Do red car owners pay more for car insurance?

Though a car color doesn’t impact insurance rates, 42% of Americans think people who drive red cars pay more, a new survey finds.

It’s not true, says insuranceQuotes.com, which commissioned the telephone survey.

Among those who believe in the theory, 53% are Millennials, 44% have a college or higher degree and 36% earn $75,000 or more every year, according to the survey.

Another popular false impression is that insurance doesn’t cover repairs for the motorist at fault. The survey conducted in late August pointed out only 56% of the 1,003 respondents got it right. Again, more than half Millennials missed it.

Laura Adams, senior analyst for insuranceQuotes.com, said most people learn about auto insurance from their own experience of claiming it. Unfortunately, most Millennials are not experienced.

Oddly, 1 in 5 Americans think they have to pay from their own pockets even when the accident is not their fault.

Adams said though auto insurance policy differs among states, the three most common insurance benefits are liability, collision and comprehensive. Liability covers the other party’s expense while collision and comprehensive protect drivers’ against their own loss from collision or non-collision damage.

But car insurance does not replace items stolen from a vehicle, but 34% of Americans think it does. It’s actually homeowners and renters insurance that pays for the loss of stolen property.

Besides the lack of awareness of what is covered by car insurance, the survey found some people also don’t understand what affects insurance rates.

The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates last month and has a projected error margin of plus or minus 3.6%.

Among the respondents, 17% didn’t know where they live actually matters. People living in big cities pay higher insurance rates than those in smaller places.

“These results indicate that millions of Americans need a refresher on what insurance does and does not cover,” Adams said. “It doesn’t hurt just to pick up your phone and talk to your company or agent.” She recommends people to talk with their agents once a year to go over benefits and other policies.