Can someone explain how auto insurance rates work?

Okay so in the next year or two ill be paying my own insurance on my truck or whatever vehicle I own, so I wanted to get some info on insurance from experienced truck owners on how it all works. Say I have a 4x4 FJ, will the insurance be more expensive on that than say a prerunner Tacoma? As I understand it 4x4 makes it more expensive inherently because there's more parts to break etc. Are SUV rates generally more expensive than truck rates? And what is in general terms the difference in cost between 4x4 and 2wd? I guess I'm asking because right now I have an 06 DCLB prerunner and I'm considering trading in for an 07 4x4 FJ in the next few years, how would that affect insurance?

 

first they bend you over and then they stick it to you without vaseline... yep thats about it

 

Insurance rates vary.....
When there's a lien on your truck (loan), you are required to carry certain benefits that you don't need to carry if the truck was paid in full. Aside from comprehension, collision, medical, under-insured, Tort, bla bla bla..... It all depends on how you/they slice it. Also, your age and driving record, age, multi vehicle, home...also have a lot to do with it.

Your best bet...is to call your insurance company and ask them for a 'quote' for the FJ.

 

it depends on the insurance company, where you live, what you drive, what your driving record is, and more.

every vehicle is given a repair rating and it has very little to do with the size, configuration, or cost of the car. for example, my wifes pays more for her scion TC than i do for my 4x4 DC V6 simply because the insurance comany has deemed that her car is more expensive to repair after an accident. (i actually pressed the insurance company to explain to me why her insurance is more than mine).

another example... my 2005 nissan titan 2x4 was more expensive to insure than my 2010 tacoma 4x4.

another example... my wife was going to buy an FJ a while back and we were comparing insurance costs. a 2011 4x4 FJ was cheaper to insure than my 2010 tacoma 4x4.

go figure.

the best thing you can do to lower insurance rates is to not get into accidents or get tickets. the next thing you can do is get multi-driver and multi-policy discounts.

good luck

 

Thanks for all the responses so fast guys! I would quote all of y'all but that's really annoying to scroll through, so from what y'all are saying it could go either way, so between an FJ and a Tacoma, should I let the difference in insurance deter me from buying an FJ if its higher? I guess it depends on my opportunity cost of keeping the Tacoma or purchasing another truck

 

So true

 

the tacoma and FJ should be close. dont let a small difference either way sway you. get what you want.

 

Mark Twain said it best, "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics." Insurance companies are of the last category.

The best analogy for an insurance company is to consider them sports book shops. They look at the facts, they consider the variables, then they look at the mark and set the book. Insurance companies look at your credit rating, your driving history, and if they can get it how many times you have jumped to another insurance company. They want to get their hooks in you for a long time so they are going to make it attractive to those who have been with them the longest. They will also give lower rates for vehicles that are driven sedately rather than aggressively. So a vanilla regular cab 5 lugger is going to cost less than a 4x4 DCLB even though the 5 lugger lowers the beast and adds wideboy tires and leds enough to light a landing field while the DCLB is used by a soccer mom.

It all comes down to the fact that even if you check out the pictures here you will find the 5 lugger pictures to show a well kept personalized vehicle while the DCLBs are mostly on less than 4 wheels if not totally off the ground. Which one is likely to take the most risks?

Also the size of the company also needs to be taken into consideration. The larger companies may charge a little more but they also give a little more service. You really need to know the limitations of your policy.

Finally most insurance agents are salesmen. If you have problems you are turned over to another branch of the company. So shop around. Find someone that is willing to service you after the fact.

 

So when shopping for insurance companies, what's the best way to do that? Call around and ask for quotes? Internet reviews? How have y'all chosen your companies of choice and what made you choose them?

 

You could call around, I just went to an insurance broker who got me policies from different companies yet packaged them together so I had good discounts.

 

Ask friends and relatives who they have been happy with in your area.

Keep your rates low by:
1 driving safe,
2 not getting tickets,
3 getting older and married.

 

Multiple parts to insurance premium costs.

Coverage amounts
Limits
Exemptions
Calandar terms
Drivers age
Drivers record
Drivers marital status
Drivers employment
Drivers location
Vehicle use
Vehicle storage
Vehicle value
Single or multiple vehicle coverage

I'm sure I left out a few.

 

Everything assumes the coverages you pick are the same.

You'll pay more also because it's a new vehicle and probably more costly.

You're right that 4x4 is more expensive; 4x4 in the same vehicle/trim has a higher insurance number than a 2x4. For a variety of reasons including what you said but also because you're more likely to sustain an expensive accident off-roading. Same reason a Boss 302 will cost a ton more premium vs. Mustang base model v6.

Big factors, though, are driver's age and (used to be) gender and marital status. Single males under 25 even with good driving records had very high premiums.

The next big factor is where you garage it: rates can easily double in an urban zip code vs. a rural zip. Suburban zips can find rates that vary a lot within just a few blocks.

The only thing you can easily control (assuming you HAVE to have a newer FJ 4x4) is your driving record. Don't. Get. Tickets. Case closed.

 

Not sure if things have changed, but until I turned 25 I could not get the big, well-known companies to even insure me. I had to use the independent brokers and shopped around a lot. I paid more for minimum liability 25 years ago than I pay for full coverage on 2 vehicles now. And I didn't have any tickets.

Hopefully this has changed, but don't get discouraged. Call as many folks as you can find.

 

not true on both accounts. there are so many other factors to take into account that you cannot make that generality.

 

It's all online. I can go online to my insurr'rrrers site right now and find out exactly how much more or less I would be paying for whatever vehicle.

I use USAA. Gotta be military (or ex mil) for them though.

also you can get discounts for certain things. Student, defensive driving, ect. If you find a company you want to use call them up and ask what types of discounts they offer. I do this with USAA once a year just to make sure I'm getting all the ones that apply to me.

 

It's not a complete generality, I qualified it: I said assuming coverages are the same...

And as a generality, it's very good and OP asked a generalist question so he's gonna get a generalist answer. In general, a newer vehicle will have a higher premium, if you doubt it go run the numbers on a few test examples and surprise yourself. Keep everything else the same: coverage, driver, miles driven/year, vehicle useage. A model year or two newer and it will have higher premiums.

And again, 4x4 will have higher premiums and again it assumes everything else is same (coverage and base vehicle) Wheelin' dents fenders. Insurance companies ain't fools.

 

Thanks for all the replies guys, really opened my eyes as I really had no frame of reference for any of this stuff

 

you can call around or submit inquiries on insurers websites, ...but i'd also suggest seeking some word of mouth input from relatives, friends, etc... go w/ an outfit who treats their customers well, and offers discounts if you hold multiple policies... premiums aren't everything, ...a good relationship w/ your insurance company is important too

 

As zombie mentioned do some online quotes. Easiest way. I used to pay a lot more with my old insurance carrier. And the car I had before the Taco was considered a "performance vehicle" by them yet my rates went up when I got the Taco. I've since switched from that company and am paying nearly $500 less a year for comparable coverage. Can really vary from one company to the next.