Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Many people have heard it by now, and many still seem to believe it: Getting a red car will cost more money on auto insurance than another color. While the color certainly has the ability to show your aesthetic preferences, it doesn’t actually affect how much you pay for insurance.
History of the Myth
It’s a little difficult to tell exactly when this legend was first told. It’s been proposed in the past that officers are more likely to pull over and ticket drivers of red cars as the bright color is somehow more arresting. The reasoning here is that colors like candy red are very bright and easier to spot than black or white cars.
Some also argue that red cars in particular have a history of being flashy, typically used on fast sports cars, making them more likely to get into accidents. Because of these so-called “facts,” they claim that an insurance company will penalize you for having a red vehicle.
Car Color Truths
Car color may not affect car insurance, but chromotherapists argue that it can affect your mood and health. Certain people also mention that brighter car colors are more likely to be noticed than others, making them a safer choice for nighttime or other low-light driving situations.
However, this is merely conjecture since there have been very few studies that seek a relationship between a risk of crashing and car color. In fact, Americans on the whole have never held a conclusive study that could either prove or disprove the idea of color and safety.
In 2007, on the other hand, an Australian university looked into this relationship, finding that white cars generally had the lowest risk for cars that are considered high visibility in color, grouped separate from silver, red, green, black, blue and grey; this group was found to have a higher risk of incident, concluding that lower-visibility colors are associated with bigger risks of severe accidents.
This one study makes the suggestion that color can make a difference with the severity of an accident and safety of the driver due to visibility and conspicuousness, but it doesn’t actually prove it. The true deduction the study made was that the type of vehicle and conditions of lighting were more directly responsible for the risk of crashing, not the color of the car.
Factors That Affect Insurance Rate
So if a car insurance company isn’t paying attention to the color, what does it actually base rates on? First of all, it takes a look as your existing driving habits, which don’t necessarily include the car directly. Aside from that, the type of car you drive and the age of the car will dictate your insurance rates. For example, it won’t as much to insure a late-90s pick-up truck compared to a newer sports car.
Factors include:
- Driving record: Most of the rates will be based on any past tickets and car accidents.
- Driving experience: If you’ve driven less than eight years, you’re more likely to have higher insurance rates. However, some companies might offer rewards for those who prove to have a continuous positive driving record.
- Car cost: A general rule of thumb to follow is that the more costly the car, the more costly the insurance. You’ll need to pay more for a BMW than you would driving a Honda, for instance.
- Annual mileage: You’ll pay more if you drive more or if you use the vehicle for business. This also means paying more for driving daily.
- Marital status: Married drivers statistically drive safer, so their rates aren’t as high. If you’re single or male, you can expect to pay a bit more than married couples or women.
Some insurance companies offer discounts for certain situations as well, so be sure to compare different quotes. For instance, you might save money if your family drives more than one car.