About $1,676 a year for full coverage on a national average — 17% more than the $1,438 average car. Insurers rate the Land Rover Defender at an index of 117 where 100 is a typical vehicle, based on how often and how expensively these cars actually generate claims (latest data covers 2022-2024).
The premium isn't spread evenly across the Land Rover Defender: Comprehensive — theft, weather, vandalism, animals — carries its highest loss index at 187, while Medical payments sits at 49. Those 138 points are the real reason behind the price, and they are the part a quote form never shows you. Among 80 luxury suvs we hold data for, the Defender ranks #50 from cheapest, above the class median of 109. Against what the car is worth the bill looks different again: a 2026 Defender sells for a median $79,831, so a year of cover costs 2.1% of the car's value. Over 5 generations of data the index has fallen from 135 (2018-2020) to 117 (2022-2024). Calculated from 10 insurance-loss records and live US listing prices.
Why a Defender costs what it does
Insurers don't price a car with one number — they track losses separately for each kind of cover. An index of 100 is the average vehicle, so anything above means this model generates costlier claims of that type:
Read it as «where the money goes». A high Collision figure means these cars are expensive to repair after a crash; a high Comprehensive figure points at theft, weather and vandalism instead. Estimated annual split at $1,676: Liability (BI + PD) $804 · Collision $469 · Comprehensive $201 · Other (UM / PIP) $201.
The Defender against its class
Every luxury suvs we hold insurance data for, cheapest to insure first. The Defender is highlighted — rivals are clickable if you're cross-shopping:
Class as defined by insurers (Luxury SUVs), not by us — it groups cars by how they're actually driven and repaired. Median for this class is 109, roughly $1,560 a year.
How it changed by generation
Insurance-loss index of the Defender across every generation in the data. Newer isn't automatically cheaper — driver-assist systems cut crash frequency, while sensors and aluminium panels push repair bills up:
Each point averages every recorded variant of that generation. The Defender has become cheaper to insure over time (-18 points).
What a Defender costs by state
Where you park matters as much as what you drive. The Defender's index applied to each state's average premium — the same car, the same cover, different postcode:
| State | Defender est. / yr | vs national |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | +39% vs US | |
| Louisiana | +38% vs US | |
| New York | +32% vs US | |
| District of Columbia | +26% vs US | |
| Georgia | +21% vs US | |
| Texas | +20% vs US | |
| Wisconsin | -30% vs US | |
| Hawaii | -31% vs US | |
| Idaho | -32% vs US | |
| North Dakota | -33% vs US | |
| Vermont | -33% vs US | |
| Maine | -36% vs US |
Six priciest and six cheapest states shown. Figures are the state's average premium scaled by the Land Rover Defender's loss index of 117 — your own quote also depends on age, record, deductible and ZIP.
Land Rover Defender insurance — frequently asked
How much is insurance for a Land Rover Defender?
About $1,676 a year for full coverage at the national average, versus $1,438 for a typical car. That's the model's insurance-loss index of 117 applied to the US average premium.
Why is the Defender expensive or cheap to insure?
For the Land Rover Defender the costliest area is Comprehensive at an index of 187, covering theft, weather, vandalism, animals — against 49 for its cheapest. Insurers set premiums from claim history like that, not from the sticker price — which is why the Land Rover Defender lands at 117, not at what it costs new.
Is the Defender cheaper to insure than rivals?
It ranks #50 of 80 in the luxury suvs class, where the median index is 109 against this car's 117. Cheaper rivals are listed in the chart above.
Is that a lot relative to the car's value?
A year of cover is 2.1% of what a 2026 Defender sells for — $1,676 against a median price of $79,831. Cheap cars often show a higher percentage even when the dollar premium is lower, and at 2.1% the Defender sits on the cheap side of it.
Where does this data come from?
Insurance-loss indices published for real vehicles, combined with NAIC state average premiums. It's claim history, not a quote engine — so it shows what these cars actually cost insurers rather than what one company would offer you.
Will my own quote match this?
Treat it as a baseline for the car itself. Your figure also moves with age, driving record, deductible, mileage and ZIP code — the same Defender can differ by hundreds between two drivers.
How we work this out
Mark ForCar as a preferred source and our data shows up first in your Google results. One click, no account.