Insurance?

[Jaff]

In Canada, that automatic cover is generally for "like" coverage between your existing car and your new car...i.e. if your existing car is older and you do not carry collision cover on it, then your newly acquired car (for 14 days) will not have collision cover on it as the automatic cover feature "follows form" for the existing coverage on the policy..be careful when relying on the automatic cover feature...

Just another tidbit - I called my CA State Farm agent before buying the car to be sure they'd cover it. I asked him if I needed to get covered before buying the car and he told me that actually I'm automatically covered for up to 14 days, and that to save money I should call him on the 13th day and add the car to my policy - getting almost 2 weeks of free insurance. YMMV.

 

[Doug_G]

In Canada, that automatic cover is generally for "like" coverage between your existing car and your new car...i.e. if your existing car is older and you do not carry collision cover on it, then your newly acquired car (for 14 days) will not have collision cover on it as the automatic cover feature "follows form" for the existing coverage on the policy..be careful when relying on the automatic cover feature...

Seeing as it is a prerequisite for getting plates, and general paranoia, I arranged in advance for the insurance to commence on the promised delivery date.

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

Seeing as it is a prerequisite for getting plates, and general paranoia, I arranged in advance for the insurance to commence on the promised delivery date.

That's good advice. In addition, banks (in Washington, at least) want an EOI form (Evidence of Insurance) before they will write a check to Tesla Motors for the amount of the loan.

 

[daniel]

In my case (State Farm in WA) my agent told me just to bring the car in when it arrived and arrange for insurance. Which I did.

 

[dhrivnak]

How did you get GEICO to underwrite your Roadster? I called them a few years ago when I got mine and they refused to write coverage. I called them today and they confirmed that this vehicle is still on their list of exclusions.

It was easy as i called when I was on the way to pick up the car and had the insurance in force within 24 hours. I even found out they gave me road side assistance and since I do not need it they gave me a prompt refund.

 

[daniel]

My Roadster arrived three days ago. No problems at all insuring with State Farm, which has all my insurance except health, since they don't offer that.

 

[RoadsterWarrior]

Congratulations!
Have a great time with it!

 

[Timothy]

I have had California State Auto Insurance for 30 years, and added the Tesla to the policy when I bought it. It was difficult to say the least. They couldn't understand what a Tesla was, it wasn't in their data base. And they said electric cars had to weigh less than 2500 pounds and were limited to 3000 miles a year. Three different agents were a problem, so I finally asked for a supervisor. He made it easy and I got it insured. The cost seemed a bit pricy, so I obtained other quotes.

For $500 K liability and uninsured motorist plus $500 deductible collision and $5000 medical payments, here are the annual rates for the Tesla:

AAA $2158
USAA $1686
Chubb $2035

USAA would be the obvious choice, eh? However, they wouldn't insure the Tesla alone, they wanted to include my other 6 cars (Doesn't sound excessive for two drivers, does it?) And their prices were higher for everything else, so the total was about the same for all three companies. So I decided to stick with AAA after all these years.

What are others insurance experience? Any other recommendations?

 

[slcasner]

We've been with Wawanesa for home and auto for more than 20 years. This year our auto premium dropped a little as the regulations allowed giving more weight to location (ours must be lower risk). With $300K liability, $50K property damage, $2K medical payments, $300 deductible for collision, our annual premium is $527 for the 2008 Roadster, $250 for our 2003 RAV4-EV, and $236 for the 2001 Audi A4. That is with the Roadster listed as the commuting vehicle and the other two as pleasure. That's less than half what I was quoted by others. The only limitation is that there is a maximum payout of $100K if the Roadster is totaled.

 

[dsm363]

I have had California State Auto Insurance for 30 years, and added the Tesla to the policy when I bought it. It was difficult to say the least. They couldn't understand what a Tesla was, it wasn't in their data base. And they said electric cars had to weigh less than 2500 pounds and were limited to 3000 miles a year. Three different agents were a problem, so I finally asked for a supervisor. He made it easy and I got it insured. The cost seemed a bit pricy, so I obtained other quotes.

For $500 K liability and uninsured motorist plus $500 deductible collision and $5000 medical payments, here are the annual rates for the Tesla:

AAA $2158
USAA $1686
Chubb $2035

USAA would be the obvious choice, eh? However, they wouldn't insure the Tesla alone, they wanted to include my other 6 cars (Doesn't sound excessive for two drivers, does it?) And their prices were higher for everything else, so the total was about the same for all three companies. So I decided to stick with AAA after all these years.

