With any major change in a car’s design, one often overlooked aspect is the vehicle’s insurance costs. Design changes come with inherent risks simply because they’re new and have limited real world feedback, so it’s not unusual for new-model cars with significant hardware changes to have higher insurance costs.
However, data has shown that insurance rates for the aluminum-based Ford F-150 have NOT increased compared to the previous year. From Automotive News:
For now, motorists’ yearly insurance premiums for the 2015 aluminum-bodied F-150 are about the same as for the 2014 steel model — good news for Ford.
But premiums could change once insurance companies study accident repair data for the redesigned pickup.
To set rates for 2015 models, insurance companies use the latest data they have — from 2014 model claims. It could take about a year or more to get repair and other data useful to set rates for the 2015 model, insurers say.
“The cost to insure the F-150 may go up, or it may go down,” said Progressive Corp. spokesman Jeff Sibel. “We won’t have
Insurance premiums won’t make or break sales of Ford’s highly profitable full-size pickup. They are about 10 percent of an owner’s operating costs in the first five years of ownership, Consumer Reports says. Ford is confident that insurance premiums for the new pickup will be similar to those for the steel model, even though some parts costs are higher, aluminum repair techs require special training and special repair equipment is needed.
This is all subject to change over time as repair data comes in. However, it’s always better to have a good start, and it’s a testament to the integrity of the F-150’s design and manufacturing teams that the insurance companies haven’t raised rates yet.