Insurance rates on aluminum F-150 hold for now

Editor's note: Prices for fenders on the 2015 Ford F-150 have not changed from 2014. A chart in an earlier version of this story confused the prices for left and right fenders. Left fenders cost $267.92 and right fenders cost $354.78, according to a memo from a Ford spokesman.

For now, motorists' yearly insurance premiums for the 2015 aluminum-bodied F-150 are about the same as for the 2014 steel model -- good news for Ford.

But premiums could change once insurance companies study accident repair data for the redesigned pickup.

To set rates for 2015 models, insurance companies use the latest data they have -- from 2014 model claims. It could take about a year or more to get repair and other data useful to set rates for the 2015 model, insurers say.

"The cost to insure the F-150 may go up, or it may go down," said Progressive Corp. spokesman Jeff Sibel. "We won't have [enough] data until we have claims experiences."

Insurance premiums won't make or break sales of Ford's highly profitable full-size pickup. They are about 10 percent of an owner's operating costs in the first five years of ownership, Consumer Reports says. Ford is confident that insurance premiums for the new pickup will be similar to those for the steel model, even though some parts costs are higher, aluminum repair techs require special training and special repair equipment is needed.

For instance, repairing a front door for the 2015 F-150 Crew XLT costs $1,020.95, a $166.02 increase from the 2014 model, says Consumer Reports.

Ford expects insurance premiums for the 2015 model will remain under control, in part because company engineers designed the pickup so that repairs could be made to the aluminum body without replacing entire panels.

"The 2015 Ford F-150 is designed so sections of the truck are easier to repair in the event of an accident, significantly reducing time of repair and saving costs," Ford spokesman Mike Levine said in an email.

Progressive Corp., a major insurer, typically doesn't immediately change premiums for a new feature, such as an aluminum body, Sibel said.

Once the company has enough data on claim experiences for the aluminum F-150, agents will analyze the data and possibly adjust insurance rates.

Spot checks by Automotive News show insurance prices for the 2015 F-150 match those of the 2014 model. At Esurance, a unit of Allstate Insurance Co., quotes for 2014 and 2015 F-150 base models were exactly the same: $629.50 for six months for the same Ann Arbor, Mich., driver and $649.60 for the same Birmingham, Mich., driver.

Progressive's figures differed slightly. The Birmingham driver's 2015 F-150 would cost $1,044.50 for six months of basic insurance, $39 more than that of the 2014 model.

At Allstate, F-150 insurance rates change little from those of the 2014 model, spokesman Justin Herndon said. He agreed that insurers lack sufficient 2015 F-150 claims to provide fully accurate rates.

"The issue is that it doesn't take into full consideration the aluminum body," he said. "It's kind of fluid and dynamic at the same time. It's something we constantly look at. I don't want to say that it will take a year [to have sufficient data], but I also don't want to limit it to only a year."

As sales of the 2015 aluminum-bodied truck increase, there will be more accidents. The vast majority of F-150s being sold still are the previous-generation steel-bodied pickups.

Last month, 21 percent of F-150s sold were aluminum, said Ford's chief sales analyst, Erich Merkle.

The number of 2015 pickups that have been built and shipped since production started late last fall is about 72,000, according to the Automotive News Data Center.

Ford says the 2015 F-150's insurance premiums will remain steady.

Ford's repair parts program "is going according to plan, and we have not noted any issues requiring a change. We will continue to monitor and will respond accordingly if needed," a spokeswoman said.

The experiences of vehicles that recently switched to aluminum support Ford's view.

For example, insurance for aluminum-intensive vehicles, such as the 2004 Jaguar XJ, 2013 Range Rover and 2012 Audi A6, saw "no significant change" from the rates for the steel-bodied versions of the previous model year, State Farm Insurance spokesman Dick Luedke said.

Richard Truett contributed to this report.