The cheapest and most expensive family cars to insure

Look away now if you fancy driving the kids around in a Tesla – it’ll cost you dearly.

Finding a decent car for the family can be a costly exercise. It's not just what you pay at the dealership though; you also need to carefully consider the insurance costs.

And a new study from MoneySuperMarket demonstrates just how significantly insurance premiums can vary.

The price comparison site crunched the numbers based on policies sold through MoneySuperMarket last year to insure a family car.

MoneySuperMarket defined a family car as a five-door vehicle with either an estate or hatchback design.

In all honesty that’s a pretty broad definition, but it’s fair to say that plenty of these vehicles will appeal to families.

Slowest depreciating cars: the motors that retain the most value

Here are the 10 cheapest vehicles according to the study:

The most expensive family cars to insure

Of course, some motors will set you back far more to cover for a year.

MoneySuperMarket also picked out the family cars with the most expensive car insurance quotes.

Now, to be completely fair, some of these are not exactly models that many families have parked on the driveway, but they nonetheless meet the comparison site’s definition of a family car.

What influences your car insurance price?

There are many different factors that go into establishing a car insurance quote. Here are just a few, and what difference they can make to your eventual cover cost.

The car

Obviously, the actual car you’re insuring is going to play a big part in what you pay. There’s a good reason that a Tesla costs so much more to insure than a Skoda Yeti, for example.

The more expensive a car is, the more it will cost the insurer in a pay out should it be written off.

What’s more, if it is particularly desirable, it may be more attractive to thieves, making it more likely to be stolen. As a result, these expensive vehicles come with a hefty insurance cost to go with their price tag.

Your age

Insurers ultimately want to know how likely they are to make a pay out. As the risk increases, so too will the insurance premium.

And younger drivers are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident than older ones.

That’s why you always hear stories about the astronomical cost of Finding car insurance as a young driver, and why some parents commit fraud by ‘fronting’ on their child’s car cover.

Your job

How you make your money will also influence the chances of making a claim.

In some cases, this is fairly self-explanatory ‒ if you’re a sales rep, you'll probably spend a fair bit of time on the road, and so are more likely to be caught up in an accident.

Your location

The levels of car crime vary significantly between different regions. The sad truth is that in some areas, it’s far more likely that your car will be broken into or stolen than in others.

Insurance underwriters will look at the car crime data for your area to get a sense of the level of risk. If cars are being stolen regularly, then your insurance will be higher.

Finally, check out this article for tips on how to cut the cost of your car insurance premiums.

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