Do premium tanks have an increased resistance to damage?

Originally posted by Desutroyer: I don't have hard evidence, currently it's just a hypothesis based on my personal experience playing mostly 9.3-9.7 ground realistic battles, which is why I am asking this question.

No. Premium vehicles operate on same level as any other vehicle in game. All they give is more SL/RP and sometimes some specific mechanics (we have a lot of event/premium ground vehicles with ungieded rocket launchers for example).