Insuring a BMW

BMW vehicles stand apart by being high-end, high-performance vehicles that don't have the astronomical price tags of vehicles by companies like Rolls-Royce, Bentley and Aston Martin. In other words, BMWs are the kinds of cars that many average folks can afford to buy. Although they are hardly on the economical end of the price scale, they aren't exorbitantly expensive to insure either. The main reason for this is that their somewhat high price tags are mitigated by superior safety features and ratings and reasonably low theft rates. If you're thinking about buying a BMW, you should be aware that the average yearly cost to insure one is $1,966.82, and BMW vehicles are ranked 30th out of 36 in terms of insurance cost.

How BMW Rose to Prominence

The name BMW stands for Bagerishe Motoren Werke AG, which translates to mean Bavarian Motor Works. The company is currently headquartered in Munich, Germany. It was founded in July 1917. It was originally an aircraft manufacturer, and its current logo, which resembles propellers, is inspired by that fact. The first BMW vehicle was produced in 1928. Since then, the company has been responsible for many exciting innovations. Most notably, it led the way in terms of vehicle electronics and turbocharged engines.

Great Safety Ratings Keep Insurance Costs Down

BMW vehicles are safe vehicles. The majority of today's BMW vehicles have earned four or five stars in government crash tests. Five stars is a perfect score, so those are very good ratings. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety also generally awards most BMW vehicles with ratings of "good," which is the top mark that it gives. A few "acceptable" ratings are sprinkled in, but the overall safety of BMW vehicles is better than average. Insurance companies put a significant amount of weight on a vehicle's safety when calculating insurance rates, so this fact helps to keep insurance rates somewhat reasonable.

Reasonable Theft Rates Prevent Exorbitant Insurance Costs

When it comes to theft, BMW vehicles aren't prime targets. The brand does not appear on the top-ten lists that are published by the National Insurance Crime Bureau or NICB. Furthermore, theft rates for BMW vehicles that are tallied by the NHTSA are usually below two or three percent. A few exceptions include the 1993 BMW 3, which has a theft rate of about 10 percent, and the 2000 BMW X5, which has a theft rate of nine percent. Those who can afford to buy BMWs can usually afford to keep them safe, so insurance costs aren't dramatically affected by theft rates in this case.

Moderate-to-High MSRPs Play Huge Role in Cost to Insure BMWs

In the scheme of things, BMW vehicles are expensive. That's not true when stacked up against Rolls-Royces and the like, but it's true when comparing BMWs to many other cars. The BMW 1 Series, for example, has a starting MSRP of $31,200. The BMW M3 coupe, on the other hand, has a starting MSRP of $60,100. BMW vehicle prices span across a fairly large range. More expensive BMWs cost more to insure:

• 128i 6-Cylinder - $1,435.00
• 528i 6-Cylinder - $1,666.00
• M3 8-cylinder - $2,011.00

If you'd like to own a BMW but don't want to pay too much to insure it, make sure to buy one that falls on the lower end of the price scale.