummer. In the same manner, the car we | | | | 9 Buick Lucerne |
| drive also determines how much we pay for car | | | | 10 Ford Ranger |
| insurance. Easily an afterthought to the monthly car | | | | To create each list, we carefully analyzed rate data |
| loan payment, many owners are "car-broke" because | | | | for every driver with a 2009 model vehicle who visited |
| of their insurance costs and don't even know it. | | | | for an auto insurance quote this year. After combing |
| Are you driving one of the most expensive cars to | | | | through tens of thousands of quotes, we came up |
| insure? | | | | with an average rate for each make and model and |
| Factors That Determine Car Insurance Rates | | | | sorted the results by price. Each make and model |
| There are a handful of factors that determine how | | | | must have had at least 50 quote requests to qualify. |
| much a person pays for insurance, including gender, | | | | What's the Fastest You've Taken It? |
| age, driving record, location of residence, annual driving | | | | If you drive a high performance vehicle with more |
| mileage, credit scores (in most states), and most | | | | horsepower than General Washington's Army, |
| importantly, the car we drive. Although common-sense | | | | insurance companies have no other choice but to |
| holds that the more expensive a car, the more | | | | assume that you will use it and practice riskier driving. |
| expensive the insurance, this is not always the case. | | | | Should you get into an accident, regardless of fault, the |
| Insurance rates differ greatly between makes and | | | | cost of returning your vehicle to its original condition |
| models. If a car performs well in crash tests, it's not | | | | can be extraordinary--even for a seemingly harmless |
| frequently stolen, and has additional safety or anti-theft | | | | fender bender. |
| devices, it will generally cost less to insure it. On the | | | | Bigger Is Safer, But Causes More Damage |
| other hand, if your car is flashier, attractive to thieves, | | | | Although SUVs, large trucks, and other large road |
| and doesn't wow anyone in the crash tests, it will cost | | | | warriors might be safer than compact cars in |
| more to insure. | | | | accidents, they tend to foster a more expensive liability |
| 10 Most Expensive to Insure | | | | coverage rate given the fact that they inflict more |
| 1 Aston Martin DB9 | | | | damage than most standard cars in accidents. On |
| 2 Bentley Continental | | | | another note, there are still many SUVs that have |
| 3 Dodge Viper | | | | inherent safety flaws in their design, specifically with |
| 4 Porsche 911 | | | | rollover tests. Accordingly, insurance companies share |
| 5 Chevrolet Corvette | | | | these additional financial risks onto the driver in the |
| 6 Porsche Cayman | | | | form of higher premiums. |
| 7 BMW X5 | | | | Car Insurance Companies Love Family Cars |
| 8 Cadillac Escalade | | | | Cars that are particularly associated as "family cars" |
| 9 Land Rover Range Rover | | | | tend to have lower insurance premiums. These types |
| 10 BMW 128I | | | | of cars include minivans, family sedans, and station |
| 10 Least Expensive to Insure | | | | wagons. Cars that are used primarily to transport a |
| 1 Mercury Grand Marquis | | | | family are generally involved in fewer accidents, due to |
| 2 Buick Lacrosse | | | | safer driving habits associated with those who |
| 3 Toyota Avalon | | | | transport family members. |