Many people think that auto insurance companies obtain the color of the vehicle from the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and use this information to help set the insurance rates. This is simply a myth, since the color of the vehicle is not reflected in the VIN. Your insurance agent will most likely never ask you about the color of your vehicle, but does this mean that color isn’t important?
Color Has No Direct Impact on Your Auto Insurance Quote
An insurer uses a number of key factors in determining the auto insurance rates for different types of vehicles. Factors like year, make, model, body type, safety features and engine size are taken into consideration. Other key underwriting factors include driving records of all household members, claims history and credit history. The color of the vehicle is not an important factor in the underwriting process. The only time an insurance company will even know the color of your vehicle is in the event your car is involved in an accident and the color has to be matched at the body shop.
Color Can Have an Indirect Impact on Your Insurance Rates
High performance vehicles will most likely be brightly colored. It’s just the nature of the sportiness. Insurance companies understand that if a person buys a performance car, they bought it to drive fast. The insurance underwriting process considers fast car = speed = more accidents = higher insurance rates. Insurance rates for sports cars will be higher than rates for a sedan, regardless of the color.
According to an article published in The News-Herald, the top ten most popular colors of vehicles stolen in 2012 were, in order of their ranking, black, white, red, blue, silver, green, gray, maroon, gold and tan. These statistics indicate that someone who buys a black SUV faces a much greater chance of vehicle theft than someone who buys a tan car. Vehicle theft can result in an insurance claim. Claims filed against your insurance company will most likely have an impact on future insurance premiums.
There is a common belief that drivers of red cars drive more aggressively, attract more law enforcement personnel and as a result, get more speeding tickets. If this were true, some red car owners would have higher insurance rates due to speeding violations. What do you think? If a police officer was in pursuit of two vehicles, one a white SUV and the other a red sports car, which do you think the officer would stop first? According to a white paper published by the American Automobile Association, “When choosing a vehicle, the bottom line is that there is presently no scientific evidence supporting the selection of one particular vehicle color as the unambiguous best choice for safety”.
It would appear that if you keep your red car within the speed limit, yield to oncoming traffic, stop at red lights and use your cell phone only when you are stopped at the local Quick Mart, your auto insurance premiums will remain low regardless of your car’s color.
Please feel free to contact us to see the Strategic difference. You and/or your company will not be disappointed. We look forward to serving your insurance needs.
