Canadian Celeb Car Insurance Series: Justin Bieber’s Pricey Premiums
By: Lucy Zemljic on August 19, 2014Have you ever been jealous of a celeb’s ride? Maybe you’ve stared longingly at Kim Kardashian’s Ferrari, or drooled over Jay Leno’s luxury car collection. While we all get jealous of celebs from to time, one thing we don’t need to be jealous of is the astronomical car insurance premiums many are paying to insure their sweet rides.
If you’ve ever wondered how much your favourite celebs are dishing out to drive their fancy cars, then you’re in luck – we’ve wondered the same thing and decided to do some investigating. We’ve dug into some Canadian celeb driving records to get you the scoop on how steep their insurance premiums really are.
First on the docket? None other than the Biebs.
Love him or hate him, you’re bound to have heard of the name Justin Bieber. Hailing from Stratford Ontario, this pop sensation has serenaded his way into the hearts of teenage girls around the world. In recent years, the Biebs has ditched his squeaky-clean persona and along with it, his previously good driving record. Has Justin Bieber’s bad driving behaviour changed the tune of his auto insurance premium? Let’s take a look.
The Stats
Justin Bieber is a 20-year-old male, which places him firmly in the higher-risk driver category. Age and gender are two key factors that determine auto insurance premiums in Canada and the U.S., so whether the Biebs is cruising through L.A. or driving around Toronto, he’ll still be paying higher auto insurance premiums than a 25-year-old male.
Why a 25-year-old? Because statistically, in both Canada and the United States, accident rates are higher for drivers under the age of 25, especially under-25 males. Car insurance premiums across both countries reflect the fact that, unfortunately, all young men have to pay for the bad driving decisions of some in their age group.
As for education, in 2012 Bieber graduated high school from St. Michael Catholic Secondary School in his native Stratford, so that could be a plus for his premium. No college or university degree though, which is too bad for Bieber – higher education often helps to lower insurance premiums, and some insurers even offer "Good Student Discounts" for high school students who maintain good grades.
The Cars
Just one look at Justin Bieber’s luxury-ride-rolodex leads us to one conclusion: it can’t be cheap to insure all those cars.
As a general rule, the more expensive the car, the higher the auto insurance price. And Justin Bieber has a bevy of expensive cars under his name. According to celebritycarsblog.com, the 20-year-old singer has a whopping eleven luxury cars, many of which have been heavily customized. Just take a look at this list:
- Cadillac CTS-V
- 997 Porsche Turbo
- Smart Car
- Ferrari F430
- Ferrari 458 Italia
- Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Van
- Lamborghini Gallardo
- Range Rover Evoque
- Lamborghini Aventador
- Audi R8
- Fisker Karma
Just for fun, I took to our auto insurance page and punched in Justin's deets to see how steep this premium price-tag really is. The results? A $3,000 per month premium, totalling to $36,000 a year – and that's just for his Porsche, Smart Car, Cadillac and Audi. Add up all eleven of his cars and the Biebs could be paying well over 6 figures per year for insurance.
The Driving Record
To say that Justin Bieber’s driving record is less-than-stellar would be putting it mildly.
With a DUI arrest, a drag racing arrest and a careless driving charge under his belt, the pop sensation’s bad driving behaviour has no doubt negatively affected the price of his auto insurance. Add in a few minor car accidents, a charge of driving with an expired licence and a charge of making an unsafe left turn, and you’ve got a recipe for insurance disaster.
Judging by the reports of his speeding around his SoCal home, it’s probably safe to assume he has a few speeding tickets on his record as well. There’s no doubt about it – all signs point to one ridiculously high premium for the Biebs.
According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, your driving record is a huge factor in determining your car insurance premium. Every at-fault accident, speeding ticket or other violation can increase your premiums. Luckily for him, Bieber has evaded DUI and street racing convictions, which would have skyrocketed his premiums – a DUI conviction can cause a 250% premium increase, and a street racing charge can ramp up premiums by a whopping 400%. Bieber didn’t get off scot-free though, because that careless driving charge can raise premiums by 22%, which is no small increase on a $36,000 a year price-tag.
Can Justin Lower His Premiums?
All signs point to pricey car insurance for Bieber, but that doesn’t mean that the singer couldn’t potentially lower his premium by taking a few cost-saving measures. If he really wanted to nick that price-tag, JB could take a Driver’s Ed. course to show his insurer that he’s serious about safe driving. Another way to drive down that premium would be opting for one-way insurance (also called liability only.) One-way insurance provides Liability and Direct Compensation Property Damage (DCPD) coverage only – if you get into an at-fault accident with one-way insurance, you’ll have to pay for the damages done to your vehicle. The advantage for Bieber? This kind of policy is cheaper than a standard two-way plan.
JBiebs could also try moving out of Hollywood Hills to take advantage of some small-town auto insurance prices, since premiums are determined partially by location. He could even put fashion sense on the back burner and give away all those fancy cars in lieu of a cheap-to-insure clunker. Sounds like a solid plan... which will never realistically happen. Justin Bieber has more money than any human could spend, so he probably won’t be getting rid of his leopard-print Audi anytime soon.
Even so, we like to hope that in between partying in Cannes and hitting the clubs in South Beach, the Biebs is at least comparing car insurance quotes to lower that preposterous premium.
The Conclusion
It doesn’t take a math whiz to figure out that Justin Bieber’s car insurance premium is probably through the roof. Being part of an at-risk statistical group (under-25 male), carrying a spotty driving record and driving a slew of expensive cars undoubtedly leaves the “Baby” singer paying a hefty sum. And unfortunately for Justin, there’s no way he can Belieb his way out of that pricey premium.
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