Many people believe that the color of their car can affect their auto insurance rates — that red cars have higher insurance rates than other cars, because the people that gravitate toward red cars are more prone to speeding tickets and accidents.  However, there is a lot of debate online about whether this is true or whether it is a myth.  Personally, I think it depends partly on your insurance company — I expect some do figure the car color into the rates they quote, but others — such as the ones I’ve used — don’t seem to care.

It doesn’t really make sense that car insurance companies would base rates on cosmetic features like car color.  They don’t look for other cosmetic things, such as whether you’ve added aftermarket auto accessories.  You could argue that someone with driving lights or a headache rack on their vehicle is more likely to engage in risky behavior such as speeding, 4-wheeling, or driving carelessly, just as you could argue that someone with a bright red car is more likely to drive fast.  However, if the insurance company doesn’t look at whether you’ve installed a light bar or a custom steering wheel, why would they care about the car’s color?

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