According to a recent report by Motortrend using data from Insurance.com, BMW currently makes three of the top ten most expensive cars to insure in the U.S. There are some important caveats, of course, the first being that Insurance.com only covers conventional insurance coverage, and doesn’t examine the type of coverage typically necessary to insure high-end supercars and the like—never mind the fact that a few of the BMW models on the list actually have no problem competing with them.
The other important thing to note is how the coverage was calculated, as rates vary heavily depending on factors such as where you live, how far you drive on a daily basis, age, and gender. Insurance.com calculated coverage for a 40-year-old male with good credit, a twelve-mile daily commute, and a clean record. Policy coverage limits followed nationwide norms, with $100,000 for injury liability for a single individual, $300,000 for all injuries, and $50,000 in property damage, comprehensive and uninsured motorist coverage (which is mandatory in 22 states), all with a deductible of $500. Rates for this hypothetical driver from a total of six major insurance carriers in ten different zip codes from each state were then averaged to come up with the results.
2021 BMW M5 Competition
Annual Insurance Cost: $3,777
The first BMW to appear on the list rounds out the tenth spot, and it’s the BMW M5 Competition, one of the fastest cars the automaker currently offers. According to Motortrend and Insurance.com, the annual cost to insure a 2021 BMW M5 Competition is $3,777, or or roughly $315 a month—and this is for a mature driver with a clean record and good credit. The 2021 BMW M5 sedan starts at $103,500, but the competition package adds $7,600 to the bottom line, for a starting MSRP of $111,100, not including destination.
Factor in new car depreciation for something as expensive and capable as an M5, and whatever you may or may not be paying to finance the car, and the M5 Competition becomes a fairly expensive proposition. Considering just how quick the current M5 happens to be though, and how cars of similar performance have the disadvantage of both costing more and being less practical, BMW’s executive midsize performance super sedan remains just as enticing ever. It’s also decently reliable as far as new cars are concerned, too.
2021 BMW M8
Annual Insurance Cost: $3,907
The 2021 M8 is the next BMW model to appear on the list, ranking in sixth place with an annual insurance premium of $3,907 a year, or approximately $325 a month. BMW NA has already moved on to selling the 2022 model year of the BMW M8 coupe and convertible after pandemic-related supply issues limited supply of the 2021 model year. This wasn’t a problem for the M8 Competition and the M8 Gran Coupé, but even now, if you try to build one on BMWUSA.com, you’re limited to the competition derivative of all three body styles of the M8.
The M8 Competition starts at $130,000 in coupe and Gran Coupé form. That gets you 617 horsepower routed to the ground through M xDrive (that can actually be turned off for the purest of driving experiences), which makes the M8 Competition the fastest BMW on sale right now with borderline insane acceleration that’s on par with or better than plenty of exotics. The M8 Competition is soon to be unseated though, by BMW’s own upcoming M5 CS.
2021 BMW M760i
Annual Insurance Cost: $3,914
The most expensive BMW model to currently insure is the range-topping M760i at a cost of $3,914 per year or $326 a month. The only V12-powered BMW in the current model portfolio, the M760i is the slowest car on this list by nearly a second, but it also happens to be the most expensive with a starting MSRP of $157,800. BMW listed a zero-t0-60 mph acceleration time for the M760i of 3.5 seconds. When Car and Driver tested a pre-LCI 2017 model year example, they recorded the exact same time, along with a five-to-60 mph rolling start acceleration time of four seconds flat, and a standing quarter-mile time of 11.7 seconds at 123 mph. Compare that to the M8 Competition’s respective times of 2.5 seconds from zero-to-60, 3.5 seconds for the rolling start, and a quarter mile time of 10.7 seconds at 129. The pre-LCI base-model M5 slots right in between with a 2.8-second zero-to-60 time, 3.5 seconds for the rolling start, and a quarter-mile time of 10.9 seconds at 130 mph.
The M760i is no slouch when considering its curb weight of over 5,000 pounds compared with around 4,250 for the M8 Competition and M5. The M760i was updated for the 2020 model year, with torque growing from 590 to 627 pound-feet, but if you want the fastest 7 Series BMW currently sells, look no further than the current Alpina B7. The latest Alpina B7 has 600 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque, hits 60 mph from standstill in 3.2 seconds (four seconds for the rolling start), and covers the quarter-mile in 11.4 seconds at 123 mph. It’s also cheaper, starting at just $153,195, but at the end of the day, there’s no substituting the V12.
Of the ten cars to appear on Motortrend‘s list, three are BMWs models. The only other brand with three models on the list is Maserati, but the Performance Plaid variants of Tesla’s Model S and Model X also appear on the list, and both rank above all BMW models. The Nissan GT-R NISMO is the closest thing to a supercar to appear on the list (if you don’t count the M8), and the only other German marque to appear is Audi, with the 2021 R8 Spyder. All of the BMW models to make the list were M or M Performance models.—Alex Tock
[Photos courtesy BMW AG.]
