Aceinsurance

There is nothing wrong with wanting to go for your dream car, except that at some point you will need insurance. It is therefore a good idea to have a balanced approach and also look at your car from an insurance company's perspective before you make your decision.

Insurance companies rely very heavily on all sorts of statistics in arriving on the insurance premium to charge for your car. This includes statistics on favorite models for car theft, collision costs and repairs for various models, fatalaties and so on.

The numbers clearly show that 2-door cars are stolen much more than their 4-door counterparts. 4-door cars have a 93 per cent less chance of having a claim elated to theft than 2-door cars. A Buick LeSabre is the kind of car that car thieves avoid and therefore the chances of theft are almost nil, according to statistics on car theft. On the other end of the scale a convertible Chevrolet Corvette is one of the most popular cars with thieves and has very 5 times the average theft rate.

As far as car thefts go, sometimes cars from the same manufacturer can vary widely. The Toyota Celica has a 67 per cent higher chance of theft than the Toyota Camry.

Then there are the cars that are the most costly in terms of collision claims. The key factor here is usually the high cost of repairing and expensive vehicle. In this regard, the Lexus IS 300 is one of the most expensive vehicles for collision claims.

When it comes to car safety, some of the leading models may surprise many. For instance the Porsche 911 has a 67 per cent less chance for injury claims than the average. On the other extreme, the Mitsubishi Lancer has almost double the injury claim rate over the norm.

Do you consider the cost of car insurance before you buy your dream car? You should. The Highway Loss Data Institute analyzes the cost to insurance companies from theft, collision, and injury claims as they relate to cars. They look at the color of the cars, how many doors they have, and even break them down type.

The Highway Loss Data Institute is a nonprofit public service organization. It is closely associated with and funded through the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is wholly supported by auto insurers. HLDI gathers, processes, and publishes data on the ways losses vary among different kinds of vehicles.

4- Door cars have a 93% less chance of having a claim related to theft than their sibling 2-Door cars. Buy a Buick LeSabre and have relatively no chance of a theft loss. Compare that to the convertible Chevrolet Corvette that has over 5 times the average theft rate. You may have known that. However, did you know that the Toyota Celica has a 67% higher chance of theft than the Toyota Camry?

In addition, even though the 2002 Lexus IS 300 gets a "best pick" rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for its performance on crash tests, previous years' models of the same car are some of the most costly in terms of collision claims. "One of the factors that come into play there is the cost of repairing an expensive vehicle," says Russ Rader, with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

What about safety? You may be surprised at some of the results. For example, the Porsche 911 has a 67% less chance for injury claims than the norm. Go figure. The Mitsubishi Lancer has almost double the injury claim rate over the norm.

Where does you car fit for injury theft and collision? What about your dream car? Take a look at this run down based on 2000-2002 HLDI data:

Models that are among the most expensive for theft claims include:

Cadillac Escalade four-wheel drive
Chevrolet Corvette Convertible
Lincoln Navigator four-wheel drive
Jeep Cherokee four-door
BMW 3 series Convertible

Models that are among the least expensive for theft claims include:

Buick LeSabre
Buick Park Avenue
Volvo V70 Station Wagon
Mercury Grand Marquis four-door

Models that are among the most expensive for injury claims include:

Suzuki Esteem four-door
Kia Rio four-door
Mitsubishi Mirage two-door
Kia Sepectra four-door

Models that are among the least expensive for injury claims include:

GMC Sierra 2500 two-wheel drive
Chevrolet Silverado 2500
GMC Yukon XL 1500 four-wheel drive
GMC Sierra 2500 four-wheel drive
Chevrolet Tahoe two-wheel drive

Models that are among the most expensive for collision claims include:

Subaru Impreza WRX four-wheel drive four-door
Lexus IS 300 4 door
Hyundai Tiburon two-door
Porsche 911 Coupe
Acura RSX

Models that are among the least expensive for collision claims include:

Ford Excursion two-wheel drive
GMC Safari four-wheel drive
GMC Sierra 2500
GMC Yukon XL 1500 four-wheel drive

Source: The Highway Loss Data Institute