You may pay more to insure a less popular colour in South Africa due to factors such as how difficult it is to procure and apply.
Industry expert Ismail Canfield from insurance advisors Ctrl notes that most insurers in the country use their own methods for deciding how much they charge their clients, with car colour being a factor for a few of the larger companies.
“As a broker, we deal with different insurance companies in South Africa, where some use old methodology and some use newer methodology to determine their premiums, it’s not always a universal method that’s being used,” said Canfield in a 702 interview.
“So, the car colour in some cases will play a role and in some cases it won’t.”
He said it’s mainly the older and more well-established insurers that still factor colour into the equation when calculating your monthly premiums.
The reason behind this is the cost of sourcing the correct shade of paint can be costly and it might be more difficult to apply if it’s a metallic or pearl finish, which adds to the price of repairing the vehicle should it be involved in an accident.
Another factor that plays a role is darker colours are less visible than lighter colours on the road, which results in a higher probability of an accident thus adding to your risk profile.
Meanwhile, younger and smaller insurers rely on other factors to determine your monthly dues, such as the driver’s age, claims history, address, the vehicle make and model, and more recently, even its body-to-power ratio.
The impact is small
The good news is that the differential between the insurance premiums of a dark and colourful vehicle will be relatively minimal.
“Colour does not really play that much of a role in terms of the calculation of the premium,” said Canfield.
“So I would not say that someone makes that a reason why they choose a specific colour of vehicle.”
The hue also doesn’t impact a car’s risk of theft and the associated effect this has on your monthly insurance payment.
This is more dependent on the brand and model, with Canfield highlighting nameplates such as Toyota and VW as high-risk vehicles, rather than, for example, black and green cars, so this is far more important to consider when you’re shopping for a new set of wheels.
Join the discussion