Keep your monthly bills down by purchasing one of these 10 cheapest cars to insure.

Those looking for a new insurance company have many factors to consider in their decision. The main factor most people consider is how much it will cost. To determine how much a driver’s insurance will cost the insurance company factors in the driving record, age, and other factors that hold certain statistics. Often drivers do not realize that insurance companies also take their car in to consideration.

Each year, a new list comes out featuring the cars that will be the lowest cost to insure. This is the first year no mini vans are featured on the list. In fact, it is the first year that SUV’s outweighed any other type of automobile. Though the SUV’s listed are not gas guzzling, or money guzzling for that matter. We have listed the cars along with some necessary statistics about each one!

1. Ford Edge SE ($1,128)

-Starts at $27,555

-MPG 19 city, 27 highway

2. Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo (1,148)

-Starts at $27,695

-MPG 17 city, 23 highway

3. Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium (1,150)

-Starts at $23,495

-MPG 24 city, 30 highway

4. Kia Sportage ($1,157)

-Starts at $19,000

-MPG 21 city, 30 highway

5. Jeep Patriot Sport ($1,600)

-Starts at $15,995

-MPG 24 city, 30 highway

6. Chevrolet Express 1500 ($1,171)

-Starts at $24,750

-MPG 20 city, 27 highway

7. Subaru Outback 3.6R ($1,180)

-Starts at $23,495

-MPG 18 city, 25 highway

8. Hyundai Tucson GLS ($1,189)

-Starts at $19,395

-MPG 24 city, 30 highway

9. Ford Explorer ($1,197)

-Starts at $29,1000

-MPG 20 city, 28 highway

10. Hyundai Tucson GL ($1,204)

-Starts at $19,395

-MPG 24 city, 30 highway

The 2013 list should be helpful to those looking to purchase a new car. Each insurance company varies and of course it also depends on your driving record. If you are curious about what will be cheapest for your insurance company it is best to check with your own insurance company or the company you are looking to switch to.

Source: Yahoo! Autos

Insurance companies are spending more and more on advertising that just isn’t working.

McKinsey Auto Insurance Buyer Survey

Insurance advertising is everywhere. You find advertisements on TV, all over the internet, on billboards, on the radio, and yes, even here on Car Insurance Guidebook. Well, our commercials are more for analytical purposes, but you still see them.

You would think with all of this insurance advertising saturation that the insurance companies would be making bank from these commercials, right?

Maybe not.

They Spend HOW MUCH on Advertising?!?!?!

That is exactly what popped in my head after I read the figures from a SNL Financial report, and I am pretty sure you will have the same reaction. In 2005, the top 5 property and casualty insurance companies spent around $2.5 billion dollars on advertising. Yes, that’s billion with a “b”!

But wait, in just 6 years that amount doubled to over $5 billion dollars being spent on advertising to you and me in 2011. Per the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., GEICO alone spends more on advertising than Nike, Coca-Cola, and McDonalds.

And you were wondering what they did with the insurance premium you pay every month.

All This Advertising Has to Be Worth it Right?

According to McKinsey Auto Insurance Buyer Survey these billions of dollars being spent on advertising to try and get drivers to switch companies does not seem to be working. Their survey included the responses of 16,000 people in June of 2012 and per the results only 9% actually switched insurance companies in 2011.

And what about the other 91% of the people surveyed?

• 18% did shop around, but ended up staying with their current company
• 18% renewed with a company they didn’t like, but didn’t want to go through the trouble of switching
• 55% were happy with their insurance company

Losing Advertising Focus

If you have read any of the insurance advertising commercials that I have reviewed, you will know that one of my biggest pet peeves is the “our rates are cheaper” advertising. It just felt that it was everywhere and that all of the companies were doing it. Well, apparently I was not wrong in my feelings about it being everywhere, because according to the McKinsey survey the majority of the insurance commercials over the last 10 years have been focused on price.

Unfortunately for the insurance companies, the segment of the population that will switch due to price is only around 30% of drivers. So for the last 10 years they have spent billions of dollars in advertising to get a small segment of drivers to switch; which surprisingly hasn’t been working (insert sarcastic tone here).

Guess it’s time to rethink those advertising strategies, huh?

