As we pointed out in a previous post, if you want cheap insurance rates, drive a minivan or a compact crossover. But what if you’re feeling flush and frisky and are looking to drive something more upscale and sporty? Be prepared to dig deep into your bank account to make sure you’re fully covered.

According to the annual survey of insurance rates conducted by the website Insure.com, the "mainstream" vehicle with the steepest premiums for 2019 is the fire-breathing Nissan GT-R sports car. Though, the extremely limited, extremely expensive Bugatti Chiron Sport 110 Ans is much, much pricier.

This year, Godzilla and Bugatti nudge out what had been a longtime leader among budget-busters, the Mercedes-Benz AMG S65. At that, Mercedes accounts for half of the 10 most-expensive-to-insure cars, all of which are ultra-luxury and/or high-performance models. We’re featuring these coveted, but costly-to-cover cars in the accompanying slideshow.

Determining insurance rates is a numbers game. Models that fare the best in terms of claims history, including the cost of physical damage the car both incurs and inflicts upon other vehicles in a crash and the severity of personal injuries involved enjoy the lowest rates. Expensive cars cost more to repair if they get into a wreck, and maintain a higher threshold before being declared a total loss.

And then there’s the personal element involved in owning a high-priced and high-powered ride. "Drivers of vehicles on the expensive list pay a lot of money for the vehicle, so if it has extra horsepower, will likely want to try it out," explains Insure.com’s consumer analyst Penny Gusner. "Also, they will mind if their car gets a scuff and will want to get minor damages fixed up to keep their expensive 'baby' in excellent shape."

Take note that the figures quoted in the slideshow are national averages for a hypothetical driver having a clean driving record. What a given policyholder will pay to insure a particular vehicle depends largely on personal variables including one’s age, gender, marital status, address, credit rating, and driving record. Statistically speaking, a single male teen who lives in a crowded and crime-ridden urban area and has multiple tickets and/or accidents on the books – especially those involving reckless driving or a DUI – will pay the most among all drivers for auto insurance. That’s if he can obtain coverage at all.

As always, it pays to shop around for coverage because the actuarial formulas used to compute car insurance rates are moving targets that can vary significantly among providers, with some companies charging more or less to cover certain combinations of risk factors than others.

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