How to find out which cars are cheap to insure

October 4, 2011 Jimmy Finance, How to 0

Check out the HLDI ratings.  The lower the number, the cheaper to insure.

Below is an example for Four-door models.  For numbers for other categories (2-door, luxury, sports, SUVs, luxury SUVs, pickups, and station wagons/minivans, please click here.  There are also links further below, and more explanations.

Insurance losses:
Four-door models

2008-10 models

Vehicle ALL
COVERAGES		 Collision Property
damage
liability		 Compre-
hensive		 Personal
injury
protection		 Medical
payment		 Bodily
injury
liability
Acura TSX 92 111 73 116 89 93 71
Chevrolet Malibu (NEW) 97 94 83 98 111 112 105
Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid — 80 78 — — — —
Chrysler Sebring 117 93 116 84 148 146 151
Dodge Avenger 132 111 135 100 164 170 159
Ford Fusion 98 98 85 91 112 125 106
Ford Fusion 4WD — 98 73 93 106 — —
Ford Fusion Hybrid 4dr — 121 84 113 65 — —
Honda Accord 86 82 79 86 105 99 89
Hyundai Sonata 104 103 95 82 124 130 114
Kia Optima 126 118 115 98 169 165 141
Mazda 6 92 86 92 92 95 102 98
Mercury Milan 95 102 86 81 109 111 94
Mercury Milan 4WD — 107 87 77 — — —
Mercury Milan Hybrid 4dr — 84 — — — — —
Mitsubishi Galant 129 118 117 95 176 166 154
Nissan Altima 104 109 89 97 137 135 100
Nissan Altima Hybrid — 110 89 98 114 — 92
Nissan Maxima 114 128 76 164 121 108 98
Saturn Aura 91 80 97 77 97 107 102
Subaru Legacy 4WD — 75 52 105 75 — —
Toyota Camry 107 113 99 91 139 132 102
Toyota Camry Hybrid 97 109 93 99 85 93 90
Volkswagen Jetta 102 108 98 89 95 103 108
Volkswagen Passat 94 101 87 101 94 89 88
Volkswagen Passat CC 96 116 73 101 96 97 86
Volkswagen Passat CC 4WD — 109 — 117 — — —
Volvo S40 — 110 98 104 81 — —
Volvo S40 4WD — 75 — 116 — — —
See losses for other vehicle groups:
See the best and worst vehicles in each coverage type
See losses for other model year ranges:

Loss results are stated in relative terms (100 represents the average result for all vehicles in each loss coverage category).

Insurance losses

by make and model

Auto insurance covers damage to vehicles and property in crashes plus injuries to the people involved in the crashes. Different insurance coverages pay for vehicle damage versus injuries. Different insurance coverages also may apply depending on who’s at fault — first-party insurance pays for your own losses, while third-party pays for losses to other people and property for which you’re liable.

Losses vary widely among vehicles under all six coverages — even vehicles that are similar in size and type.

These tables show insurance losses for hundreds of passenger vehicles grouped by body style and size under six insurance coverages: collision, property damage liability, comprehensive, personal injury protection, medical payment, and bodily injury. 
Results are based on the loss experience of 2008-10 models from their first sales through May 2011. For vehicles that were newly introduced or redesigned during these years, the results shown in this publication are based only on the most recent model years for which the vehicle designs were unchanged — either 2009-10 or 2010 only. Results are grouped according to vehicle body style and then according to size.

All losses are stated in relative terms, with 100 representing the average injury, collision, or theft loss for all vehicles. For example, a result of 122 is 22 percent worse than average, and 96 is 4 percent better than average. The vehicles are listed within each group in ascending sequence results. For convenience, the overall results are color-coded to indicate better and worse than average. The results also are adjusted, or standardized, to reduce possible distortions from other non-vehicle factors — operator age, calendar year, density, gender, marital status, model year, risk (standard or non-standard), and state. Collision and comprehensive are also adjusted for deductible amount.

These insurance loss results generally are good predictors of the experience of current versions of the same vehicle models. But when automakers substantially redesign their passenger vehicles, the experience of an earlier model with the same name (but not same design) may not predict the experience of the newer design.