MASTER THREAD: Tesla Insurance Services in California

[rjdoc74]

Just because a company has the money to pay claims doesn't mean that they will do so willingly. A lot of the cheaper insurers are notorious for hanging their insureds out to dry when claims get into six figure territory. Even for mid-size claims (e.g. $10k-50k) companies like Geico are notorious for lowballing you and refusing to pay for certain things such as personal injury damages even if your policy covers it. Even if they end up paying out in the end (which they will) it's a huge hassle to get there and can often involve legal action (or the threat of it).

Personally I wouldn't touch any insurance company without a solid reputation behind them. You don't want to have to deal with fighting your insurance company after being in a huge accident.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Car insurance is just a monthly payment until you actually need it.

 

[TespaceX]

There must be something in your record causing your higher rate. I am 49 with 33 years of driving and Tesla Insurance quoted $120 a month for 27000 miles a year, 250k/500k, $500 deductible. But I have a Model 3 AWD. Maybe you are just paying the 3P premium.

Interesting. I'm paying only just a hair more for a Ludicrous X with $100 comp, $500 collision, $250K/$500K, premium tow

I just spoke to Tesla insurance. They said if I don't add my wife to the policy, they may not honor a claim if she drives the car and gets into an accident. However, they can't tell me how the rate would be impacted when a second person is added to the policy. In other words, there's no way to get a quote in advance that covers 2 people.

Anyone that drives without being named gets the insurance coverage reduced to the bare minimum allowed by law in CA. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it's practically next to nothing. This is the big downside with Tesla insurance IMO (besides possible lack of customer service with a claim since not many have had an experience yet). I know that bigger names like AAA and SF will insure at the original coverage levels when anyone given permission to drive is involved in an accident.

 

[Bet TSLA]

Interesting. I'm paying only just a hair more for a Ludicrous X with $100 comp, $500 collision, $250K/$500K, premium tow



Anyone that drives without being named gets the insurance coverage reduced to the bare minimum allowed by law in CA. I don't remember the exact numbers, but it's practically next to nothing. This is the big downside with Tesla insurance IMO (besides possible lack of customer service with a claim since not many have had an experience yet). I know that bigger names like AAA and SF will insure at the original coverage levels when anyone given permission to drive is involved in an accident.

That's not what they told me when I asked. Full coverage for anybody you lend your car to. Have to be named on the policy if they use the cars with any regularity.

I have not read the policy to verify. Have you?

 

[focher]

Just because a company has the money to pay claims doesn't mean that they will do so willingly. A lot of the cheaper insurers are notorious for hanging their insureds out to dry when claims get into six figure territory. Even for mid-size claims (e.g. $10k-50k) companies like Geico are notorious for lowballing you and refusing to pay for certain things such as personal injury damages even if your policy covers it. Even if they end up paying out in the end (which they will) it's a huge hassle to get there and can often involve legal action (or the threat of it).

Personally I wouldn't touch any insurance company without a solid reputation behind them. You don't want to have to deal with fighting your insurance company after being in a huge accident.

For sure, there are lots of horror stories of insurance companies being difficult during the claims process. However, I would point out that in California there is a very, very strong Insurance Commissioner to escalate such issues to and the commission has an active enforcement function that they do not take lightly. And insurance companies without the sufficient financial resources to cover claims are denied operation.

Furthermore, California and some other states have adopted the legal principle of the breach of good faith and fair dealing. This means that an insurance company that denies payment of a claim opens themselves up to punitive damages. That’s a powerful disincentive to denying claims because a $100k claim can turn into millions in liability. And no shortage of lawyers who will take such a case on contingency.

I’m not denying it happens, but there are some significant counterweights in the system to mitigate it. I use Tesla Insurance and tried to add a non-Tesla car to the policy. I was told they couldn’t do it yet, which I explained was not legal in California. Nothing. I submitted a complaint to the Insurance Commission and promptly received a call from Tesla Insurance with an apology and they immediately added the car.

 

[SaloonGoon]

I made a comprehensive claim a few months back, and the experience was painless and familiar. No complaints so far!!