The 2013 Ford Fusion had a rough first year, so be cautious as to the one you buy.

One of the 2013 Ford Fusions that were recalled.

When purchasing a 2013 Ford Fusion it would be wise to determine exactly when in 2012 it was made. Most of the models that were manufactured in 2012 have been subject to major recalls and have different safety ratings than the ones manufactured later in the year. This difference in quality and safety could make a difference on your insurance premiums.

2013 Ford Fusion Safety

For the models built after December 2012, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rated the 2013 Ford Fusion as a “Top Safety Pick +”. This distinction was only given to 13 other vehicles for 2013 and elevates the 2013 Fusion as the safest of the safe vehicles on the road today.

To earn the distinction of being a “Top Safety Pick +” a vehicle has to rate as “good” in 4 of the 5 safety tests that the IIHS conducts on it. The “good” rating is the highest rating that the IIHS gives. On the 5th safety test, the vehicle can earn no less than an “acceptable” rating, which is just one under the “good” rating.

If you noticed, this top safety rating was only granted to the 2013 Fusions that were built after December 2012. The specific manufacturing date was probably used due to the recalls below on the 2013 Ford Fusions that were built prior to that date.

Recalls for the 2013 Ford Fusion

There has already been two recalls for this 2013 vehicle and it is only February. Both recalls happened at the beginning of December in 2012.

Recall #1: “FORD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2013 FUSION VEHICLES, MANUFACTURED FROM FEBRUARY 3, 2012, THROUGH OCTOBER 20, 2012, FOR FAILING TO CONFORM TO THE REQUIREMENTS OF FEDERAL MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD (FMVSS) NUMBER 108, “LAMPS, REFLECTIVE DEVICES, AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT.” THE AFFECTED VEHICLES MAY NOT HAVE HAD THE LOW BEAM HEADLAMP PROJECTOR COATING PROPERLY CURED DURING ITS MANUFACTURING PROCESS.

Consequence: AN IMPROPERLY CURED PROJECTOR COATING WILL BECOME HAZY THROUGH OPERATION, OVER TIME, REDUCING THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE LOW-BEAM LAMP. THIS MAY DECREASE DRIVER VISIBILITY AND INCREASE THE RISK OF A VEHICLE CRASH.” (safercar.gov)

Recall #2: “FORD IS RECALLING CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2013 ESCAPE VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM OCTOBER 5, 2011, THROUGH NOVEMBER 26, 2012, EQUIPPED WITH 1.6L ENGINES, AS WELL AS CERTAIN MODEL YEAR 2013 FUSION VEHICLES MANUFACTURED FROM FEBRUARY 3, 2012, THROUGH NOVEMBER 29, 2012, EQUIPPED WITH 1.6L ENGINES. COOLANT SYSTEM LEAKS MAY CAUSE THE ENGINES TO OVERHEAT AND LEAK FLAMMABLE ENGINE FLUIDS.

Consequence: IF FLAMMABLE ENGINE FLUIDS COME IN CONTACT WITH THE VEHICLE¿S HOT EXHAUST SYSTEM, A VEHICLE FIRE COULD OCCUR.” (safercar.gov)

Insurance Thoughts in the 2013 Ford Fusion

The 2013 Ford Fusion is a smaller sedan, but it has over a $10,000 price range for the models it offers. This wide price range, in addition to it being a hybrid, makes it hard to determine what the comprehensive and collision coverage would be.

However, with being a “Top Safety Pick+” the medical payments or pip coverage will be very low for the models post December 2012. As will be the liability coverage on the 2013 Ford Fusion because of the limited damage this smaller sedan could do compared to other larger vehicles.

Not quite as fast as a speeding bullet, but now claims paid faster than before.

Despite all the complaints, car insurance companies seem to be getting claims paid faster.

The results of the J.D. Power’s claim satisfaction survey (which includes how fast companies get claims paid) for the 4th quarter of 2012 are in. And from the results people are apparently still pretty happy with the claims process of the insurance companies they are dealing with.

Back in August we shared the results from the 3rd quarter of 2012 that showed a nice increase in satisfaction with the claims process as compared to the same quarter in 2011. The 2012 fourth quarter survey results turned out even better than both 2011’s fourth quarter and 2012’s 3rd quarter.

