How the car you drive changes your insurance price

What insurers look at in a car

A quote asks for the year, make, model and often the trim or vehicle identification number (VIN). That lets the insurer match the car to its rating plan for that model and its equipment. A Connecticut Insurance Department bulletin on personal auto rate filings lists vehicle type among the classification factors insurers use, alongside age, mileage, credit and driving history.

• Repair and replacement cost. Parts, paint, sensors and labor decide what a collision or comprehensive claim costs. A car that is expensive to fix costs more to insure for damage, whatever its sticker price.
• Theft. Models that thieves target are claimed on more often under comprehensive coverage.
• Crash protection and safety features. How well a car protects the people inside, and whether it helps avoid crashes, can affect injury claims.
• Claim history of the model. Insurers and researchers track how often each model has claims and how large they are.

Each insurer weighs these in its own filed rating plan, so a car that is cheap to insure with one company may not be with another. Your driving record and where the car is kept still sit on the same bill.

Which parts of the bill the car moves

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) reports what insurers collected per insured car. In 2023 the U.S. averages were:

If you carry only liability on an older car, the model you drive matters less to your price, because no line on the policy pays to fix it. If you finance or lease, the lender will want collision and comprehensive, and the car's repair and theft profile weighs on nearly half of a full-coverage premium.

Theft and the most stolen models

Theft claims are paid under comprehensive coverage, so a model that thieves favor can cost more to insure for that line. The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) tracks reported thefts. Its analysis released on March 18, 2026 counted 659,880 vehicles reported stolen in 2025, 23% fewer than in 2024.

The counts are raw totals that cover all model years, so a popular model can rank high partly because so many are on the road. Treat the list as a signal, not a verdict on one car. The NICB reports that thefts of Hyundai and Kia vehicles fell for a third year in a row, which it links to software updates and other theft-prevention measures: the two makes were 14% of thefts in 2025, down from 21% in 2023. If you own a model on the list, ask your insurer whether an update or an anti-theft device changes your price. The NICB's own advice is simple: lock the car, take the keys, never leave it running unattended and consider a steering wheel lock, alarm, kill switch or GPS tracker.

Repair costs, safety ratings and insurance loss data

The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) sums up the repair side in its consumer guide: collision and comprehensive rates are highest for luxury, high-performance and sports cars, and rates are also higher for cars that cost more to repair. Two free sources let you look past the sticker price.

The loss results are the closest public view of what insurers see. For collision, property damage liability and comprehensive they reflect both how often claims are filed and how much each claim pays; for the injury coverages they reflect how often claims are filed. HLDI adjusts them for factors such as driver age, state and, for collision and comprehensive, the deductible, to reduce distortions that have nothing to do with the vehicle itself.

There is no single rule for electric vehicles on this page, because the data are published model by model. A brand-new design may show insufficient data until it has been on the road for a while. If you are weighing an EV, check its own results and quote the exact model before you buy, rather than assuming it costs more or less to insure.

Checking a car before you buy it

1. 1 Narrow the list to two or three models, including the exact trim and model year: features and parts can change from one trim to the next.
2. 2 Look up the safety ratings and insurance losses for each one on the IIHS site, and check whether the model appears on the NICB's latest most-stolen list.
3. 3 Get quotes using the VIN or exact trim from two or three insurers, with the same limits and deductibles, before you sign anything at the dealer.
4. 4 Ask what equipment earns a discount. Maine's Bureau of Insurance and the Utah Insurance Department both list safety and anti-theft devices among the discounts insurers commonly offer; see vehicle safety and anti-theft discounts.
5. 5 Set the deductible for the car you buy. A costly-to-repair car makes the collision and comprehensive deductible a bigger lever; test it with the deductible break-even calculator.

Questions drivers ask