An accident waiting to happen? The Ferrari California topped the chart in the new HLDI crash loss study.
Minicars and muscle cars run up the most frequent insurance claims, according to a new study, while sports cars and luxury vehicles experience the most expensive insurance losses.
The frequency and cost of collisions resulting in insurance claims varied widely according to the Highway Loss Data Institute, or HLDI. A claim covering the Ferrari California is likely to cost $82,112, according to the new study, which worked out $2,132 for every vehicle covered by insurance. At the other end of the scale, the repairs for a Chrysler 200 totaled just $3,378, on average, or $162 for every insured vehicle.
“Naturally, expensive cars cost more to fix, which is why they have such high collision losses,” Kim Hazelbaker, HLDI senior vice president explained. “Meanwhile, cars marketed for their powerful engines tend to crash more often, a phenomenon partly explained by the type of drivers they attract and by the style of driving they lend themselves to.”
The Chrysler 200 had the lowest claim losses.
But a lot of horsepower was not the only measure of a vehicle likely to generate an insurance claim, the institute found. Among vehicles sold between 2009 and 2011, the little Toyota Yaris had the highest claim frequency – 28.5 for every 1,000 of the minicars. The Suzuki SX4 was second at 26.6, followed by the Chevrolet Aveo at 26.
In fact, of the top 10 vehicles likely to result in a claim, eight fell into the small or minicar categories. The fourth-ranked Mitsubishi Galant and eighth-ranked Dodge Avenger are midsize models.
“For consumers concerned about insurance premiums, this information is key,” suggested Hazelbaker, noting that HLDI – a partner to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety – has been tracking crash data and insurance claims for 40 years.
Big pickups and SUVs were among the vehicles with the lowest number of insurance claims, particularly the Ford’s F-150 4WD pickup, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 4WD.
What’s significant is that some of the worst losses were recorded by vehicles that generally tend to clock low miles.
“A car like the Ferrari tends to stay in the garage most of the time. That looks like a smart decision when you consider how expensive it is to repair crash damage on one of these,” Hazelbaker said.
The new study another dimension to traditional safety studies. While it helps to know which vehicles perform best when they are involved in a collision, HLDI’s Hazelbaker said, it also helps to know which vehicles are most – or least – likely to get into a crash in the first place.