The 2013 Mazda CX-5 is getting impressive reviews, but they may not translate into lower insurance premiums.

The 2013 Mazda CX-5 may be a little more expensive on insurance than you planned.

The 2013 Mazda CX-5 is one of the 2013 crossover models on the market already that is impressing a lot of people. The CX-5 looks very similar to the Toyota RAV4, but the CX-5 has higher safety ratings.

The 2013 model of the Mazda CX-5 is also impressive when it comes to gas mileage, as compared to other crossover SUVs. Mazda claims that the CX-5 gets 35 mpg on the highway; which actually puts it at the top of the fuel efficiency list for all crossovers; including hybrids. (mazdausa.com)

This increased gas mileage is thanks to the new SKYACTIVE engine Mazda has in the 2013 CX-5. This newly designed engine gives off less emission, increases mpg’s, and will save you money at the gas pump. But it may not save you money when it comes to your insurance.

IIHS 2013 Mazda CX-5 Safety Ratings

The 2013 Mazda CX-5 has been rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as a top safety pick for 2012. It passed all three major impact tests (front, side impact, and rollover) with a “good” rating from the IIHS. The “good” rating is the highest rating given by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

2013 Mazda CX-5 Insurance Premiums

The 2013 Mazda CX-5 has not really been out long enough to get good trending insurance data on yet. However, with that said there are some things to take note of for this Mazda CX-5.

First, this vehicle was a top safety pick with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This status holds pretty high with insurance companies, but only has an effect on certain coverages. With being a safe car, it means that you are less likely to be injured in a car accident. Your injuries are only covered under the medical payments and personal injury protection coverage. So most likely you will see a lower premium rate on these coverages.

Second, this is a brand new model and there are a lot of new systems on this car that are making their debut. With a new model and new systems, the replacement part market for these vehicles is limited to new parts. Because new parts cost the insurance companies more money than some of the used parts the get away with using, it affects your premium. Your comprehensive and collision coverage is where you will see the higher insurance premium, possibly higher than any of the other vehicles you drive.

Your dream car may be one of the highest insurance vehicles on the market.

The Audi R8 Spyder was named as the highest insurance vehicle you can buy.

Some vehicles that we all dream of driving one day are, unfortunately, the same ones that have the highest insurance premiums. This is something that is a good thing to know in advance of purchasing the vehicle, in the case you can barely afford the vehicle itself.

If you were to purchase the vehicle that has the highest insurance premium on average, you are looking at $3,384 a year just for insurance. If you have a bad driving record, you are looking at a premium that is even higher.

Why Do These Vehicles Have Such High Insurance?

The vehicles that made the list are some of the most expensive vehicles on the market today. This means that if they get into an accident that they are much more expensive to repair or total out than other cars on the market.

Also, these vehicles are generally associated with having more accidents, and accidents at higher rates of speeds; which means costly injuries to other parties.

Rankings of the Highest Insurance Vehicles

It’s always good to know in advance how high your insurance bill will be for any new vehicle you are purchasing. This is why it is important to call your insurance agent or insurance company for a quote on how much your new insurance will be BEFORE you purchase that new vehicle. You may find that the new car payment you thought you could afford is no longer practical when you add in a higher insurance payment on top of it.

Below is a quick reference chart researched and presented by the website insure.com with the highest insurance vehicles:

Credit checks often bring higher rates for those with bad credit.

The House of Representative steps in to change the way credit scores affect our insurance premiums.

Ever wonder why your insurance premium jumped up on your renewal, even though you had no change in your driving record? Or get to a renewal where you believe that the premium should go down, but instead goes up? Well, you may have your credit report to blame.

For years, the insurance industry has pulled credit reports on us as one of the rating factors for our insurance premiums. So even though your driving record has improved, if your credit score has dropped your insurance could still go up.

Why Are Credit Checks Used Anyway?

Insurance companies operate under the belief that people with lower credit scores are more likely to file a claim. They also believe that they are more likely to fraudulently cause a claim to help relieve financial stress.

Unfortunately, they may have a point. In 2007, the Federal Trade Commission confirmed that people with lower credit scores had double the amount of property damage claims compared to those with higher credit scores (ftc.gov).

Are Credit Checks Used Everywhere?

Nope, there are states that do not allow insurance companies to pull credit reports on the resident’s in their states. Credit checks for insurance coverage are currently banned by California, Massachusetts and Hawaii.

Oddly, these are three of the states that have the most interesting and sometimes confusing insurance laws. But if you live in one of these states, you don’t have to worry about your credit report being used to determine how much you will pay for insurance. Think of it as kind of like a reward for having to deal with all of their other insurance laws in your state.

For the rest of us, our credit still plays a part in our insurance premiums. People with better credit usually pay less than those with moderate credit, and a lot less than those with bad credit.

How Are Credit Checks Going to Go Away?