 

[Resist]

Okay so I finally decided to go with the Tesla insurance. Before when I checked it my coverage with Farmers was much lower than Tesla's but recently Farmers has been raising my premiums for no reason. I've been with Farmers for 30 some years and am disappointed at their rate increases. By going with Tesla insurance I was able to lower my deductible and the premium was still less than with Farmers.

 

[goodguygreg19]

Anyone with Tesla Insurance also have ppf installed? I paid 5k for Xpel Stealth and from what I could tell from the policy docs Tesla Insurance will only cover up to 1k.

 

[CWFLY]

Have the Insurance --> Cracked Windshield...

Called the number on the Insurance ID Card to make a CLAIM.
Spent 17 minutes talking about (my name, how I spell it, what model I own, what year it is, what is my address, unit number, how to spell city, what was the unit number again?, what color [really??], and finally policy number).

At one point, I asked her why I couldn't just give here the policy#, because they have ALL of that information we spent 10 minutes reviewing. She told me it is not available to her. She just gathers information, and then an adjuster will call in a few days. The adjuster will have that information. So I asked if I could file the claim via the Web, and she said yes, but then put me on hold 5 minutes searching for the URL. When she returned, she apologized saying there wasn't a web-based claim after-all.

17 minutes, and the only progress is that I will supposedly get a phone call from an adjustor next week.

 

[mluu510]

I have 19yr perfect driving record, married, home owner. Tesla quoted me $193/m. Why is it so high?

 

[mnsweeps]

I have 19yr perfect driving record, married, home owner. Tesla quoted me $193/m. Why is it so high?

19 year old.

 

[Mr. Big]

^^^ He’s been driving for 19 years. Maybe rate is high because of zip code.

 

[mnsweeps]

^^^ He’s been driving for 19 years. Maybe rate is high because of zip code.

oh sorry.. I misread it.

 

[Resist]

So I called Tesla insurance today and found out that now they are not using a third party insurance company, that it is their own insurance. Also, and aftermarket upgrades we add to our cars, like the auto trunk kit, is only covered up to $1,000. And that's a total amount, so if we add multiple upgrades the coverage is still only $1,000.

 

[TEZLA3]

Looking at moving the M3 from CSAAA to Tesla insurance in coastal CenCal. The quote for equivalent coverage was very reasonable. The rep said that they revisit the rates every 6 months. Has anyone had experience with this and what have seen the rate do?

And what has your experience with Tesla insurance been like. We have been very happy with the service in SF and Monterey.

 

[bayx]

Does anyone buy insurance from Tesla at all, given that they always quote much higher than any other insurance company?

I suppose if you ever need a repair or windshield replacement, maybe it helps to have Tesla insurance??

 

[MichaelP90DL]

Does anyone buy insurance from Tesla at all, given that they always quote much higher than any other insurance company?

I suppose if you ever need a repair or windshield replacement, maybe it helps to have Tesla insurance??

I did. They were the cheapest.

 

[focher]

My experience was quite the opposite and have been a Tesla Insurance customer on close to a year. Much cheaper than GEICO was trying to renew me for, even after almost 8 years of service.

 

[MichaelP90DL]

My experience was quite the opposite and have been a Tesla Insurance customer on close to a year. Much cheaper than GEICO was trying to renew me for, even after almost 8 years of service.

I had Geico for my 2015 MS P90DL, which cost me around $170 a month. Then they raised the rate to around $250. I received no satisfactory explanation for the increase, so I pulled a sneaky. I looked at a similar car for sale, I think it was a P100DL MS, noted its VIN, then got a quote for it from Geico, which was at my old rate of about $170. In other words, they'll just raise the rate after a while. So I switched to Tesla Insurance. And I had been a long-time customer.

 

[Waverider]

I suppose if you ever need a repair or windshield replacement, maybe it helps to have Tesla insurance??

It's Tesla in name only. Once you file a claim, you're handed off to another company that processes the claim. They have zero insider information or special access to Tesla. Tesla will handle your repair just as they would any other Tesla owner. The only reason to have Telsa insurance is the significantly lower premium (in my case anyway). They can't even give you insurance cards with all the drivers listed on them yet. They're "still working on their software" as of a year ago.

 

[Resist]

It's Tesla in name only. Once you file a claim, you're handed off to another company that processes the claim. They have zero insider information or special access to Tesla.

Tesla no longer uses a third party insurance company, it's their own insurance now.