How Car Colour Affects Your Insurance Premium?

The cost of car insurance varies from one to another for many reasons. One of the key questions usually posed is whether your car's colour impacts your premium. One must know that the colour does not directly influence the rates. However, it can indirectly contribute to premiums by affecting values and repair costs.

This article will provide insights into the link between car colour and insurance and share valuable tips to save on insurance premiums. Find out what colour cars are more expensive to insure and how even small choices could impact what you pay for insurance.

In India, a car's colour has no direct impact on premiums. Insurers will look at a vehicle's make, model, engine capacity, and safety features when determining premium rates. However, it may lead to indirect effects.

For instance, sports cars, on their part, tend to be brightly often coloured and may pose a higher cost of insurance owing to people that most associate them with hyperactive drivers or speeders. Neutral-coloured vehicles, whether white, black or grey, are considered less attractive and less likely to have accidents. 

Such vehicles would be viewed as low risk, hence most likely receiving lower premium quotes for insurance coverage. Compared to other criteria like car model and type, along with all safety features included in the vehicle, colour is a negligible contributor to the actual premium paid.

Bodily Injury Liability

This represents the medical costs, lost earnings, and attorneys' fees arising from injuries you cause to others. This is when you're responsible for an accident.

Property Damage Liability

This covers damages to other vehicles, structures, fences, or other property that you damage in an accident for which you are at fault, up to the limit specified in your policy.

Although the colour of your car does not constitute the basis of your insurance quote, there are times when it indirectly influences the cost of coverage, including:

Perceived Risk of Accidents

Cars on the road with bright or striking colours such as red and yellow are considered accident-prone since they distract attention for a long time. This might raise the risk profile a bit more.

Lure of Thieves

Black and silver are the known colours. Some believe they are more saleable or transferable. If insurers see a higher likelihood of a vehicle being stolen, an increase in risk may cause a change in premiums.

High-Performance Vehicles

High-performance vehicles or sports cars come in flame-red or other colours. These can be associated with reckless driving or excess speed, which affects an insurer's capacity to impose a specific premium.

Insurance Premium Differences Based on Location

There could be areas where the colour of a car is more common and indirectly impacts premiums. Cars that end up in crime-ridden areas are bound to be stolen frequently, so they attract higher premiums

Car Colour and Insurance Rates

Car colour does not affect insurance rates, but it could influence how insurers consider risk.

Visibility

Bright or vivid colours may be correlated with higher visibility. This would lead to a higher risk profile and, thus, higher premiums.

More Important Factors

Other features include the make and model of the car, all of which determine premiums of how safe the driver had been in the past.

Type of Car

This is a vital factor while calculating premiums. Sports cars, luxury vehicles, and cars with high-performance capabilities have higher premiums.

It is of utmost importance that when choosing a car, the colour may affect the insurance premiums. However, this is not a determining factor. Below are certain points to guide your choice:

Assess Theft Risk

If you're considering a colour commonly associated with theft (like black, silver, or high-demand colours), your vehicle is in a higher-risk category. Insurers might charge higher premiums for cars more likely to be stolen.

Consider Visibility and Accident Risk

Consider whether your chosen colour increases visibility on the road. Bright colours like yellow and red can be perceived as having a higher accident risk due to their high visibility, affecting your premium.

Know Regional Factors

Observe whether a particular colour tends to appear more often in your locality and whether these particular colours tend to show more often in connection with increased crime or road accident statistics.

Check on Resale Value

Consider the impact of car colour on your vehicle's resale value. Neutral-coloured cars, like white or grey, will retain their resale value much better, affecting your insurance premium for the lower replacement cost.

Get Advice from Your Insurer

Discuss the colour of your car with your insurance company. Most insurance companies do not use the colour of your car to determine rates, but some companies do. So it's always a good idea to discuss with them.

Some particular types of car modifications affect the premium rates. These include the following modifications:

Many believe red cars cost more to insure, but this is untrue. Insurance companies do not use cars' colours to determine premiums. They look at other factors, such as the car's make, model, engine size, and safety features. 

For instance, Honda Civics with red paint have insurance costs, as do any other colour Honda Civics. However, sports cars usually have higher insurance premiums due to the usual cost associated with high performance and engine power. These two factors have made them among the most notorious vehicles because of the risk associated with their use.

Saving on car insurance premiums is possible by taking a few strategic steps. Here are some simple tips to help you cut your costs while keeping the amount of coverage you need: