[Rogue Leader]

Hi all, I have lurked here for a while and After seeing this thread and the misinformation everywhere (through no fault of your own, insurance is a confusing business and you have to work for a company in the business to truly understand it), I felt compelled to join and shed some light on this subject.

Firstly let me say I have had a deposit down for MSRP on a 2010 Camaro SS since June. I just sold my 2000 Vette to make the down payment in February (or whenever lol).

Secondly, let me qualify my knowledge. I formerly worked for one of the top 5 largest auto insurers in the country, I was a licensed agent in over 30 states, I've worked in both sales and underwriting of policies as well as research into risk factors, actuarial work, and so forth. Needless to say, I know what I am talking about.

A few things:

- The Corvette is NOT a Luxury car, its not rated as a luxury car, I don't know who told anyone that but its WRONG. The Corvette is a Sports car and rated as such, and not only that, would likely be rated higher than any Camaro (even a brand new one) regardless of horsepower due to cost to repair. I've owned a Corvette, the tax sucks.

- Trying to guess what anyone elses insurance is, is pissing in the wind. Every insurance company uses different factors (obviously all use the same basic age, driving history, location, etc). Some weight those higher, some lower, some use other factors as well. Every company can use anywhere from 10-50 different factors that you would never even expect but they have enormous amounts of data to back up, and weight them at many different levels. Not only that but each state has requirements of how they use those factors as well (thats what all the back up data is for, states require the factors to be proven accurate beyond a reasonable doubt). Each company has sophisticated computer programs now used to rate policies. NOBODY can just do it off the top of their head or guesstimate. I manually rated a policy once, it took me over 2 hours, it sucked. ASIDE from the fact that who knows what the other person's policy limits are as well which can have a huge effect..

- To 2MA. Speed camera tickets (or any camera tickets for that matter) are not listed on your license. Reason being is anyone can be driving the car, not necessarily the owner and there is no way to prove the registered owner was the driver when the photo was taken. Those tickets are simply fines, and are NOT counted by your insurance company (unless you are dumb enough to tell them about it). PS there is mountains of data proving who is a better or worse driver, that said the male/female factor is not as large as one might think in my experience (and yes I was licensed in Arizona too).

- The 6 month policy works to your benefit. Why you ask? Insurance companies are only allowed to surcharge (add a specific charge to your policy; say $50 or $100) for 3 years from the date of a violation or accident (in some states less), as of the date the policy begins. That means if you have a 1 year policy that starts in January and your accident or ticket becomes over 3 years old in March, you will pay that surcharge until the policy renews in January again. However if your policy is only 6 months they must remove that surcharge in July when it renews.

Now to those concerned about what their new Camaro will cost to insure, some tips:

- Don't get tickets, easier said than done haha! But don't just volunteer information to your insurance company, they are going to run your license anyway, you would be surprised what records mysteriously don't show up. Plus some rate longer than your license history saves. (example, NY keeps moving violations and suspensions listed for 3 years, however most NY insurers ask for 5 years of driving history). PS Seatbelt tickets are moving violations, I don't care what the cop tells you, hes just telling you that so you dont complain. Aside from camera tickets and parking tickets, anything else you can get WILL show up.

- Good credit is important. Whether you like it or not, in any state its allowed insurance companies use this factor. And its NOT your regular credit score. It uses credit data to extrapolate an insurance risk score which is different than the credit score you would see if you got a loan or a mortgage. This should go without saying as I'm sure you all don't want to pay 20% interest on your Camaro. Pay off your credit cards and don't carry a balance, pay payments on time. Things like that go a long way. Its a measure of responsibility, and its also proven to be the most accurate rating factor ever used by insurance companies.

- Shop around! I cannot stress this enough, remember earlier I said all insurance companies rate differently? Well some insurance companies factors work out better for some people than others. What have you got to lose? 5 more minutes? Call or go online with every company you can. And don't believe that BS from Progressive and esurance about giving you other companies quotes, they aren't accurate, go back to those companies and try them.

- Don't waste your time buying anti-theft devices like Lojak or more alarms for a discount, the discount is VERY minimal, buy them because you want your car back if the worst happens, otherwise don't bother.

- Putting your Camaro in your mom or girlfriend's name may help, until you have a claim or accident. In SOME states they can deny your claim due to misrepresentation, but usually they will pay anyway, and then drop you, or jack your rates up.

- If you are under 25, staying on your parents policy is a great idea, it will save you a bundle, HOWEVER if you do something stupid, its their responsibility.

If you stay clean your rates can be cheap even in an expensive place like NY where I live, I am 28 and have a clean record and the most impeccable credit you will ever see, I paid $75 per month for high liability limits, and $500 deductables on my 2000 Vette.

Good Luck!