This advice might deflate your dreams of that little red sports
car, but the 2002 Buick LeSabre tops the list of least expensive
2002 cars to insure according to the top three auto insurers in
the country (State Farm, Allstate, and Farmers). The LeSabre is
No. 1 based on its lowest claim record for injury, theft, and
collision.
These 2002 cars can save you money on your auto insurance policy:
1. Buick LeSabre
2. Oldsmobile Silhouette
3. Honda Odyssey
4. Buick Park Avenue
5. Pontiac Montana
6. Mercury Grand Marquis
7. Buick Century
8. Chevrolet Venture
9. GMC Safari
10. Oldsmobile Bravada
While none of these cars may make your heart race, they do a
better job of protecting you in an accident, and they aren't
likely to get stolen from the parking lot. In fact, they have the
lowest reported claims rates of injury, theft, and collision among
2002 cars on the market, according to the Highway Loss Data
Institute (HLDI).
Allstate Insurance Co. spokesperson Mike Trevino says the list of
cars that are least expensive to insure reflects what the
insurance industry has known for several years. "Information
collected by the HLDI doesn't take into account things like small
dents that aren't caused by accidents that people still make
claims on," he says. "But for the accident claims, we've seen that
bigger cars that provide better protection to passengers cost more
for liability [because they do more damage to other vehicles], and
less for medical because they protect passengers better. The
reverse is true for smaller cars."
Not moneybags
"Cars like these don't invite big lawsuits, either," says
Donald Griffin of the National Association of Independent
Insurers. "Insurance policies on these types of cars don't
typically see a lot of big claims for injuries by third parties,
whereas if you're driving a Mercedes, [other] people tend to see
dollar signs."
In states where insurance rates are moderate, says Griffin,
driving a car on this list might save you $50 in annual premiums.
But in states like New Jersey, New York, or California, savings
could be more substantial. In New Jersey, for example, some
companies' rates differ by as much as $500 annually for one of
these cars compared to a similar size vehicle not on the list,
such as a Honda Accord or a Plymouth Voyager, according to the
National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Insuring more than one car with an insurance company will get you
a discount, as well as insuring your home with the same insurance
company as your car. And these days, auto insurers offer discounts
to nonsmokers.
But did you know that in some states you can get a discount just
for buying a brand-new car ? If your car has never been titled,
you could get as much as a 5 percent discount on your policy.
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