Insurance in Ye Ole Massachusetts

[andydoty]

Hello all,
As I begin to move forward with the process, and without divulging too much, can anyone elaborate on what they're paying and to whom with regards to auto insurance for their Model S in Massachusetts? I have Arbella right now and the agent is saying they need a VIN which doesn't sound entirely necessary.
Drew

 

[EdA]

My agent said that it has nothing at all to do with it being a Tesla, it is just the value of the car.
I can provide more info by PM.

 

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

The VIN is the unique ID of the car, which therefore allows them to check car history.

Besides that it allows them to discourage insurance shopping.

 

[MassX1317]

I would think the fact that nobody has been seriously injured in a Tesla would factor in. I'm afraid to see what my agent is going to come up with. Probably ridiculously high. I emailed her on Tuesday and haven't heard back. Starting to feel like insurance is going to be the biggest stumbling block in this purchase...

 

[cinergi]

OTOH it's very expensive to fix and easy to total.

I'm paying $2700/year through progressive (I have one moving violation on my record).

 

[andydoty]

@EdA, that would be great. Thanks much.

@cinergi, It going to be interesting what they come up with in Springfield. While I don't have any violations, I imagine based upon where it's garaged, it's going to be costly.

I was really starting to believe that the most difficult part of the process would really be the excise tax/assessment, now I'm beginning to believe the MassX1317 has it right, it's going to be the insurance. What it sounds like to me is that the request for the VIN was to auto-populate the form that allows them to determine the premium. IF they would just spend a few minutes on the phone I could provide them with the info manually. Arbella only provides quotes and insurance through independent dealers so it's not as easy as visiting their website and populating a quote form yourself.

I would think they would be falling all over themselves trying to get your business.
Drew

 

[MassX1317]

OTOH it's very expensive to fix and easy to total.

I'm paying $2700/year through progressive (I have one moving violation on my record).

$2,700 for just the Model S? If that's the case I wouldn't get one. My premium now is around $1,100 for two cars. An extra $2,200 per year would cost me about $15k extra over the time period I plan to keep the car. :cursing:

 

[EdA]

Interestingly mine is also exactly $2700/year (MetLife).
I have actually done a few tweaks this week though, excluded both of my teenage drivers from the car (faxed in a form)
and raised my deductible across all 4 cars from $500 to $1000. (Saves $1002/year). I have not seen the new total yet.
(No violations)

@MassX1317 - there's no denying it is an expensive luxury car.

 

[alset]

Don't have my numbers right now but the garaging address also has impact, at least on the theft coverage. There is also a big difference with deductibles, I also use $1000, same as EdA. Arbella needed a VIN even to give me a quote over a year ago so I used one of the VINs floating around on the site until I got the car.

 

[MassX1317]

Well you guys tinkled in my Cheerios this morning!

I was seeing a lot of threads like this:

Model S Car Insurance Cost: Official Thread | Forums | Tesla Motors

Most people say they don't have much of a change from prior cars. I was thinking $1,200/yr (more than double the $40k 2010 Highlander we have) tops, I was way off.

 

[andydoty]

So I'm basically supposed to "temporarily procure" someones VIN to get a quote? That just doesn't feel right. Now granted I'm in Western Mass, I wonder what the difference would be?

 

[aronth5]

The VIN is the unique ID of the car, which therefore allows them to check car history.

Besides that it allows them to discourage insurance shopping.

Assuming it is a new car why do they need to check the car's history?

 

[Tslagrl]

I'm paying about $1200 pa to insure the S and another car thru Progressive

 

[EdA]

FYI - After the adjustments I made it is costing me $2109 to insure my Model S in MA.

- - - Updated - - -

I'm paying about $1200 pa to insure the S and another car thru Progressive

But do you have any protection? 1/2
That seems insanely low.

 

[andydoty]

It would appear that the the place it's garaged has quite a bit to do with it. Insured a car in Springfield that was $1200/yr and dropped to $800/yr in the next town over. Interesting...

My original intent for starting the thread was to get an indication of insurance costs. Perhaps a byproduct will be that people shop for less costly insurance!

 

[mitch672]

The Model S first started shipping in October 2012, so there was very little history on repair costs, etc.
Most of us have quotes/insurance based on what we paid for the car, since that's all they really had to go on, plus your past driving record/history.. Also, I wouldn't expect to pay the same $1,200/year I used to pay to insure my Plug in Prius ($40K car), versus my $90K Model S. If you've looked at some of the accident threads, you can see repairing minor fender benders runs $12-20K because of the aluminum body work required, you can see why the insurance will never be "inexpensive".

 

[MassX1317]

If the S costs $100 more per month to insure compared to a similar 20mpg ICE, it offsets gas savings until you drive over 6000 miles for the year.

The more shocking thing to me as people in the thread on the Tesla Motors forum are paying very similar premiums to their previous cars, generally in the $1,250 or less range.

 

[cinergi]

Yeah our insurance rates are incredibly ridiculous. Progressive asked me to pay $7500/yr for my Roadster when the same car in Texas was $800/yr. Riiiight ...

 

[MassX1317]

I pulled out my policy tonight, collision coverage on 2010 Toyota Highlander ($40k new) was under $350 w/$500 deductible. Have 100k/300k on injury coverages, total cost for that car is $650 for 12 months. I am probably going to increase my deductible because I would never file a claim that low. If my collision doubles I wouldn't think that was a big deal. Still waiting to hear back from my insurance company.

 

[Robert.Boston]

It would appear that the the place it's garaged has quite a bit to do with it. Insured a car in Springfield that was $1200/yr and dropped to $800/yr in the next town over. Interesting...

My original intent for starting the thread was to get an indication of insurance costs. Perhaps a byproduct will be that people shop for less costly insurance!

Yes, MA insurance rates have a multiplier depending on the risk rating of each town (or neighborhood, in Boston). You can get an idea of how this works using this nifty calculator spreadsheet from the MA Office of Consumer Affairs: http://www.mass.gov/ocabr/docs/doi/autoratecompare/ma-autoinsexamplepremiums.xls