Insuring a Maserati

Although they would never be classified as economy vehicles, Maserati sports cars come with more reasonable price tags than many other upscale sports cars. They are still well beyond the budget of the average driver, but they are loaded with premium features and have sleek, aggressive styling. After spending a large chunk of change on one, you should be prepared to spend a lot of money to insure it as well. While average annual costs aren't available, it is safe to assume that it would cost at least $3,500 per year to cover one of these flashy vehicles. After all, the typical Aston Martin is considerably cheaper, and it costs at least $2,500 per year, on average, to insure one. Someone who can afford to buy one can probably handle its premiums, though. Learn more about why these cars are so expensive to protect below.

How Maserati Began

The roots of the brand lie in six Italian brothers. They also happened to be hardcore racing enthusiasts. In 1914, the six brothers started developing their own custom race cars in order to compete more effectively. They were wildly successful, and their custom-designed rides helped them win many races. A very limited number of custom models were built in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1937, the brand was sold to the Orsi family. The first Maserati road cars were produced in 1947, but the company made most of its money through batteries and spark plugs. The brand was purchased by Citroen in 1968, and models stopped being imported to the U.S. in 1991. The brand was brought back to the U.S. in 2002, and it has done fairly well there since then.

Theft is Not a Problem

Some cars are popularly targeted by thieves, but that's not so with these cars. Of course, the typical car thief would probably love to get his hands on one. As distinctive as they are, though, these cars are realistic targets. Furthermore, the people who own them tend to keep them guarded well. As a result, theft does not affect the amount it takes to insure these automobiles. Unfortunately, that doesn't do a whole lot to reduce the cost to protect them.

Standard Safety Features

Although Maserati cars are built with power, performance and speed in mind, they generally include today's standard safety features. That sets them apart from many other high-performance vehicles, whose designers omit many safety features to squeeze out a little extra power and speed. However, crash tests are not performed on these cars. They are simply too valuable to be subjected to such tests. As a result, you won't find safety ratings by the government or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. They aren't unsafe, but the standard safety equipment that they include doesn't do much to lower the cost of a policy.

Hefty Price Tags Drive Up Insurance Prices

These cars may not be particularly unsafe, and they made not be targeted by thieves. However, that doesn't mean that they're cheap to insure. Their sky-high MSRPs are what make them so expensive to protect. The GranTurismo MC, for example, has a starting price of around $140,000. The Quattroporte sedan's starting price of around $130,000 isn't a whole lot cheaper. You need to have plenty of cash to spare if you'd like to own one of these incredible vehicles.