What are others insurance experience? Any other recommendations?

I've only ever had USAA but they've been great. Not always the cheapest but great customer service. Never have to wait more than 60-120 seconds to get a human on the phone.

 

[Lloyd]

USAA gives a rebate of 5 to 8% at the end of the year if you have no claims also. Great Service!

 

[vfx]

My father was military but never got USAA when he was alive.

 

[Lloyd]

My father was military but never got USAA when he was alive.

You may still be able to subscribe. I heard that they loosened their membership guidelines recently.

 

[Bradleybang]

Additional companies I know from data that insure roadsters are
AAA
Allied
CSE
Farmers
Kemper
Quincy Mutual
State Farm
Travelers
Unigard

I dont know their pricing but do know they have insured roadsters

 

[dsm363]

You may still be able to subscribe. I heard that they loosened their membership guidelines recently.

I believe this is correct. Current members can invite friends and family to join.

 

[Mycroft]

With no more roadsters being built, your car is now not replaceable. Make sure you discuss this with your insurance agent to make sure your coverage is correct in this kind of a situation.

I have an agent (in WA state) that sells Progressive Insurance and she quoted my wife and I $463/mo for a stated value of $70,000. (I was looking at buying a used Roadster at the time.)

 

[vfx]

With no more roadsters being built, your car is now not replaceable.

I never thought of that. What is done if a car is totaled by insurance? Used?

 

[Mycroft]

Unless special consideration is built into the policy, you'll get whatever cash the appraiser says the car was worth. Have a discussion with your agent.

 

[Jaff]

The best course of action to mitigate valuation problems with insurance settlements is to have a proper appraisal done and an endorsement added (amending your policy to reflect the appraised value) before a loss occurs.

This can be problematic for us though...consider...

#1. An appraisal is a "snapshot" of the vehicle's worth at a certain point in time. While the worth of most vehicles will decline with the amount of the vehicles use, wear & tear, etc, we here are mostly of the opinion that the worth of our Roadsters will increase with time (up and above wear & tear reductions) due to basic supply & demand economic laws. The only way to best protect your Roadster's worth is to have an annual appraisal done, forwarded to your insurance carrier, and have your renewal certificate amended accordingly.

This is easier said than done.

Those of us who have been misfortunate enough to have had an insurance claim with our Roadsters can attest to the fact that most appraisers have very little knowledge about TM and the Roadster in general, how much it costs to fix a damaged Roadster, and the worth of a Roadster especially considering their new "irreplaceable" status.

It will be very difficult to find an appraiser who understands the uniqueness of the Roadster thus valuing it properly (in our opinions) accordingly.

It can be expensive...in Ontario, you could expect to pay $250 to $500 / year for this appraisal service.

It will take time & effort on your part to maintain your appraisal updates & insurance change endorsements accordingly.

#2. You may have to switch insurance companies. In Ontario, the policy endorsement that "pegs" a vehicles value to an appraisal is called the #19...problem is, not all auto insurers in Ontario will write this endorsement on their policies...you may have to switch to a different carrier (at a higher premium).

IMO, the biggest problem is the problem of where to find an appraiser who understands TM & the Roadster.

The only fix I see to this problem is time...eventually, appraisers & insurers will close their knowledge gap...might take a few years though.

Also, of course, the marketplace for Roadsters will have to prove us right ...if the Roadster's scarcity does not move the prices up...

There is certainly no perfect way for us to ensure a worry-free settlement on a Roadster total loss.

 

[S-2000 Roadster]

The best course of action to mitigate valuation problems with insurance settlements is to have a proper appraisal done and an endorsement added (amending your policy to reflect the appraised value) before a loss occurs.

This is very true. I had a car stolen and then it was recovered. The insurance adjusted knocked down the value because of exterior scratches and interior scuffs that were all caused by the thieves when they harvested many parts from my car before abandoning it. I really wish I had photos - or a complete appraisal - from before the incident. In this case, the car was so old that the cost to replace the parts was more than the estimated value of the car, so all of the bad marks that the adjuster gave my car reduced the amount they had to pay out.