Performance car insurance come in all shapes and sizes, just like the cars themselves. Indeed, you might be hard pressed to pin a definition on just what makes a performance car, since the possibilities are almost endless.

The motoring magazine Auto Express, for example, seems to cast an especially wide net in its search for performance car bargains – in a price range of £1,000 to £29,000 that extends from the top end Mercedes SL63 AMG and Suzuki’s new Swift Sport to the humbler Ford Mondeo or Volkswagen Passat.

Sales listings sites, such as Classic and Performance Car, also illustrate the very wide range of vehicles which fit the title.

So, it is not just price or age of the vehicle that makes it a performance car – the more likely watchwords are likely to be power, acceleration and speed.

Insurance categories

Power, acceleration and speed are likely to be among the main indicators used by insurers when assigning the insurance category to any particular vehicle.

Insurers have quite a choice, since there are some 50 or so different categories to choose from – with the lowest categories attracting the cheapest premiums and the highest the most expensive.

Suffice it to say that performance cars fall into the top end of these insurance categories and attract the higher premiums because of:

• the assessed risks of a performance car and its power, acceleration and speed becoming involved in a road traffic accident;
• the higher costs involved in repairing or fitting replacement parts to a car which is likely to be highly engineered, compared to its lesser makes and models; and
• the fact that many performance cars are imported vehicles – therefore, the price of replacement parts and the cost of more skilled mechanics required to work on them invariably makes repairs, and insurance claims, more expensive.

Specialist insurers

Specialist providers of performance car insurance, on the other hand, have the experience and expertise to make a more rigorous calculation of these risks, and, in so doing, offer a more competitively priced insurance product:

• of course, the standard factors of power, acceleration and speed are still taken into account, but a specialist provider is typically able to make a more accurate and informed decision – reflecting the competitive quote you are likely to be given;
• the make and model of the vehicle – especially if it is an imported manufacture – also plays a part in that assessment;
• also taken into account is the annual mileage you are likely to do in your performance car – the more miles you cover, the longer you are on the roads, and the more likely you are to become involved in an accident, it is argued;
• a specialist insurer may also pay closer attention to your driving record – a history of past motoring convictions and insurance claims is typically frowned upon by any insurer, but the specialist provider may make the effort to understand any blips in your own record; and
• the amount of excess you are prepared also, of course, leaves open your opportunity to reduce the price of your performance car insurance premiums – although there is almost certain to be a higher than usual compulsory excess to start off with.

By choosing a specialist performance car insurance provider, therefore, you may secure the cover you need at a competitive price.