Why do SUV Owners Pay More for Car Insurance

Buying car insurance for Sport utility vehicles (SUVs) use to be more expensive than the normal saloon cars. The premiums can also vary for different make and model. However, things have change over the years when the manufacturers improved the safety features and technology to improve it stability.  

In the past, people use to have the mentality that SUVs are more stable and safe due to it size and sturdiness, however, due to the higher center of gravity, it makes them more likely to roll over than other cars

Over the years, manufacturers went into further study and did the necessary improvement to correct it. All the new SUVs are now equipped with electronic stability control systems, which help drivers avoid crashes. Therefore, with this new improvement, SUVs risk have greatly reduce and is about the same as that of a saloon or even better.

What are the factors that affect the Car Insurance for SUV drivers

• Accident -  it can result in more serious accident and insurance company will have to pay more for the car damages and injuries due to third party. Pay out under personal injuries is a major concern as statistics have shown it is growing bigger over the years instead of reducing.  
  
  
• Theft – it is always the target for car theft and claiming total loss will greatly escalate the insurance cost when you renew your car insurance.
  
  
• High replacement cost – the genuine parts for the SUVs are usually quite high and due to the high demand you usually need to wait longer for the parts to be deliver to the authorized workshop. You will be surprise that for popular make and model, you can take up to >3 months for the parts to arrive due to its popularity eg Honda HRV or Vezel.
  
  
• Driving Experience - records shows that young driver have a higher tendency to have accident. You can choose not to add your young son or daughter into the policy but they will still be cover and the catch is that they need to pay a much higher excess if you need to make a claim. 
  
  
• Usage of the vehicle - Do you drive you car to work, pleasure or both. Car Insurance company will charge a higher premium if you use the car for work purpose especially when your job nature needs you to travel from one place to another
  
  
• Mileage - What is the mileage that you clocked annually - If you clocked a high mileage, there will be a higher tendency to have accident.
  
  
• The number of driver - are you the only driver and if not, additional premium will be charge especially for young and inexperienced driver
  
  
• Do you drive to Malaysia or Thailand - Certain car insurance company will ask you if you travel often to Malaysia. It is common for cars to be stolen in Malaysia, therefore, if you frequently drives to Malaysia choose the car insurance company that will not take this as one of the criteria to charge you a higher premium.
  
  
• Authorized or Any Workshop Plan - Choosing Any Workshop plan will easily increase the premium but 15% - 20%. Any Workshop plan will charge a higher cost to the car insurance company and this will also affect your renewal premium since the claim amount is higher and do note that some insurance company eg AXA Insurance will replace original parts and give 1 year warranty after the car is repair. At the end of the day, when you do not have any accident, the additional amount you pay to choose Any Workshop plan will be going down the drain.