Insuring an Acura

Acura, Honda's luxury car division, was founded in 1986 and quickly became one of the most popular luxury vehicle manufacturers in the United States. The automaker's popularity slumped during the mid-1990s, but it shot back up again during the early 2000s. If you're thinking about buying an Acura, you should make sure to take the cost of insuring one into consideration. Three main things come into play when it comes to the price of insuring these cars: theft rates, safety ratings and price. See how these things impact the cost of insurance below.

Average Theft Rates Keep Rates Reasonable

One model, the Integra, appears frequently on top-ten vehicle theft lists that are published by the National Insurance Crime Bureau or NICB. This compact car, which was also sold under the Honda name, was discontinued in 2006. No other models from the Japanese automaker appear on lists that are maintained by the NICB or the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA, which indicates that newer models are less appealing to car thieves for one reason or another. The average vehicle theft rate for most Acura models helps to keep the expense of insuring one relatively reasonable.

Exceptional Safety Ratings Help Too

These vehicles generally include several state-of-the-art safety features, and the manufacturer is known for adopting new safety features long before many other automakers do. For example, airbags were offered on the Legend coupe 11 years before they were made mandatory, and they became standard features just two years later. Popular models like the MDX SUV have high marks from the NHTSA and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety or IIHS. The average annual cost to insure an Acura is $1,543.12, and it ranks 21st on a list of 36 vehicles, so it is squarely in the middle.

High MSRPs Drive Up Insurance Prices

Because they are luxury vehicles, they tend to come with high MSRPs. For example, the 2012 RL full-size sedan has a starting MSRP of $47,700. The 2012 MDX SUV has a starting MSRP of $42,930. When it comes to insurance expenses, more expensive cars are generally most expensive to protect. After all, it costs more to repair vehicles that are more expensive in the first place. This is largely why, despite their exceptional safety ratings and relatively low rates of theft, these models fall in the middle of the spectrum in terms of insurance premiums. Most people who are willing to pay higher prices for luxury vehicles are also willing to spend more on insurance.

Below are a few of the most popular models and the estimated amount it takes to insure them:

• MDX - $1,364.00
• RDX - $1,287.00
• TSX (6 cyl) - $1,508.00
• RL Tech - $1,653.00

The prices above clearly demonstrate that more expensive vehicles tend to cost more to insure. The RL Tech has the highest MSRP on the list, and it has the highest estimated premium.

Keep in mind that the premiums highlighted above may be higher or lower than the rate that you'll actually pay. Shopping around for car insurance for your could save you a lot of money, so it's worth your while to do a little comparison shopping. By arming yourself with this information, you should be able to make the most informed decision possible when shopping for a new car or truck.