How do insurance rates compare for cars in the same price range?

The sticker price for a new vehicle is only one part of the car ownership story. There are other things to consider like fuel, maintenance, and insurance costs too. 

It might surprise you to know that cars with identical price tags can come with wildly different insurance premiums. To help you make a more informed decision when purchasing a vehicle, we’ve created a comprehensive comparison of insurance rates for cars with similar value.

The cost of your car and its present market value (so what it would sell for if you sold it as it was today, depreciation and all) have a considerable bearing on your insurance rates. This is because in the event of a write-off (also called a total loss), where your vehicle is deemed unrepairable, you will receive a settlement for the actual cash value of that vehicle. The more the car is worth, the larger the settlement.  

But the value of your car is only one piece of a much bigger pie when it comes to your insurance. Paying close attention to all the factors that play a role could save you hundreds on your premiums. Other factors that insurers take into consideration with different models of vehicles are: 

Insurance costs are also influenced by the frequency of claims for your car and their severity. So regardless of the value of two vehicles being identical, if one has a higher chance of being stolen and its parts are costlier to replace, then it’ll be rated higher than the other vehicle.  

This is why two vehicles of similar or even identical value can still have very different insurance premiums – and why it helps to enlist a broker while you’re researching cars in the initial buying phase. 

To show the difference in insurance premiums for vehicles of similar value, we’ve done a comparison. 

We ran quotes for different vehicle brands and models with similar prices.  We’ve also broken our vehicles down into three categories: sedans, SUVs, and electric vehicles (EVs).  

Let’s start with our sedans. We used the following vehicles: 

These options are very close in value, but they may vary in things like safety features, brand reliability, and repair costs. Let’s take a look at their insurance prices when we quote rates for them from several of our leading insurance carriers. 

For our SUV comparisons, we used the following vehicles: 

Like our sedans, these SUVs are close in price and are relatively popular choices but have distinct features that might influence their insurance costs. 

Finally, for the comparisons for our EVs, we decided to use the following: 

These vehicles, while all within the same price range, have different performance, safety, and tech features, which could contribute to a difference in insurance rates. See below: 

*Note: For all of the rates above, we used the same driver profile (40-year-old male, married and living in Whitby, licensed since 16 with a clean driving record), and quoted with the same levels of coverage ($1 million third-party liability, all perils coverage, etc.). This was to ensure the only variable in our comparisons was the model and make of the vehicle being quoted.  

In our quotes, we found that the majority of vehicles with the slightly higher purchase price sometimes cost more to insure than the other vehicles. However, this wasn’t always the case. Let’s break it down.

For the sedans, the Mazda3 and Hyundai Sonata were only $2,000 apart in purchase price, with the Mazda3 being more expensive. However, the Mazda3 cost several hundred dollars less to insure. The Honda Accord was the most expensive on our list to insure, with the next runner up costing $172 less to insure, even though it had a very similar value to our other sedans.

For the SUVs, the Honda CR-V topped our list and had the highest MSRP by a few hundred. However, it’s worth noting that the earlier models of the Honda CR-V have made the list of Ontario’s most stolen vehicles. Some insurers may be ranking this vehicle as high-theft, which could be influencing its higher average premium.

And for our EVs, the highest MSRP came from the Hyundai Kona Electric, but it cost less to insure than the lowest value EV on our list, the Nissan Leaf. This could be for any number of reasons. Part availability, safety ratings, costs to repair…and so on.

And keep in mind that the same make/model of vehicle can have different trim and customization options, which can impact your insurance rate. To keep things simple, we picked options that kept all our comparison vehicles within $2,000 – $5,000 of each other’s purchase price. 

What this boils down to is that, yes, typically a $100,000 vehicle will cost more to insure than one purchased for $25,000, but there’s a lot that goes into rating a car. So, if you have a budget of say $40,000, and you’re looking at SUVs, it’s worth getting quotes for all the vehicles that you’re considering buying.  

Navigating the world of big purchases can be overwhelming, especially if your budget is tight – or, if like everyone nowadays, you simply want to avoid unnecessary expenses!  

Insurance costs in mind, the tips we’re sharing below take into account insurance and general vehicle-budgeting tips. In an age where everything seems expensive, it helps to make some unavoidable expenses a little less heavy. 

As you can see from the examples above, insurance costs can vary tremendously by vehicle – even ones with the same approximate value. Get quotes for multiple vehicles to see which offers the best rates. You can do this with a broker. 

Newer cars can depreciate by up to 20% their first year. You may want to opt for a vehicle that’s one to three years old to enjoy modern features but benefit from the dip in upfront cost. 

Certain trim, customization, or premium add-ons can increase your vehicle price fast. If you want to keep your costs lower, then stick to the essentials.  

Routine maintenance can add up, so it’s not a bad idea to consider budgeting for things like tire rotations, oil changes, and brake replacements. For easier tasks, such as tire changes (swapping from winters to summers or vice versa) consider doing these things yourself to avoid the added expense. 

Theft is a huge issue in Ontario, especially with newer vehicles. Consider investing in anti-theft devices, like Tag, wheel-locks, fob bags, and more. Tag is heralded as the best anti-theft device by many insurers for its ability to recover stolen vehicles.  

Our team of brokers can help you get insurance quotes for multiple vehicles to assess which will provide the best deal. Saving you money is one of the things that makes us so lovable. Give us a call at Mitch Insurance and we’ll get you started with a quote today.