Overall Insurance Claims Satisfaction

Claimant satisfaction with the claims process was up to 861 out of 1000 for the fourth quarter of 2012. This is an increase of 6 points from the same quarter in 2011. What was even more impressive was that this satisfaction rating was 57 points higher than the increase in claims satisfaction that was reported in the third quarter of 2012.

How Much Faster Were Claims Paid?

Per survey results, claimants were getting paid in 13.9 days on average. In the fourth quarter of 2011, it was taking an average of 16.4 days for claimants to get paid.

Broken down, the results for claimants being paid for vehicles that were repaired was down to 11.8 days, compared to 13.1 days in 2011. Total loss claims were paid in 18.5 days in the fourth quarter of 2012, in the fourth quarter of 2011 it was taking insurance companies 23.6 days to pay the same type of claim.

Not Every Part of the Insurance Claims Process Has Improved

While insurance companies have stepped it up and are getting claims paid faster than before, the shops doing the repairs haven’t done the same. People that took the survey reported lower satisfaction scores because of having to bring their vehicle back in to the shops again due to the vehicle not being repaired right the first time.

On average the survey also reported that it was taking 16 days to get a vehicle back from a non-direct repair shop as compared to the 13.1 days it took for a direct repair shop. This gap in the number of days makes a difference since not everyone can get their vehicles in to a direct repair shop.

The NItty Gritty Details of the Insurance Claim Survey

“The 2013 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study–Wave 1 is based on responses from more than 3,000 auto insurance customers who settled a claim within the past 6 months. The study excludes claimants whose vehicle incurred only glass/windshield damage or was stolen, or who only filed roadside assistance claims. Survey data for Wave 1 of the study was gathered in December 2012.” (jdpower.com)

If you can afford it, the new 2013 Cadillac XTS is a beautiful car with amazing safety ratings.

The new 2013 Cadillac XTS

The new 2013 Cadillac XTS is not your grandma’s Cadillac. It has a smooth, sleek body, a technologically advanced control panel, and impressive handling. It also has the price tag to go with it, as it starts at $44,075.

With all of the impressive physical qualities in addition to safety ratings that are only seen on few other vehicles, it has me rethinking my quest for a Mercedes Benz.

Safety Ratings for the 2013 Cadillac XTS

Both the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) both like this car.

The NHTSA gave the 2013 XTS 5 out of 5 stars for 11 of its 12 crash tests. The only test that it did not get 5 out of 5 for was the rollover rating and it scored 4 out of 5 on that test.

The IIHS rated the 2013 Cadillac XTS as a “Top Safety Pick” for 2013, meaning that the IIHS feels that it is one of the safest vehicles that are on the road today. The vehicle received a “good” rating for every category that it was tested in. A “good” rating is the highest rating that the IIHS gives for its testing.

The vehicle was not tested in the small frontal crash test or it may have earned the distinction of being a “Top Safety Pick +”, making it rated as the safest of the safe vehicles on the road today. And considering the poor ratings that Cadillac vehicles have earned in the past, these high ratings are even more impressive.

Insurance Thoughts on the 2013 Cadillac XTS

As much as I am impressed by the safety and look of the 2013 XTS, the insurance rates for it are going to be higher than other sedans.

Now, Cadillac vehicles have a 50/50 reputation when it comes to types of drivers that drive them and the likelihood that they are going to get in an accident. One the one hand, you have older drivers and upper middleclass families safely driving these vehicles that would keep the liability premiums down.

But, you also have a whole class of fast, unsafe drivers that buy a Cadillac vehicle because that’s what they see their favorite rapper or actor driving, and they want to be just like them. Fortunately, this type of driver sticks to the SUV models for the most part, which could help the XTS as it is a sedan’s liability ratings.

The high safety ratings will help with keeping the medical payments or pip coverage (depending on your state) down.

And finally, the comprehensive and collision coverages are going to be higher than they would be on other sedans. With the starting price of this vehicle $20,000 higher than the average price of other sedan’s the insurance companies are going to be paying more to fix or total out the 2013 Cadillac XTS; which they pass along to you in the form of higher insurance premiums.