Is insurance for a Jeep expensive?

Is Jeep insurance expensive? The answer to this question will depend largely on the type of Jeep you are looking to insure.

If it’s a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, then yes, you may find it relatively expensive to insure. On the other hand, if we’re talking about a 1995 Wrangler, prices might be a little lower. If you’re in the market to discover an affordable rate of insurance on your Jeep, read on to learn why Jeep insurance is expensive and how car insurance rates are determined.

When and why is Jeep insurance expensive?

Learn more about how car insurance rates are determined to get the details of what we’re about to review. Basically, all other factors aside:

Driving History – You can expect to pay more than the average Joe for your policy if you have driving activity on your record. Specifically, any moving violations on your motor vehicle record (MVR) or any insurance claims history on a C.L.U.E report. Safe drivers tend to pay lower prices. If your driving record looks like a bumpy road, expect to pay high jeep insurance; higher than average premiums.

Credit History – Most insurance companies are peeking at a snapshot of your payment history (insurance score) to determine how much to charge you for insurance. This is true for both your insurance score and your credit score.

Similar to the banks and other lenders, having less-than-perfect credit will increase the cost of your insurance premium. There are several insurers that don’t review credit history for rate calculation, typically non-standard auto carriers.

Coverage – This is a big one. You will be required to carry full coverage (in addition to the mandatory liability) on your policy if you borrowed money to purchase your car or are currently leasing.

Additionally, even if your car is paid off (congratulations), you may still opt to purchase physical damage coverage, including collision and comprehensive coverage.

It is certainly recommended you carry only liability coverage if you don’t owe any money on your ride and it’s not worth too much. That’s a great way to save on car insurance and cut down on what your average cost is going to be.

Many people make the mistake of continuing to pay for physical damage coverage when they may not receive much of a benefit in the event their car is damaged or worse yet, totaled.

Choosing the Best Insurance for a Jeep

You’re probably not curious about any base model of Jeep. Rather, you probably want to know: is Jeep Wrangler insurance expensive? We guess that because the Wrangler is the ultimate convertible…especially when you take the doors off.

Many people believe convertibles are more expensive to insure because they are more “dangerous” than a hardtop model. While it is generally more costly to insure a convertible, it’s not necessarily for the reason you may be thinking.

Remember, your car insurance is designed to protect you, financially, against liability for damages you cause to others (bodily injury and property damage) and damage to your own vehicle, assuming you purchase collision and comprehensive coverage. (For more information, read our “What is a motor vehicle record?“).

Unless you purchase personal injury protection (PIP) or medical payments coverage, your insurer is not responsible for indemnifying you for bodily injury that results from your own negligence…therefore they don’t base their rates on how likely you are to get hurt.

If the accident that injured you is ‘the other guy’s fault’ his or her insurance will be footing your medical bills. So again, your insurer won’t base their premiums on ‘fixing’ you because they aren’t footing the bill.

But the case could be made that your uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage may be higher, as that coverage is designed to pay for your own bodily injury if the at-fault driver isn’t properly covered.

So are Jeeps expensive to insure?

The bottom line is that if you have an expensive model of a Jeep, it’s going to cost a pretty penny to keep safe. Shop around to find what the average rates are going to be, and drive safe.