You love your Prius, but does your car insurance company feel the same?
The kind of car you insure is one of the main factors influencing the cost of car insurance. The age, the size, the cost are just a few factors that insurers consider.
So what do they make of the Prius — is it as good for your premiums as it is on gas costs?
How do insurers feel about hybrids?
As the defining and best-selling hybrid, what the insurance industry makes of hybrids will generally hold for the Prius.
A 2011 study by the Highway Data Loss Institute (HDLI) found that the chance of being injured in a hybrid was 25 percent lower than for a vehicle. Since hybrids are often heavier, this helps protect the occupants in the event of a collision with another car.
Unfortunately, it isn’t all good news for hybrids. The HDLI also found evidence suggesting a hybrid is 20 percent more likely to be in a collision with a pedestrian.
As with electric car insurance, hybrid technology can also help push insurance costs up. If your Prius is in a collision, repairing damage to things like the battery with push the cost of repairs — and your insurance claim — up.
One estimate suggests collision insurance claims involving a hybrid wind up costing $182 dollars more (although the data is a little old).
If insurance companies feel that your vehicle could mean higher claims cost this could see you paying higher premiums.
What insurance companies like about the Prius
One of the factors that determine how much your car costs to insure is safety technology. In the case of the Prius, this should help keep premiums down.
The Prius does well with safety features, which is something insurance companies like. The 2018 Prius was awarded Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
The IIHS looks at different crashworthiness and crash avoidance criteria. The Prius achieved the rating of ’Good’ in all but two areas where it was classed as ‘Acceptable’.
Likewise the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the 2019 Prius a five-star rating.
This translates into some positive numbers for insuring a Prius. Cover’s own analysis suggests that owning a new Prius will either reduce or at the very least not increase your premiums from what they otherwise would be.
Average Prius insurance costs
Before we get into some sample Toyota Prius insurance premiums, a word of caution about looking at average insurance rates.
Because so many different things go into your quote and all insurance companies treat them differently, the idea of average car insurance rates is kind of problematic.
The numbers you see here or anywhere else might not correspond to the quotes based on your exact circumstances.
With that in mind, what is the average Prius insurance cost? The Zebra lists the average insurance for a 2017 Toyota Prius as $1,144, but with a range from $809 to $1,880 per year.
Rates fall for older model years. For example with a 2011 Prius the range falls to between $549 and $1,579.
Find the best quote for your Prius
Given the range of costs out there, the key to getting a great rate is shopping around. If you haven’t looked for a new quote in the last couple of years, it’s almost certainly time to start looking.
Cover is here to help make the job simpler. The Cover app compares rates from over 30 different providers to find you an amazing rate.
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