People have different personalities, however, when it comes to choosing a car and one’s driving habits, there are some common features. For instance, drivers of particular brands get into traffic accidents more frequently, while drivers of cars produced by other manufacturers are much more disciplined and responsible. This year, owners of passenger cars by BMW, Mitsubishi and Mercedes Benz were the most frequent visitors of cars shops to avert the damage caused by traffic accidents, while drivers of Suzuki, Dacia and Fiat faced such kind of problems least often, shows the information summarized by BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS (hereinafter – BTA).

The top of the list of “the most dangerous” brands in Latvia is stable; it has experienced minimal change over the years. This year, BMW cars returned to the top of the list again, while last year they dropped to the second place.

Mitsubishi was the brand rated second in regard to the accident rate, leaving Mercedes Benz and Lexus behind. All three brands are famous for rather expensive repair costs. Audi comes fifth, while Land Rover comes sixth, and that is the most expensive vehicle in regard to repair costs this year. Aversion of the consequences of a single traffic accident with a Land Rover on average amounts to more than 2000 euro. Kia, Volkswagen, Seat and Mazda are listed last of the first ten cars.

“Nevertheless, stereotypes offer poor judgement of human nature, it is obvious that the correlation between acknowledgements accumulated over the years regarding the choice of cars and personality types are still partially true. It is highly likely that people that are more adventurous choose more powerful sports cars, because they risk more both in life and while driving. It is showed vividly by the statistical data, where two of the first three cars come from brands manufacturing very powerful vehicles. In regard to the topic, we cannot help mentioning the fast-growing car repair expenses, which is related to high inflation rates. Therefore, cars owners must take into account that car repair expenses often exceed several thousand euros”, pointed out BTA Insurance Claims Handling Department director Kārlis Liepiņš.

This year Suzuki drivers were the most disciplined drivers, who got into traffic accidents almost twice as less than BMW drivers. The next “disciplined” brands were Dacia, Fiat, Opel, Cupra, Honda, Mini, Toyota, Nissan, Citroen and Subaru, which were also the most advantageous cars in regard to repair expenses.


About BTA
BTA Baltic Insurance Company is one of the leading insurance companies in the Baltics, offering the broadest range of non-life insurance services in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. BTA employs more than 1,000 employees in the Baltics. The sole shareholder of BTA is Vienna Insurance Group AG (VIG), the leading insurance group both in Austria and in the entire Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Around 50 insurance companies in 30 countries form a Group with a long-standing tradition, strong brands and close customer relations. The more than 25,000 employees in the VIG take care of the day-to-day needs of more than 22 million customers. VIG shares have been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 1994. The VIG Group has an A+ rating with stable outlook by the internationally recognised rating agency Standard & Poor's. VIG cooperates closely with the Erste Group, the largest retail bank in Central and Eastern Europe.


Additional information:
Elīna Zvejniece
Marketing and Public Relations Department Director 
BTA Baltic Insurance Company AAS
mobile: +371 29374827