Getting A Performance Car Insured: What To Consider

This article is one of the first in the GM Authority Tips series, where we provide tips and tricks for the car buying and ownership processes.

It’s no secret that buying car insurance is a big expense for run-of-the-mill cars. But when it comes to high performance cars, prices tend to quickly shoot much higher. You would never expect a high performance car like a Chevrolet Corvette or Cadillac CTS-V to cost the same to insure as a Honda Civic, but there are a few often overlooked reasons why covering prestigious vehicles can be so expensive.

First of all, the very fact that high performance cars are categorized as such suggest that they’re much more powerful and therefore more susceptible to accidents, mostly because of the spirited driving these vehicles inspire. Studies and national statistics have suggested that such cars are more likely to be involved in a crash — however big or small — which means a higher rate of insurance claims for drivers of these cars. This might be a somewhat arbitrary connection, but it is easy to underestimate the power of the engines powering these awesome vehicles.

If an accident does happen, then replacing parts on high performance cars can also be extremely expensive. Some parts are not as easy to get ahold of as others, especially if the car is an import (a common case with high-performance GM products in Europe) — making it a worthy detail to consider when you’re in the market for one of these vehicles or parts. But if the parts don’t have to be shipped from overseas in the event of an accident, then your insurance costs will be significantly cheaper.

What’s more, parts for high performance cars tend to simply be more expensive than more mild-mannered vehicles in the first place, so even if they don’t need to be replaced, they can still be expensive if they need to be repaired. And modifying a high performance car will bump up your insurance costs further still. Realistically, the more a car has going on underneath the sheet metal, the more expensive it will be to repair – simply because it has a higher quantity and quality of parts.

To top it all off, these higher quality parts make high performance particularly attractive to thieves. For instance: if you had the choice to steal a Chevrolet Camaro SS or a Toyota Camry, which would you choose? Insurance companies take this into consideration for performance car insurance and increase rates accordingly.

Certain cars with similar performance levels can fall into different insurance brackets, so it pays to shop around and choose carefully. If you can afford the car in the first place, you can probably afford the elevated insurance costs, but it always helps to save when and where you can. Research the cars you are interested in and narrow down the best and most inclusive insurance deal. It will be worth it in the long run. Now, the real question is… CTS-V Coupe or Corvette Z06?