Cheap carinsurance for the cheapest cars

While your insurer will have you believe that they base their premiums individually on driver demographics, they do factor in the type of car you drive. In fact, the less sporty your vehicle, the cheaper the car insurance will be, not because the vehicle is cheaper to replace, but cheaper to repair.

Cost to repair is the number one reason for car insurance premium increases year-on-year. While your car’s value may depreciate every year, the cost to repair goes up. As accidental damage is the most common reason for claim submissions, your cheap car insurance premiums are directly linked to the cost of repair.

This means the bigger manufacturers, who produce vehicles and parts locally, will have cheaper car insurance than imported vehicles as the parts are cheaper and more readily available. Fortunately, there are more than 200 automotive component manufacturers in South Africa*.

Cheaper carinsurance for these marques

The bigger manufacturers such as Toyota, Ford and VW are produced locally, as are Mercedes-Benz and GM. The latter, however, are more expensive and given the luxury nature of their vehicles, their parts for repairs are considerably more expensive. Even in the US and UK, makes such as Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen are the cheapest to insure for 2011.

What about theft? While the risk of theft is factored into the cost of your insurance, car insurance companies mandate specific anti-theft devices. These must be VESA (Vehicle Security Association of South Africa) approved and range from factory fitted devices on less commonly stolen vehicles to tracking devices on more commonly stolen vehicles.

In fact, insurers will consider a vehicle uninsurable without such devices. The risk of theft, although not eliminated as a result of these devices, reduces the insurer’s risk, making costs to repair, and not cost to replace, more relevant to cheap carinsurance premiums.

Compare cheap carinsurance

A further way to get the cheapest car insurance, other than purchasing a vehicle that is cheaper to repair, is to compare carinsurance quotes. The competitive nature of the South African insurance industry sees insurers offer special discounts to low risk clients to gain their business.

*According to SouthAfrica.info