When Does Your Car Color Affect Your Insurance?

Sep 3, 2020, 10:45 AM

I recently bought a car — maybe an odd thing to do right now since I don’t need to drive it too often. But the old one had high mileage and some damage to the exterior. It was time for an upgrade. I bought a silver car, but while I was car shopping, I remembered the urban legend about red cars, that they’re more noticed by police and more likely to be pulled over.

It’s not true, but it’s still a myth that people believe. (At least, I remember hearing it when I first got my driver’s license, and there’s no shortage of articles about the alleged phenomenon.) It’s also not true that it affects your insurance coverage.

At Hastings Mutual, the color of your car doesn’t have an impact on your insurance rates. We do keep an eye on your eligibility for insurance, which can be things like tickets.

Every situation is different, and your agent can help you identify exactly what goes into determining your insurance rates. But in general, we look at factors including, but not limited to:

• Age: If you’re under age 25, you’re classified as a “youthful operator,” which is different than an adult driver.
  
• Driving record: Accidents, speeding, and other situations can count against you and reflect on the price you pay for insurance.
  
• Good students: If you’re in school, good grades can help your car insurance rates (and they help you in class, too!).
  
• How the vehicle is used: There’s business use (for example, a salesman using his vehicle to make sales calls), farm use (for example, to drive to the feed mill to pick up feed), and the most common, pleasure use: when you’re only driving a few miles a day. Where the vehicle is usually stored and the distance you drive to work plays a part in your insurance rating too. That’s why we issued a 15% premium refund during the COVID-19 pandemic earlier this year: many people were driving a lot less than usual, since they started working from home.
  
• More than one policy with us: We welcome new customers, of course, but we really appreciate long-time policyholders who have houses, businesses, farms, and more insured by Hastings Mutual. 
  

Who you are and what you do is part of what determines the price you pay for car insurance. Decisions on the cost of coverage by your insurance company are another part of your price. But the color of your car, even if it’s red, has nothing to do with it.

Questions? Let us know in the comments. 

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