Cheap Car Insurance for Convertibles in 2024

Finding cheap car insurance rates for convertibles can seem daunting. The easiest way for you to find out how much you’re going to pay is to get insurance quotes. You can get car insurance rates for any vehicle, even one you don’t own yet. And get classic auto insurance for that old convertible you’ve been working on for a decade.

Is insurance more expensive on a convertible? It can be if you’re looking at convertible vs coupe insurance, but it’s certainly influenced by other factors and won’t bankrupt you.

How much are convertible car insurance rates? We’ll cover average rates and discuss the factors that affect those rates.

Before learning more about car insurance rates for convertibles, you can see the numbers. Just enter your ZIP code above and compare car insurance quotes right now.

How much does car insurance for a convertible cost?

How much is insurance for a convertible on average? Is car insurance more expensive for convertibles? First, let’s take a look at the average annual car insurance rates across the country.

Average Convertible Car Insurance Rates Compared

These rates include premiums for all vehicles and drivers, including those considered high-risk for insurers. The national average is about $950 a year, but rates vary dramatically for drivers. What factors affect car insurance rates? Where you live, what your credit history looks like, and even your age and gender are all factors in how an insurance provider calculates your rates.

But, how does that bit of retractable roof affect how much you’ll pay? The cost of convertible car insurance rates varies so much that it would be difficult to tell you exactly how much you would pay.

Partly, this is because the amount you’ll pay for auto insurance depends on how much the actual car costs. The MSRP will be a major contributor to cost, and you can see below that MSRP varies considerably for different convertibles. Here’s a small sample of what you can get in different price ranges.

MSRP and Fair Market Range of Convertibles

It wouldn’t make a lot of sense to pay the same amount for insurance coverage for a Fiat 500C as a Lamborghini Aventador; the latter is worth 23 times as much as the former. Your insurance company has to take into account how much they might have to pay out if your car is damaged severely or even totaled.

Also, not all convertibles are fancy sports cars — take the Volkswagen Beetle for example.

So, what is the cheapest convertible to insure?

If you’re considering buying a sports car convertible, but you’re looking at vehicles on the lower end of the cost spectrum, like the Ford Mustang, your rates will increase but not exponentially. For instance, Mustang convertible insurance costs between $200 and $500 more each year.

If you’re thinking about a more expensive sports car, such as a Jaguar, you could pay over $1,000 more each year for your car insurance. If you aren’t sure of the value of the vehicle you own or might buy, you can check the Kelley Blue Book website.

Read more:

• Compare Fiat Car Insurance Rates
• Compare Lamborghini Car Insurance Rates
• Compare Two-Door Car Insurance Rates

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Is a hard-top convertible less expensive to insure than a soft-top convertible?

In general, you’re going to pay less for insurance for your hard-top convertible. The reason for this is that a soft-top convertible is considered to be at a higher risk of being broken into. All a would-be thief would have to do is get a sharp knife and cut open the top of your car.

Does car insurance cover convertible tops? If the damage comes from vandalism or something other than normal wear and tear, it should be covered. What do I do if my car is broken into? Make sure to notify authorities and your car insurance company.

However, it’s important to note that, in most cases, the difference between the costs for these two options is minimal, around $50–$100 a year. If you break that down into a monthly payment plan, you’re talking about $4–$8 a month more for your soft-top convertible.

And, if you ever need to replace the top, hopefully, you have comprehensive coverage. Otherwise, it can easily cost you over $1,000 for a replacement part, not including labor, an estimate from the Convertible Top Guys.

Here are the cheapest convertibles you could own and their costs over a five-year period, assuming you drive about 15,000 miles per year.

Cheapest Convertibles to Own (Five years/15,000 miles)

This includes what you’d be paying for the actual convertible in payments and insurance premiums, along with your upkeep and repair cost, like oil changes.

How does convertible car insurance differ from other types of car insurance?

The IIHS tracks insurance losses for each type of car insurance, so you can see just how some convertibles compare to other vehicles.

Collision car insurance covers losses from getting into a car accident, especially if you’re found at fault and have to pay for your own car’s repairs. So, how do convertibles stack up against other cars?

Convertible Average Car Insurance Collision Losses

As you can see, there’s a big difference between the insurance costs of the Fiat and the Rolls Royce, just like their prices. The Fiat 500, which is one of the cheapest convertibles you can own, has a substantially better than average collision loss.

That means that insurers didn’t have to pay out as many claims or as much money per claim. But, both the Rolls Royce and the Ferrari had substantially worse than average losses. Their MSRPs are also through the roof, comparatively. You can see the correlation.

Related to that, take a look below at how large losses were for comprehensive auto coverage.

Read more: Compare Rolls-Royce Car Insurance Rates

Convertible Average Car Insurance Comprehensive Losses

The IIHS reports insurance losses by make and model, including the Rolls Royce Dawn convertible which has a comprehensive loss of an astounding 1,917 percent worse than average. This number is a combination of how many claims were made and how much each paid claim cost the insurer.

