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Insurance Tripled after adding Tesla

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I wanted everything together (home, both cars etc). i did not want a situation where one car was insured by one company and the other one by another.. I just didnt want that.

There is significant inherent value in that. I’ve had the same SF agent for 20 years now. It’s nice to pick up the phone, call their office, say hello and have them actually know me. That cuts a lot of crap out of my days, and I’m willing to pay a few bucks for that. Thankfully they’re also the best deal going for me right now, so it’s a win-win.
 
Replacing 2 older cars with new MY since retired and don’t really have to have 2 cars. Expected insurance to increase with more expensive car but was not unreasonable. What was strange was they said if I got rid of the 2nd car, the price would actually be a little more since no multi car discount. Pemco insurance and also have home owners with them. I guess I’ll keep the second car for awhile?
 
How is the choice to be married/unmarried (which isn't always in one's control) a fair point of discrimination for anyone when it comes to car insurance? When things change and marriage isn't so popular, these unfair practices will see more challenges.

There's a reason that it's illegal in Massachusetts and the European Union, and it's not because it's just another way to assess risk. It's an invasion of privacy and also a lifestyle choice penalty/perk, akin to dinging someone for having kids/not having kids or being religious or not.

You’re entitled to your opinion of course, but I disagree with this. I think you believe this is unfair primarily because it negatively impacts you, which is understandable. As someone else stated, the insurance companies have data that shows (at least they believe) a significant correlation between marital status and cost to insure. There are some new insurance companies (one is called Root) that are changing the standard industry model by using actual driving habits to determine insurance premiums and largely or totally ignoring driver demographic info. Perhaps you should check those alternatives since being asked your marital status gets your blood pressure up. FWIW I happen to agree with you on that, I’d like to tell them “none of your effing business” when they ask those questions. But I don’t agree that big brother needs to step in and tell insurance companies how to price their products. Taxachusetts and the EU are so big brother that big brother probably wouldn’t live there. We don’t need government stepping in to save us, the market will handle these types of issues over time, as is now being demonstrated by the likes of Tesla and Root.
 
but the other thing in play is that Tesla owners in my locale are the stereotype of safe, boring drivers. I see them driving around town and on the highways, they might as well be driving a Toyota Prius (and many were, a few years ago.) Actually, I cannot think of a single instance of seeing a Tesla in my city weaving through traffic or barreling down the highway in the far left lane.
LOL! Oh man...clearly you haven't ridden with my crazy girlfriend in Austin! The speed limit is 80-85 mph on some of the highways. I was just there and triple digits were not uncommon. :eek: I think I aged 5 extra years in 10 days there. :) Famous quote: "I don't think the tires lasted long enough on this car. They slid too much in the rain too." ;)
 
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LOL! Oh man...clearly you haven't ridden with my crazy girlfriend in Austin! The speed limit is 80-85 mph on some of the highways. I was just there and triple digits were not uncommon. :eek: I think I aged 5 extra years in 10 days there. :) Famous quote: "I don't think the tires lasted long enough on this car. They slid too much in the rain too." ;)
That is actually my point. If your GF is typical of Austin drivers then a person like me in Austin is in line for insurance sticker shock.
 
As someone else stated, the insurance companies have data that shows (at least they believe) a significant correlation between marital status and cost to insure.
Correct. As does age and gender. Insurance companies rate by the cost of insuring a large group of people and in large groups the numbers don't lie. The alternative is to actually study each persons driving and determine the risk on a case by case basis. That wasn't practical in the "old days.", but it is now possible with in car telemetry. The guess the real question is, "Would you rather be rated by someone looking over your shoulder or just as a part of group of similar drivers?" I prefer number 2.
 
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Correct. As does age and gender. Insurance companies rate by the cost of insuring a large group of people and in large groups the numbers don't lie. The alternative is to actually study each persons driving and determine the risk on a case by case basis. That wasn't practical in the "old days.", but it is now possible with in car telemetry. The guess the real question is, "Would you rather be rated by someone looking over your shoulder or just as a part of group of similar drivers?" I prefer number 2.

yeah, there is no chance in H311 that I am plugging anything into my ODB port for some sort of "safe driving" discount, or any other live monitoring system. I dont even drive that fast, I just disapprove of the entire concept.
 
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That is actually my point. If your GF is typical of Austin drivers then a person like me in Austin is in line for insurance sticker shock.
I wouldn't say "typical", but the allowable speeds are much higher there. You also get one "free" speeding ticket a year in TX. You just take a computer "class" and they remove it from your record. The worst drivers were definitely in TN and LA on my trip. Lower speeds yes, but really stupid/dangerous driving. I was shocked by the things I saw on the road. Oh, and very few Teslas there. Austin is crawling with them.
 
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I wouldn't say "typical", but the allowable speeds are much higher there. You also get one "free" speeding ticket a year in TX. You just take a computer "class" and they remove it from your record. The worst drivers were definitely in TN and LA on my trip. Lower speeds yes, but really stupid/dangerous driving. I was shocked by the things I saw on the road. Oh, and very few Teslas there. Austin is crawling with them.

I few years back I was driving to Austin from Dallas (~200mi) in a Miata, with a passenger, luggage, and the top down. I was in a caravan of cars doing about 90MPH in the left lane, passing everybody.

But we get our doors blown off by a Corvette passing on the right, going at least 110MPH. So everybody gets in line behind him...except me. I ran out of torque at about 98MPH and watched helplessly as the caravan disappeared over the horizon.
 
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yeah, there is no chance in H311 that I am plugging anything into my ODB port for some sort of "safe driving" discount, or any other live monitoring system. I dont even drive that fast, I just disapprove of the entire concept.

A-freakin-men brother, amen. It has nothing to do with what's "in" that data dump... it's that there IS a data dump.

Turned that crud off on our Buick when we had it.... Onstar can do that kind of telemetry as well; no thanks.
 
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yeah, there is no chance in H311 that I am plugging anything into my ODB port for some sort of "safe driving" discount, or any other live monitoring system. I dont even drive that fast, I just disapprove of the entire concept.

I don't consider my driving habits to be "private", and would happily share to get lower rates. Unfortunately, I usually drive my car like I just stole it lol
 
agreed with progressive. Farmers was a total *joke*... they started the policy with a 30% premium over my prior vehicle (comparable msrp) and then hiked it substantially every 6 months. in the end they wanted $1400 (!!) whereas progressive (same coverage) was $850 for 6 months.