NSUR Insure.Com (MM)

DARIEN, Ill., June 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Results from extensive research conducted by Insure.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:NSUR) reveal the most and least expensive cars to insure. Insure.com calculated average car insurance premiums for almost 300 vehicles in model year 2009. Topping the "most expensive to insure" list is the Nissan GT-R, which Nissan bills as a "multi performance supercar" that delivers fantasy driving. Its average annual premium is $2,533. Compare that price to the lowest-premium vehicle, the Hyundai Santa Fe at $832, and you can see how your car choice can deliver a surprising insurance bill. The GT-R's supercharged engine helped drive it to the top of the list. It's a 3.8-liter twin-turbocharged 24-valve V6 with 485 horsepower. Compare that to the Honda Accord Coupe EX-L V6, with a horsepower of 271. Or take the Smart Fortwo, the smallest car available and one of the least expensive to insure, which has 71 horsepower. Owners of the GT-R buy it for power and speed, and their driving habits are often reflected in frequent and expensive insurance claims. GT-R owners who are young with less-than-spotless driving records could easily see their annual car insurance premiums zoom to several thousand dollars. Sports cars dominate the "most expensive" roster, along with theft favorites like the Cadillac Escalade. The 20 most expensive 2009 vehicles to insure Average Vehicle Class Rank Premium 1 $2,533 Nissan GT-R Sports car 2 $2,446 Dodge Viper Sports car 3 $2,236 BMW M6 Sports car 4 $2,186 Ford Shelby GT500 Sports car 5 $2,088 Mercedes-Benz G-Class Large SUV 6 $2,071 Audi S8 Passenger car 7 $2,020 BMW M5 Sports car 8 $1,912 Hummer H2 Large SUV 9 $1,881 Lexus ISF Sports car 10 $1,819 Porsche 911 Sports car 11 $1,762 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Sports car 12 $1,717 Jaguar XK Series Sports car 13 $1,714 BMW M3 Sports car 14 $1,694 Cadillac XLR Sports car 15 $1,637 Audi R8 Sports car 16 $1,603 Land Rover Range Rover Large SUV 17 $1,592 Cadillac Escalade EXT Truck 18 $1,587 Honda S2000 Sports car 19 $1,584 BMW X6 Large SUV 20 $1,577 Mercedes-Benz SL-Class Passenger car If low premiums are more your speed, the "least expensive" list contains a good selection of SUVs, minivans and passenger cars. Low insurance rates tend to reflect a vehicle's safety because drivers of those models have submitted fewer and less-expensive insurance claims. The 20 least expensive 2009 vehicles to insure Average Vehicle Class Rank Premium 1 $832 Hyundai Santa Fe Midsize SUV 2 $840 Kia Sportage Small SUV 3 $848 Hyundai Entourage Minivan 4 $857 Kia Sedona Minivan 5 $870 Kia Rio5 Small wagon 6 $871 Honda Odyssey Minivan 7 $881 Smart Fortwo Passenger car 8 $911 Saturn Vue SUV 9 $913 Mazda Tribute SUV 10 $915 Chrysler Town & Country Minivan 11 $921 Scion xB Small wagon 12 $929 Mazda Mazda5 Minivan 13 $936 Volkswagen Passat Passenger car 14 $939 Jeep Wrangler SUV 15 $951 Honda Accord Passenger car 16 $954 Suzuki Forenza Passenger car 17 $955 Lincoln Town Car Passenger car 18 $957 Mazda Truck Pickup 19 $959 Chevrolet Impala Passenger car 20 $960 Dodge Grand Caravan Minivan "If you're looking to get the lowest car insurance price possible, these rankings can point you in the direction of vehicles that can help you get there," said Amy Danise, editor of Insure.com. "Maintaining a good driving history and good credit are also crucial to getting good rates. Your age and location also have a big impact. Shopping around is the No. 1 easiest way to lower your rate, even if you can't change your other 'risk' factors." The full rankings of average car insurance premiums are available on MSN Money at http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/marketplace/auto-insurance/insurance-prem iums-main.aspx. Save money no matter what car you drive Even if you're not in the market for a new car and don't want to change insurance companies, there are ways you can lower your car insurance bill immediately: -- Trade higher deductibles for lower premiums - but make sure you can afford your deductible in case you crash your car -- Drop collision and comprehensive on older cars, especially vehicles with low resale value. -- Make sure you're getting all the discounts to which you're entitled. Have you recently installed a car alarm, lowered your annual mileage or even changed jobs? All these could qualify you for a discount. -- Buy your home/renters policy and car insurance policy from the same company, for a multiline discount. About the rankings: To compare car insurance rates, Insure.com used a driver profile of a 40-year-old single male who drives 12 miles to work with policy limits of 100/300/50 ($100,000 for injury liability for one person, $300,000 for all injuries and $50,000 for property damage in an accident) and a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive. Policies quoted include uninsured motorist coverage of 100/300. Rates were averaged across multiple ZIP codes and insurance companies. Average rates are for comparative purposes; drivers' own rates will depend on age, driving history, location, discounts and other factors. Average premiums for the profile used ranged from $2,533 to $832. When all vehicles were averaged together, the Chevy Tahoe ranked at the center, with an average car insurance premium of $1,169. See the full Insure.com article at http://www.insure.com/articles/carinsurance/most-least-expensive-2009.html. About Insure.com Insure.com provides a comprehensive consumer information service and companion insurance brokerage that caters to the needs of self-directed insurance shoppers. Visitors to company's flagship Web site, http://www.insure.com/, are able to obtain free, instant car insurance quotes, instant life insurance quotes, home, business and health insurance quotes from leading insurers and have the freedom to buy online or by phone from any company shown. Insure.com is home to hundreds of originally authored articles on consumer insurance topics and provides free insurance decision-making tools that are not available from any other single source. Insure.com generates revenues from receipt of industry-standard commissions, including back-end bonus commissions and volume-based contingent bonus commissions that are paid by participating insurance companies. Shares of the Company's common stock trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol NSUR. Insure.com was originally founded in 1984 as Quotesmith Corporation. DATASOURCE: Insure.com, Inc. CONTACT: Amy Danise, Editor of Insure.com, Inc., +1-860-386-6446, Web Site: http://insure.com/

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