Getting the right insurance coverage is an important consideration for most drivers, and there is a wide range of factors that can affect what kind of coverage you can get and how much it will cost you. Your driving record is obviously a key factor as the more accidents or tickets you have on your record, the more you will have to pay for insurance. There is also another major factor that most people are unaware of, and this is the size of the vehicle. In most cases, you will have to pay more to insure a larger vehicle like a full-size truck or SUV than you would a smaller car. Below are a few reasons why the size of your vehicle is an important factor to consider as you look for coverage.
Insurance Rates by Vehicle Type
Small, sporty cars usually have some of the highest insurance rates for the simple reason that they tend to be involved in far more accidents or incidents. These vehicles are also most commonly driven by younger drivers, which can further increase the cost of insurance coverage. On the other hand, minivans and small family cars typically have some of the lowest rates.
Larger trucks and SUVs also tend to be much more expensive to insure, and part of this is due to the fact that they usually cost much more to purchase than small cars. Still, there is one other reason behind the higher insurance rates for trucks and SUVs, and this has to do with their ability to cause greater damage in the event of an accident.
The Damage Factor
In simple terms, the larger a vehicle is and the more it weighs, the greater damage it is likely to cause to another vehicle in an accident. It should be fairly obvious that if you hit another vehicle with a full-size truck, you will likely cause much more damage to the other vehicle than you would if you hit it with a sedan. When purchasing truck insurance, the insurance provider will always take this capacity to cause damage into account as it could greatly increase the amount that the company will have to pay should you hit another vehicle.
Although truck and SUV insurance is usually more expensive, this still doesn’t mean that you have to pay an unreasonable fee for coverage. Insurance rates can vary quite dramatically from one provider to another, which is why it is always important to shop around and compare your different options to ensure you find the coverage you need for a price that fits your budget.
