Car insurance adjustment set for April

Collision and comprehensive insurance for nearly all import and some domestic cars will go up 10 percent starting next month, the Korea Insurance Development Institute announced Sunday.

Some of the affected vehicles are Kia Motors’ Forte, the Hyundai Veloster, Renault Samsung Motors’ new SM5, the GM Korea Alpheon and all Audis, BMWs and Jaguars.

Based on research on 211 models conducted by the institute from October 2011 to September 2012, insurance fees for 101 will change.

There are 21 different groups categorized by the institute based on damage and repair costs. Vehicles in the highest group are required to pay more than those in the lowest group.

According to the institute, insurance fees will increase for 36 domestic and 17 imported car models and decrease for 48 domestic models. Personal collision and comprehensive fees average about 40 percent of total vehicle insurance costs and can be as much as 70 percent for some import and luxury cars.

Costs for all models of Toyota and Lexus will increase by 10 percent, except for the Lexus ES, which will rise 5 percent.

“Overall, damage loss, money that insurance companies provide as coverage, fell,” said an official from the institute. “More insurance payments, however, were spent on imports compared to domestic cars. We advise car manufacturers to lower prices of auto components, for example, to reduce repair costs.”

By Lee Eun-joo [angie@joongang.co.kr]