You’ve seen the commercials for vehicles equipped with the high-tech crash prevention, such as autonomous braking systems and automatic parallel parking. Maybe you already own such a vehicle. But be warned … In an article written by Christina Rogers and Leslie Scism and published in the Wall Street Journal recently, these safer cars come with a hidden cost.
The high-tech components (cameras, sensors, microprocessors) that make up the autonomous braking systems and automatic parallel parking, have repair costs that can be more than five times that of conventional parts. And “the equipment is often located in bumpers, fenders and external mirrors – the very spots that tend to get hit in a crash.”
The average annual auto insurance premium increased 14 percent since 2014 to $990, according to an estimate by the Insurance Information Institute. Why? Because these safer vehicles are more expensive to repair. Bumpers, fenders, grilles and side mirrors fitted with safety sensors often cost more to fix because of the need to recalibrate software and the limited availability of replacement parts.
Studies conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show a 50 percent reduction in rear-end crashes by cars equipped with automatic braking, which is great news. However, that safety will continue to increase the price of insurance premiums in the foreseeable future.
