The Truth about Car Safety Features Lowering Your Insurance Premium
There are a lot of websites and car salesmen that will swear to you that car safety features will save you money! Can you really trust the car salesman with insurance advice? Here’s the truth about car safety features lowering your insurance premium.
There are even credible websites that state you will save money on car insurance with car safety features:
Nerdwallet: Will it really save you money compared to your old car?
The Bottom Line:
A member of our staff was just shopping for a new car in the Lexington, Columbia and Greenville, SC, area; and each dealer stated, “These safety features will lower your car insurance too.” Is this true?
The answer is most likely not! A car with safety features will be less expensive to insure than a car without them; however, when comparing insurance premiums to your old trade-in, the new car will definitely cost you more premium!
It’s not complicated. In fact, it’s quite simple: New cars cost more than used cars, and thus it will cost more to replace or repair them after an accident. That is why you’ll see an increase in premium.
There are some cool safety features out there like blind spot warning systems, backup cameras, collision alerts, etc. It is recommended that you buy a car with as many safety features as possible. Maybe, just maybe, we will all get in fewer accidents and our rates will then gradually decline! In the short term, though, these safety features do add cost to the car and more expensive cars are costlier to insure!
Do I have to tell my agent all the safety features in the vehicle?
No! The modern reporting of VIN (vehicle identification numbers) has all the safety features of the vehicle included in its data. When you are ready to add the car to your insurance, just call Livingston Insurance and give us the vehicle’s VIN. Easy!
Happy Car Shopping!