
You’ve probably heard the statement that your car insurance premium will be significantly higher if you choose a less-popular vehicle colour.
While there is some truth to this, it’s not the complete story.
There are many factors which go into setting a person’s monthly car insurance premium – with the colour of your car being one of the less-important factors.
To find out what the real impact is, TopAuto reached out to King Price to find out how they do things.
Their Client Experience Partner Wynand van Vuuren happily obliged.
Car colours
We asked King Price if there is truth to the statement that a “common” or “less-popular” car colour will have an impact on your insurance premium.
“No, it does not have anything to do with how common the colour of your car is,” said van Vuuren.
He further explained, however, that while the prevalence of the car colour is not a consideration, factors which are taken into account include:
- The “visibility” of the vehicle on the roads.
- The frequency of accidents that cars with a specific colour have been in.
“Your premium may fluctuate by plus-minus 10%, depending on the colour of your car. A white car will result in a lower premium as it has the best visibility.”
He highlighted that red, black, charcoal, and darker vehicles – which are are less visible on the road – will be more expensive to insure.
This is due to the higher rate of accidents that these car colours experience.
“A less-visible-colour vehicle has a higher chance of being in an accident – like a head on collision – so a charcoal or black vehicle will have a higher chance of being written off.”
The claims history at King Price shows that darker colours have been in the most accidents.
In the event of theft, however, no single colour has been shown to be favoured by thieves – rather the make and model of the car are the biggest factors.
This is also taken into account when setting an insurance premium.