Another Insurance Query specific to Southern California folks

[Cricket88]

I am currently with AAA in Southern California and at first, I accepted the premiums because of the perception I have of AAA's reputation (no first-hand experience on claims/cust svc/coverage)

I'm weighing whether I should continue paying "more" for the conceived notion that I will get better service and coverage, or whether I should save some money and switch companies since my annual renewal is up at the end of the month.

Does anyone here in Southern California have any recommendations for insurance specifically for their Tesla Model S? I'm looking for specific situations where you've made a claim(s) and was happy with the outcome with your insurer.

I don't mind paying more if the perception of "outstanding" service from AAA holds true, however If I am paying $2,500 more annually for unfounded comfort, i'd like to know that as well and pocket the potential savings instead. (I also don't know if their proposed 30% rate hike is already factored in, or if I'm going to take another hit soon)

So far, State Farm is out because their premiums are the same if not more, and Mercury is out due to personal reasons that I'll save for another forum. USAA is also out because I do not have any Military affiliations (directly or indirectly).

I have a quote from Progressive which is about $2500 cheaper annually. I submitted for a quote from Liberty Mutual but have not heard back. I see a lot of people on Geico, but I also read a lot of negative reviews about Geico (specifically about them not paying out for full repair estimates, etc.

Thanks for reading and for any suggestions from Southern California Tesla owners!

 

[bkp_duke]

GEICO here - $1600 per year per car (we have two Model S's), all options maxed on coverage.

Knock on wood, haven't had an accident, so haven't tested the repair process.

 

[Randaddy]

Check Wawanesa. They're San Diego based and have beaten every other insurance provider I've seen mentioned here (for me).

 

[demundus]

Gieco here in san diego, 1700ish for a year with 3 cars two motorcycles and one at fault bumper scratch

 

[Cricket88]

Thanks for replies guys! Have any of you had any claims or customer service-related interactions specifically about your Tesla with your companies (Wawanesa, Geico)? Im more interested in actual customer experiences from the insurers SPECIFICALLY with the Tesla rather than cost since I know these companies are currently significantly cheaper!

not so much looking for insurance premium cost comparisons, but rather insurer experiences with your Tesla (not your other ICE vehicles, etc either since we know the Tesla is unique in terms of cost or repairs, etc)..

Thanks much!

Trying to find my answer to the following:

Pay more but might never use it

vs

Pay less and hope nothing happens

 

[demundus]

Claims were fine actually. I was hit by someone else and gieco was good about the whole thing, car got fixed as fast as was possible by the body shop. Gieco actually had to eat some of the repair cost due to the other driver being underinsured. They are easy to get ahold of and always answer my questions. But thats just for now... who knows how itll be in the future. I view insurance as a commodity, because if I don't, I'll get lumped into the "we can do anything to him and he wont leave" bucket.

 

[Tam]

...any claims...

I switched to Wawanesa because I witnessed my co-worker (at fault) filing a claim on the phone with no hassles and all parties got their cars fixed but for your answer, it wasn't a Tesla.

And the premium has turned out to be cheaper for my Tesla.

 

[slipnslider]

Check Wawanesa. They're San Diego based and have beaten every other insurance provider I've seen mentioned here (for me).

I use Wawanesa too and they've been pretty good. Not a huge company so you can't talk to anyone there on weekends.
I don't have a tesla though.

 

[idealsol]

Geico here
64 years old, wife 54
Excellent driving records
With AAA for 30+ years
AAA wanted appx 3700 annually, and that was with homeowners and another vehicle
Coverage was 100/300 with 1k deductible

Geico is 1220 annually ( I'm entering my 1st renewal this month, rate went from 625/ 6 months to 610
And I have 300/500 with a 1k deductible
For now we've kept AAA for the home and other car
One thing you may not know is AAA gives you about 200/year off their rate if you're an alumni member of lots of colleges
In my case a lifetime alumni membership for LB State wa $49

 

[eyespii]

I use Wawanesa too and they've been pretty good. Not a huge company so you can't talk to anyone there on weekends.
I don't have a tesla though.

Apparently can't talk to anyone there on a Wednesday afternoon either. Called them up and spent 45-min on hold while driving home (on AP of course...)

 

[slipnslider]

Apparently can't talk to anyone there on a Wednesday afternoon either. Called them up and spent 45-min on hold while driving home (on AP of course...)

Well hopefully that lack of customer service results in lower rates. How often do you need to talk to your insurance company anyway?
I have used wawanesa's roadside assistance program twice and got fast responses even on the weekend.

 

[Frankman60]

I WAS with AAA for more than 10 years with no claims for three cars. When I purchased my MS almost a year ago AAA gave me an annual premium of $1875 for the Tesla. And, to even get insured at all I had to visit a local AAA office so that an agent could take photos of the car to ensure it had no damage, despite being new. I haven't had to do that with other insured vehicles. The premium was high enough for me to shop around and I found the same coverage through Ameriprise (Costco affiliation) for approx $800 per year only insuring the Tesla with Ameriprise. After moving all three vehicles to Ameriprise and adding an umbrella policy the annual Tesla premium dropped to $600. I saved even more money when considering the total insurance bill for all three cars and the umbrella. But I have no claims experience with Ameriprise (fortunately) so I can't say anything about that.

