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Diesel Shell

Saturday, November 24th, 2007

Diesel Shell

Big Car? Big Insurance Premium!

You may not have noticed but last year there was a change introduced in how much our vehicles cost in relation to Car Insurance premiums. More specifically, there was a change in how each vehicle is classed when taking out car insurance policies.

You won’t be seeing any major changes just yet though as most insurers are yet to introduce these new rates for modern cars, especially if you drive a 4x4 or a sporty diesel (such as a Porsche Cayenne). These kinds of car are seen as more expensive to insure as they are likely to cause a lot of damage in a crash. In the past these cars were in a classification that meant they didn’t cost as much as they do now to insure. Previously there have been 20 groups of classification since 1992, however the world of motoring has diversified significantly since then and so has been deemed fit for a revamp.

The deciding factors for which category your car fell into used to be maximum speed and acceleration, this is obviously too general considering that many cars now cost more to insure not only because of their power but the features held within. Most cars now come fitted with electric windows and airbags as standard, both features that were not as common back in ’92 and also cost more to repair. Couple this with the growing trend of cars having built-in GPS devices and more performance parts this all makes a valid case for reviewing how we value a car’s insurance.

The result of this review has seen 50 different categories to be put in place, as well as judging each car on a more comprehensive list of factors such as:

+ Repair Times

+ Performance

+ New car value

+ Even availability of body shells

The cars that will see the hardest hits are the previously mentioned 4x4s and Diesels, this is due to the Diesel cars being more powerful and 4x4s are obviously bigger and more likely to cause large amounts of damage. In some cases drivers have seen their premiums increase by 2½ times.

There are other factors that have affected motor insurance premiums such as location, if there is a spate of car thefts in your area then the insurer is going to adjust accordingly. To help combat this try to make space in your garage and keep your car in that overnight, this is a common question when getting new car insurance quotes and can make a significant difference especially if you live in one of these areas.

Another car type that has seen a high premium cost, but not necessarily an increase is the hybrid or electric cars. These are relatively new and so cost more to repair; however some motoring experts have suggested that this should even itself out as more hybrids are on the road. And with the increase in “green awareness” there is every chance that we’ll see more and more people driving some form of greener vehicle.

The fact remains that since motoring has changed so drastically over the past 16 years, in order to value car insurance, changes have been necessary. Whilst insurers have yet to fully adopt this new valuation method they are more likely to use it in the near future in order to get accurate ideas of a car’s worth. “The changes have been made to take into account the fact that there are now 6,000 models on the road.”, said Malcolm Tarling of the ABI. 'The technology in cars and the techniques needed to repair them have become much more expensive, and that makes claims more expensive to meet.”

About the Author

Andy Adams is an experiencd UK writer working in motoring and car insurance.