Costs Of Performance Car Insurance

Why is performance car insurance so expensive?

There are a few main reasons to explain the increased cost of insuring a performance car. These include:

The Specification of the Vehicle

When you look to buy a performance car the first thing that hits the buyer is the increased cost of the machine compared to lower models of the same car. With the extra cost comes an increased specification of the vehicle, for example air conditioning or alloy wheels as standard, this makes the car more desirable to the buyer. Unfortunately this is also a major factor in rising the insurance costs as this higher the spec the more desirable these cars become to theives.

The Performance of the Vehicle

When looking to buy a performance car the buyer should know that these cars are designed to be just that a 'performance machine'. This translates into an engine specification that upgrades the majority of lower model cars within the same range. The problem when coming to insure these machines is the fact that some of these cars can accellerate to very high speeds in extremly short times. Its this that makes them somewhat more dangerous on the road in the wrong hands and there for causes insurance companies to raise the premiums on these cars.

Modifications

Due to the high cost of insuring a high performance vehicle that is still in its standard form, it should go without saying that one of the major factors in increasing the premium are modifications. These modifications can be as simple as changing the alloys wheels on the car to getting the engine modified by such ways as management chips. Whatever the modification they can significantly increase the yearly premium in contrast to the same model that is left as standard.

Ways to Reduce the Premium

With the escalating costs of insuring a performance car there are ways to help reduce the premium and therefore make these types of vehicle more accessible to young and old drivers alike. These include:

Be a responsible driver - The more responsible a person is behind the wheel the lower the costs of performance car insurance will become. Keep a clean license and you are rewarded by the insurance companies with lower premiums, rack up those speeding fines and watch your insurance rise with it. Be careful to avoid accidents and again watch your no claim bonuses reward you with lower insurance.

Secure your car - Make sure that the car is fitted with thatcham approved security devices to reduce the risk of theft and again most insurance companies will reward you for being responsible. Another way to reduce costs is to house the car in a garage overnight or at least have some off street parking.

In closing, the question has to be is purchasing a performance car with all its top of the range specifications really worth it? In this writers opinion yes because if you can afford a real performance car in the first place I suppose paying a little extra for the insurance is out weighed by the enjoyment gained from driving the vehicle.

Date - 15/09/2006