I am currently with AAA in Southern California and at first, I accepted the premiums because of the perception I have of AAA's reputation (no first-hand experience on claims/cust svc/coverage)

I'm weighing whether I should continue paying "more" for the conceived notion that I will get better service and coverage, or whether I should save some money and switch companies since my annual renewal is up at the end of the month.

Does anyone here in Southern California have any recommendations for insurance specifically for their Tesla Model S? I'm looking for specific situations where you've made a claim(s) and was happy with the outcome with your insurer.

I don't mind paying more if the perception of "outstanding" service from AAA holds true, however If I am paying $2,500 more annually for unfounded comfort, i'd like to know that as well and pocket the potential savings instead. (I also don't know if their proposed 30% rate hike is already factored in, or if I'm going to take another hit soon)

So far, State Farm is out because their premiums are the same if not more, and Mercury is out due to personal reasons that I'll save for another forum. USAA is also out because I do not have any Military affiliations (directly or indirectly).

I have a quote from Progressive which is about $2500 cheaper annually. I submitted for a quote from Liberty Mutual but have not heard back. I see a lot of people on Geico, but I also read a lot of negative reviews about Geico (specifically about them not paying out for full repair estimates, etc.

Thanks for reading and for any suggestions from Southern California Tesla owners!

 

[Cricket88]

Thanks for all of the responses! This is exactly the kind of information I am looking for. I am fully aware that I could save some significant amount of money with a different insurance company. The only thing I have to base my assumptions of Southern California Auto Club is based on my friends who have them, and my parents who have been with AAA since 1985. However, my parents use AAA of Northern California and from what I am finding out, the chapters all vary in levels of service depending on region... so for Southern California, it seems it may not even be as great as I think it is. For what its worth, I recall my parents always getting great service from AAA, but my memory could be hazy as well since I am 42 and moved out when i was 18

 

[Cricket88]

Geico here
64 years old, wife 54
Excellent driving records
With AAA for 30+ years
AAA wanted appx 3700 annually, and that was with homeowners and another vehicle
Coverage was 100/300 with 1k deductible

Geico is 1220 annually ( I'm entering my 1st renewal this month, rate went from 625/ 6 months to 610
And I have 300/500 with a 1k deductible
For now we've kept AAA for the home and other car
One thing you may not know is AAA gives you about 200/year off their rate if you're an alumni member of lots of colleges
In my case a lifetime alumni membership for LB State wa $49

I have my USC Alumni discount through AAA as well as a renewal "dividend" credit, but all said and done, the premium is still $2,500 higher than progressive (for example)....

 

[lg_golfs]

I was with AAA for ages. Always good rates, but, it spiked big time when I requested a quote for my Tesla.

Someone suggested USAA. Glad they did. Not sure if you qualify, but, I now pay less than I did and also have twice the coverage I had with my Audi and after a year of their customer service I moved my home / earthquake to them as well.

 

[Sparky]

I had AAA until my kids became old enough to drive. Then it was clear AAA was cherry picking clients and they did not want to insure my kids. Premium went from ~2500/yr to $6500 with 4 cars, 2 kids 2 adults, spotless record. That was 10 years ago.
Have State Farm now. They've been fine. 5 cars, 2 of 3 kids still on policy and 2 minor accidents on Nissan LEAF (not at fault). ~$4k/year.
2013 Model S is ~125/mo.
Also have homeowners policy with them, so some discount for that.

 

[CLLACAB]

I use Wawanesa also. You can go to the state insurance commissioner website and review their ratings, which includes customer complaints. Last time I looked, Wawanesa had a very low level of complaints.

 

[Moshne]

I'm receiving quotes for more than double what I'm seeing stated here. I have a clear driving record and low mileage, but the least I've seen has been $1200/six months (Ameriprise)

I'm also finding that insurers have conflicting views of how to describe these vehicles. Some are calling the 90D a 5 door, others 4. Makes me question if they even know what they are insuring.

 

[montreid]

Bumping this. Our 1 year Ameriprise renewal came in: Tesla 3 went from 6month: $400 to $1200! Wow.
Will check out Geico and Wawanesa. Any others for San Diego --- AND a new 16 yo driver coming online next month?

 

[SilverSp33d3r]

Bumping this. Our 1 year Ameriprise renewal came in: Tesla 3 went from 6month: $400 to $1200! Wow.
Will check out Geico and Wawanesa. Any others for San Diego --- AND a new 16 yo driver coming online next month?

Wawanesa is by far the best company. Way less than others and amazing customer service. Was rear ended by hit and run driver and they paid out 20k plus to repair my car with zero hesitation and zero rate increases.