Insurance 101 (cont.)

Insurance Symbols

Insurers use a vehicle rating system to determine the premium price for collision and comprehensive coverage. In many systems, every vehicle is given a rating symbol between 1 and 27; the higher the rating number, the more costly the premium. All things being equal, two identically priced vehicles will have the same insurance rating.

However, insurance companies often loathe the machines most of us love--luxury and exciting high-performance cars and SUVS. Beware, premium vehicles may be subject to surcharges. In addition, some vehicles are more expensive to repair or are more likely to incur extensive damage in a collision. And some vehicles are more - or less - likely to be stolen. The Highway Data Loss Institute says vehicles with especially low theft claims are larger four-door family sedans, as well as and station wagons. Vehicles with especially high theft claims include high-performance convertibles. Naturally, rating symbols are adjusted for these risk factors.

The insurance ratings used by IntelliChoice to forecast ownership costs are based on insurance symbols, with the rating for a particular vehicle adjusted for any special risk factors.