For the same make and model, a sedan is about 13% cheaper to insure than a coupe because sedans are economically priced and sold widely but coupes are sportier, pricier and stolen more. Coupes and sedans have similar three boxed body designs. The main differences are; coupes have 2 doors, a sporty, smaller body and internal space and sedans come with 4 doors and larger internal space but a traditional look.
Each company calculates insurance ratings of each make and model vehicle. In their assessments, they consider the value of the car, repair costs, claims data, safety ratings, horsepower and theft statistics. Nearly all of these points to sedans being lower risk to insure. They are cheaper to buy, repair as they have more widely available parts, slower and stolen less and have better safety ratings because they are heavier and less likely to rollover.
Also, the type of drivers that buy them have an influential role in accident statistics. Coupes can only carry two people comfortably. Even if they have back seats, it isn’t easy to get in and not comfortable because of the lowered head space. So, these automobiles are favored by single drivers or couples with no children. They tend to be younger, more adventurous and risk-taking drivers.
On the other hand, sedans are bought by more family and business-oriented people as they can carry 5 people comfortably and looks good as a car for a professional to drive to work. They are bought by more comfort oriented, settled drivers with children. They tend to be calmer and careful and less likely to cause accidents.
These tendencies and usage play an important role in accident figures because they do play out in real life. Also, it appears that companies are charging more to offer Comprehensive coverage to coupes and this usually indicates they have higher theft numbers.
However, the main factor in premiums difference between insuring a coupe or sedan is purchase price and repair costs. Coupes are nearly always more expensive to buy in comparison to sedans produced by the same manufacturer and in the similar range. For example, Honda Civic Sedan is always several thousands of dollars cheaper in comparison to Honda Civic Coupe.
Also, sedans are sold more in numbers in most ranges in comparison to coupes and that makes their parts more widely available and cheaper. Consequently, sedans are cheaper to repair and therefore insure. This generalization probably works for most 2-door vs 4-door car insurance comparisons.
Age of drivers, driving records, credit score and zip codes play an important role in keeping the premium gap between insuring a sedan vs coupe closer or wider. For example, a mature driver with clean driving history, great credit score and living in a nice suburb won’t necessarily pay much more to insure a couple because such a driver attracts low rates and when those low rates applied to the vehicle, the difference doesn’t amount to much.
Contrarily, if the driver is a youngster with a recent speeding ticket and average credit score, such a driver is more likely to go for a coupe and pay thousands of dollars more for car insurance in comparison to going for a sedan. When a high-risk driver is matched with a high-risk car, they should be prepared to pay a lot more.
So, vehicle choice plays a key role in how much you are going to pay for auto insurance. And other factors may have exacerbating roles when they are bad and the vehicle choice is riskier. In short, you may not have to pay a lot more for insuring a coupe when you are at least over 25 and have good records but the gap opens up when you are younger and don’t have a great record.