The list of the least expensive cars to insure of 2014 is largely dominated by SUVs and minivans. Why is that? Insure.com explains that family-friendly SUVs and minivans are made for safely transporting children, therefore drivers of these vehicles are among the least likely to speed, crash, or have an insurance claim.
Seven of the 20 least expensive cars to insure are Jeeps, with the Jeep Wrangler Sport being the least expensive to insure, with an average premium of $1,080. While Jeeps may appear to be rugged, adventurous vehicles, Karl Brauer of Kelley Blue Book says that the owners of Jeeps tend to be single or married women under the age of 45. These vehicles “are used to carefully haul kids around suburbia at sub-50-mile-per-hour speeds most of the time,” Brauer said. “This demographic and these driving conditions don’t cause a lot of accidents.”
Wranglers are also economical to repair. For example, if a door is dented, body shops can easily remove and replace the door because it is bolted rather than welded together. Easy repairs like this help keep insurance rates down.
Joe Wisenfelder of Cars.com says that Jeeps and other SUVs also likely have an advantage towards having lower insurance premiums because of their height. “They are higher-riding than the average car, so if they are in a collision with an average car, that car will sustain greater damage.”
Quadrant Information Services found the average auto insurance rates for 2014 model vehicles using data from Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, Nationwide, Progressive, and State Farm. Averages are based on full coverage for a single 40-year-old male with a clean record and good credit who commutes 12 miles to work each day, with policy limits of 100/300/50 and a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage.