With such a massive number, you have to wonder why it’s so much worse than other cars. Some of that is certainly the fact that a 2018 Rolls Royce Dawn convertible retails for $358,350, so each claim is going to be inflated. It’ll cost the insurance company more to fix any damage. But, that’s also going to take into account theft, which is covered by comprehensive insurance.

Convertibles are much easier to break into than a normal car as we’ve already discussed, especially soft-tops.

The truth is that convertible car insurance doesn’t differ much from car insurance for any other vehicle. When you purchase car insurance from an insurance company, you’ll find that they typically offer specialty coverage for sports cars insurance and vehicles like:

• Motorcycles
• RVs
• Boats
• Jet skis
• Snowmobiles
• Classic cars

However, amongst those specialty insurance options, you will not find an option for convertible cars. This doesn’t mean that you don’t want to consider a specialty insurance company for your car.

For example, a convertible Ferrari, which can cost as much as $200,000, is a car that you might want to insure with a specialty company that provides luxury car insurance only.

While there are plenty of insurance companies, such as State Farm, Allstate, and so on, that insure high-end cars, often you pay more through these companies because you are risk-sharing with other drivers.

Often, specialty companies will choose not to insure high-risk drivers in an effort to keep what will already be high insurance rates down.

Should I keep higher levels of insurance for my convertible car?

How much insurance you keep on your convertible should be based on the value of your car plus the requirements from your lender and the state minimum requirements where you live. The table below shows these requirements, as compiled by the Insurance Information Institute.

Minimum Liability Car Insurance Coverage Limits by State

Typically, you want to carry more insurance than the minimum required by your state. However, you don’t want to pay extra for insurance that you may never use.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, most people don’t carry enough insurance on their vehicles. They aren’t talking about the minimums required by each state; they’re talking about enough insurance to cover the cost of an accident. Finding that right balance can be tough, but it’s important to do so.

Your insurance is designed to protect other drivers financially should you be the cause of an accident.

If your insurance comes up short, you’ll have to pay the difference out of pocket or prepare to be sued in court.

It’s very important to note that your car insurance does not cover the cost of the items that you carry around in your car. If you have a high-end media system for when your kids are in the car or a world-class stereo system, it’s your homeowners or renter’s insurance that covers the loss of personal items in your vehicle.

If you want to know the price of carrying different levels of insurance, the easiest way to do this is to get a car insurance quote. Comparing car insurance rates from different companies will help you keep your costs down.

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Are convertibles safe?

There’s no doubt that convertibles are cool. You’re often going to be paying more for the luxury, but it’s really nice to be able to put the top down on a gorgeous, sunny day and just crank the tunes and let your hair get tangled up (sometimes, it’s worth it).

But, what about safety? How much more dangerous are convertibles, and is this a reason not to buy a convertible?

For the most part, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) finds that convertibles are just as safe as standard vehicles — with one exception. And that exception is rollover crashes.

It makes sense that this could be an issue, as there would be nothing between you and the ground if the car flipped over.

Rollover vs Non-Rollover Car Crash Fatalities

You can see that rollover crashes account for 20 percent or more of vehicular fatalities, so it’s already a scary number. When you remove the top of the car, it gets scarier.

Without that sheet of metal between you and the outside world, there’s a higher likelihood of injury in a rollover. You’re also susceptible to whatever debris is flying around, plus your risk of expulsion from the vehicle is greater.

While death rates aren’t necessarily higher in convertibles, it’s still safer to be in a car with a normal roof.

That said, your convertible might actually be a little safer in other ways. The IIHS has been testing convertibles for a decade, and they now know just how the body types react differently to a crash. Check out the video below.

Heavier cars are generally safer in a crash. In a collision of two vehicles, the heavier one will exude the greater force onto the lighter car. It will also get less pushback, meaning there’s less momentum that gets transferred onto the occupants in the heavier car.

Is buying a convertible a good idea? It depends on what you’re going for. Convertibles are generally slower than their non-convertible counterparts. However, they are nicer on a sunny day.

Learn a little bit about what makes convertibles heavier below, along with a few other tidbits you may find interesting.

https://youtu.be/1yOg9bqznzA

Also, note that he says the area with the windows gets reinforcement in order to be safer. Because of the additional risks to drivers, insurance rates will be higher. With greater risk comes more claims paid out, so the insurer will want to offset that with higher premiums.

Now that you know more about car insurance rates for convertibles, you can compare car insurance rates online right now by entering your ZIP code below. You’ll get free quotes from multiple insurers, like Progressive and State Farm.

Frequently Asked Questions: Car Insurance Rates for Convertibles

Still have a few more questions about owning a convertible? Keep reading to see if we’ve addressed them below.

#1 – How do you wash a convertible car?

Most convertibles are actually watertight enough to run through the car wash — top up, obviously. There are also specialty cleaners and brushes for cleaning soft-top convertibles.

#2 – What are the disadvantages of convertible cars?

Although convertibles are certainly a lot of fun, they do have disadvantages. For one, they’re not great for bad weather. Even a stray spring shower can ruin your day if you’re in the wrong place while driving.

They also don’t tend to have a lot of space in the backseat, which can rule them out for families. As we touched on early, they’re also not as safe and can be a target for thieves.

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