Hit & Run Southern California / Pasadena - Ameriprise Insurance / Tesla Service?

[OCR1]

I don’t understand how a company can agree to insure a Tesla vehicle but refuse to pay the rate that Tesla has clearly established for hourly labor. Tesla vehicles must be repaired by a Tesla owned or authorized repair facility or they will not have access to parts. If an insurance company is not willing to pay the cost to repair a Tesla that would be a deal breaker for me. It worked out this time because the car was totaled but had it not been totaled this could have been expensive.

I would also ask more questions about the rental coverage if you shop around for other policies. The lead time for a Model 3 can be up to 8 weeks so if a car is totaled and the insurance company only wants to provide you with 3 days of rental coverage that could be very expensive.

Glad to hear it all worked out for you in spite of these things. I’ve heard horrible stories about Ameriprise’s financial advisory services so I would be very reluctant to do any business with them, although I have no idea if their insurance business is run in a similar manner to their financial services business.

 

[tbwnm]

I don’t understand how a company can agree to insure a Tesla vehicle but refuse to pay the rate that Tesla has clearly established for hourly labor. Tesla vehicles must be repaired by a Tesla owned or authorized repair facility or they will not have access to parts. If an insurance company is not willing to pay the cost to repair a Tesla that would be a deal breaker for me. It worked out this time because the car was totaled but had it not been totaled this could have been expensive.

I would also ask more questions about the rental coverage if you shop around for other policies. The lead time for a Model 3 can be up to 8 weeks so if a car is totaled and the insurance company only wants to provide you with 3 days of rental coverage that could be very expensive.

Glad to hear it all worked out for you in spite of these things. I’ve heard horrible stories about Ameriprise’s financial advisory services so I would be very reluctant to do any business with them, although I have no idea if their insurance business is run in a similar manner to their financial services business.

Yes, the potential rate dispute with Tesla Body Repair in Pomona specifically with Connect was a real concern for me as well (although the rep at Tesla Body Repair in Pomona did share with me that so far no customer had had to pay out of pocket because Connect wouldn't pay their rates, but the first rep I spoke to told me this was a real possibility). However, the other bigger issue was the 6 to 8 week waiting period to even get an appointment at Tesla in Pomona (they didn't offer mobile estimate service either). I just couldn't wait that long to even have the car looked at before an estimate would be given to insurance (I can only assume they must be overloaded with Tesla warranty repairs which are probably their first priority?). All City Collision Center in Burbank (who ended up provided my estimate) was actually recommended by the Tesla Burbank Delivery Center (they also recommend a couple of other shops "Tesla Certified" shops in the area). I did go and check them out and they has a fair amount of Tesla's being worked on which I took as a good sign. From my perspective, the main difference between taking your car to Tesla Body Repair in Pomona vs a "Tesla Certified" repair shop is that Tesla Body Repair have parts in stock whereas the Tesla Certified shops have to order parts (they all use Tesla parts). However, this doesn't save any time when there is a several week wait to get into Tesla Body Repair. In fact my repair (if the car was going to be repaired), would have taken several weeks longer to complete at Tesla (even accounting for the fact they have parts in stock). If you don't mind me asking, which insurance company are you with?

 

[OCR1]

If you don't mind me asking, which insurance company are you with?

I chose Amica. They have consistently been ranked #1 in customer service by Consumer Reports. We had an accident with our Prius about two years ago. The car was totaled. They handled the claim process flawlessly. I can’t speak to whether it would be any different with a Tesla since we have not had any claims on our Tesla vehicles, but I know they go out of their way to provide great customer service to maintain their high rankings. And their rates were very competitive. In fact our rates for a brand new Tesla were the same as my nine year old Lexus.

 

[AxlxA]

Yes. I have an order pending. One thing I'm going to research is the difference in glass insurance coverage. You read so many posts on this forum about glass / windshield damage and Tesla glass is expensive. I assume with Connect the deductible is the same for windshield replacement (our prior policy had a $500 deductible) but have heard of other insurance companies that have windshield coverage where the deductible is waived (although don't know if any of them offer this for Tesla's). Driving on Los Angeles freeways and roads it seems rocks get kicked up all the time so I would say this is a Tesla owner's most likely area of exposure (have had cracks on windshields on both our prior cars which were not Teslas). Would appreciate hearing from anyone out there who has had a glass replacement claim recently in the Los Angeles area.

No glass coverage in california. I've looked. It's not state required. We pay for the sunshine.

 

[SlimJim]

Have had Connect / Costco for 5 years. Very happy with customer service, etc. Have not made a claim.

This outcome sounded very fair by Connect. I would not let the first shop's subjective comment discourage anyone from using.

Ed

I have had Ameriprise for over 15 years and I have made claims. They have taken care of me well also while saving me thousands of dollars. However, Connect may be a different story. Different management. Different customer service?

 

[AdamVIP]

You are better off with it totalled. Being out of pocket that much sucks for sure but you would have lost that anyways when you eventually sold it as the carfax would have flagged it. At least now the being out of pocket gets you a new car.