This summer the House of Representatives introduced a bill that would prevent insurance companies from being able to pull a credit report for anyone, in any state (onlineautoinsurance.com). They are trying to protect citizens from being charged more for insurance just because they were late on paying other bills.

Will it work? Not sure yet.

But if you want to voice your opinion about credit checks being used to determine your insurance premium, contact your state’s representative.

Direct Auto Insurance brings a new character and program to drivers looking for insurance.

Summary

Commercial opens with former racecar driver JJ Hightail in his Direct Auto Insurance racing uniform.

Hightail: I’ll be honest. I’m not what some might call responsible or a guy who always pays his bills on time. So maybe my credit isn’t what you’d call good at all. But the good news is, unlike other insurance companies direct auto doesn’t require a credit check.

Hightail does the finger quote thing around the words: responsible, guy who always pays his bills on time and good at all.

He does the two finger pointing thing away from him, and the words “No Credit” and “No Problem” pop up on the screen where he was pointing.

Hightail: It’s official! I guess they care more about the driver, than they do some number. Which is a huge plus because mathematics scare me. So do clowns.

“No Clowns” pop up on the screen under the “No Problem”.

Screen changes to the front of Hightail’s uniform. Under the Direct Auto Insurance logo on his uniform is “We’ll do right by you” on the screen.

Hightail: Call, click, or come in today.

Point of Commercial

Direct Auto Insurance is bringing out the news that they don’t check credit scores; which is a good play by them. Credit scores are a very sore subject with many drivers. They don’t believe that how they handle their money has anything to do with how safe of a driver they are.

By advertising this, Direct Auto Insurance is reaching out to those that don’t want their insurance premium affected by their credit score.

What They Want You to Do

They want drivers to start thinking about Direct Auto Insurance as much as the bigger insurance companies.

This JJ Hightail is a fictional character created by Direct Auto to be their spokesperson. He is no different than the GEICO gecko or Flo from Progressive.

Studies have shown advertising companies that consumers best relate to companies that have one of these fictional, character symbols in place. Did you know that Priceline brought William Shatner’s character back from the dead because of this?

So for Direct Auto, creating JJ Hightail is a good move.

My Opinion

Okay, the commercial is stupid, but not as stupid as some of the previous Direct Auto commercials, though. After watching this commercial for the 15th time while writing this, JJ kind of started to grow on me and I didn’t mind him so much. This increasing like of the character is a good thing, because I am starting to get annoyed with Flo from Progressive, and I used to like her.

Overall, JJ did leave an impression. If I was looking for auto insurance, Direct Auto would be on my list to call.

Giving this Direct Auto Insurance commercial two thumbs up.

With the 2012 Ford Escape, Ford shows us how vehicles can be created similar, but end up different.

2012 Ford Escape

The 2012 Ford Escape is another crossover SUV model that has become extremely popular with drivers recently. There are 5 different versions of 2012 Escape that include the:

• XLS
• XLT
• Limited
• Hybrid
• Hybrid Limited

All 5 versions look fairly similar, but vary in their safety ratings and insurance premiums.

2012 Ford Escape Safety Analysis

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) has awarded the 2012 Ford Escape with a “good” rating in all but one category. A “good” rating is the highest rating that the IIHS provides to vehicles it has tested.

The 2012 Escape passed the frontal crash test, the side crash test, as well as the rear crash test with this “good” rating. It was the rollover test that the Ford Escape failed. Due to weak roof strength the IIHS only awarded a “marginal”. A “marginal” rating is just one step above the lowest rating the IIHS gives.

For the hybrid version of the 2012 Ford Escape, the IIHS did give it a “poor” rating, the lowest rating they offer.

2012 Ford Escape Insurance Premiums

Two of the five 2012 Ford Escape models have very low insurance premiums compared to most of the vehicles on the market today. The website Insure.com listed the 2012 Ford Escape XLS as the 8th cheapest vehicle to insure in 2012. The 2012 Ford Escape XLT was listed as the 19th cheapest vehicle in the nation to insure.

The other 3 models, including the two hybrid versions, did not make the list. Interestingly, these two hybrids are the same two that rated poorly in the IIHS rollover safety test.

2012 Ford Escape Vehicle Recalls

At this time, there are no recalls on any of the models for the 2012 Ford Escape.

An emergency recall has been declared for the new 2013 models, however. This recall is due to a component in the fuel line, and Ford has advised that owners of this recall stop driving their 2013 Ford Escape immediately. The issue is so important that Ford is telling owners to contact their local dealer, and they will transport the vehicle to the dealership for them. They do not want customers to drive these models at all until the part is fixed. (www.ford.com)

There is also a current recall on 2001-2004 Escapes due to “unintended continued acceleration”. (www.cnn.com).

Again, even though there are recalls on other Ford Escapes right now, the 2012 Ford Escape is not one of the ones being recalled.