So I just bought a new car today. Traded in my old pickup on a Ford Mustang. I"m quite taken with it. Its not a GT or anything - it just has a v6 in it. nothing crazy - no turbo or supercharged anything. Well, all my buddies have been telling me that because its a v6 and not a v8, my insurance wont consider it a “sports car” and that my insurance rate won’t be that dreadful - that it’ll just be considered a two-door coupe. I am, however, quite skeptical of this and I’m terrified that when I call my insurance agent, he’s gonna tell me that its classified in the same division as say, some gnarly corvette and that my insurance payments are gonna be like a prison rape session. Oh, and I forgot to mention,…sigh…its fucking CHERRY red. (it is beautiful, I must say). So whats up? I acknowledge that different insurance companies have different ways of doing things, but what do you think I’m in for?
(And yes, I know I should have looked into such matters before buying the car, but I just had to - it was too beautiful and the deal was just too sweet…)
Maybe the deal was “too sweet” because the guy was getting bled dry on payments. Stay out of the left lane on major highways unless you’re passing, don’t ever go more than seven or ten over unless the flow of traffic is with you, and pray to Lovely Rita, kooky goddess of parking spaces, that you don’t get any moving violations.
Progressive’s website allows you to get an online quote, and my company (USAA) has a 24-hour 1-800 line that’s staffed with pretty cool people. They can usually get me a quote in a few minutes.
Since you’re going to have to pay the new rate no matter what, I would just suck it up and call them. You need to anyway.
Part of the rate is based on how the driver can be expected to drive it. Example: Two Honda Civics will be given different rates even if the only difference between the two is the number of doors. (My father just traded his 2002 Civic LX coupe for a 2004 Civic LX sedan… only to see his rates fall)
Lotsa stuff affects rates, and different companies think different factors are important. Some companies, for instance, simply will not insure Corvettes because of a perception of how the car could potentially be driven. Other companies look at who drives Corvettes–usually a middle-aged guy who has a ton of experience and has no intention of killing his baby.
I can’t speak for all companies, but mine looks at the following factors when developing premium:
PASSIVE RESTRAINTS: (airbags, automatic seat belts) will lower the cost of medical pay coverage (PIP/MPC) because you won’t get as trashed in an accident.
WHO’S DRIVING: and how far (commuting? pleasure?). This premium charge is independent of the car. Same cost for liability insurance if you drive a 72 Pinto or 2003 Ferrari. So if you don’t have Comprehensive & Collision (see below) the Ferrari will actually be cheaper–cuz you’re safer if you wreck it
WHAT’S THE CAR: This is where the changes will be seen. Comprehensive and Collision will end up paying for your car. Therefore the cost of these coverages will be commensurate with the cost of the car.
The only answer for you is to call your carrier. If you don’t like what you hear…or if they are evasive with your questions, dump 'em. You are paying for the coverage, but you are also paying for an expert opinion. If you aren’t getting that then you are getting hosed.
I have Farmers Insurance, and according to my policy declarations, a high-performance vehicle is one with a horsepower to weight ratio of 14:1 or less or 11:1 or less for vehicles older than a 1971 model year. I just read this yesterday.
I do not know if every company uses the same determination, YMMV.