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Model S - Auto Insurance
- Thread starter MacOnWheels
- Start date
Austin Powers
Member
I got my quote from farmers today, they want to jack my rate up to $2500/6 months from about $900. Progressive quote has me down to about $600. Goodbye farmers.
In an email exchange with my agent he was totally cool. Just ordered his own 90D so he can completely empathize with me! I'm jealous, I only got the 60D.
In an email exchange with my agent he was totally cool. Just ordered his own 90D so he can completely empathize with me! I'm jealous, I only got the 60D.
Austin Powers
Member
+1 on USAA. I haven't even bothered looking at other insurance companies. The cost at USAA to replace a 5 year old Volt with a 1 1/2 year old MS (worth more than 4 times as much) was only about 25% more.
Austin Powers
Member
BertL
Active Member
FWIW, I got my 1-year renewal for my MS (not a "P") here in Northern San Diego County yesterday from State Farm. 14% increase from the last 6-months even with my $1K deductible -- primarily against the comprehensive/collission lines (for context, now totaling just under $1400/year.) I'm a zero-ticket/accident/claim kinda guy, and have been with them for 30 years, so enjoy a boatload of long-term and multi-policy discounts as well. I appreciate that where one lives is part of the factor insurance companies use to set rates, and it's why I hesitate to discuss absolute numbers on forums like this.
Called my agent yesterday asking if the big increase was something I had done, and to ensure I didn't have a "P" model coded in their system which I know would have increased the rate from doing "what if" quotes before I ordered my MS last Fall. The response was "the unfortunate increase is just a cost of doing business". I've since been on the competitive quote hunt this morning with 2 other companies, who were each 2-3X what I'll be paying with State Farm -- for the most part because I wouldn't have any of the long-term discounts with them. I looked at the line items and queried each agent as to why comprehensive/collision was so high. Beyond my long-term-customer discounts, both immediately made a comment to the effect of "Tesla's are very expensive to repair even for the most minor accident". I asked if their feeling was rates have been going up as more Tesla are on the road, and the one over the phone say "perhaps", the agent I saw in person gave me a quizzical look like "hummm - that could well be".
From comments in other threads, I can't disagree with the "expensive to repair" comments the agents made to me. From my limited data points, it would seem that as Insurance companies are gaining experience with MS, they are adjusting their rates to likely cover their costs and hedge their more informed bets, which is not for the good of we the Tesla owners. It makes me worried about long-term success of M3 if Tesla does not spend a little more time focused on after-sale cost to repair what is produced. Tesla owners like us today are one thing perhaps in our financial ability to own a MS, but with the entry-point M3 targeted at the masses, if costs to repair remain as significantly high, it will end up being a negative if M3 becomes "expensive to own" when insurance is taken into account. Wow. What an eye-opening couple of days for me.
Called my agent yesterday asking if the big increase was something I had done, and to ensure I didn't have a "P" model coded in their system which I know would have increased the rate from doing "what if" quotes before I ordered my MS last Fall. The response was "the unfortunate increase is just a cost of doing business". I've since been on the competitive quote hunt this morning with 2 other companies, who were each 2-3X what I'll be paying with State Farm -- for the most part because I wouldn't have any of the long-term discounts with them. I looked at the line items and queried each agent as to why comprehensive/collision was so high. Beyond my long-term-customer discounts, both immediately made a comment to the effect of "Tesla's are very expensive to repair even for the most minor accident". I asked if their feeling was rates have been going up as more Tesla are on the road, and the one over the phone say "perhaps", the agent I saw in person gave me a quizzical look like "hummm - that could well be".
From comments in other threads, I can't disagree with the "expensive to repair" comments the agents made to me. From my limited data points, it would seem that as Insurance companies are gaining experience with MS, they are adjusting their rates to likely cover their costs and hedge their more informed bets, which is not for the good of we the Tesla owners. It makes me worried about long-term success of M3 if Tesla does not spend a little more time focused on after-sale cost to repair what is produced. Tesla owners like us today are one thing perhaps in our financial ability to own a MS, but with the entry-point M3 targeted at the masses, if costs to repair remain as significantly high, it will end up being a negative if M3 becomes "expensive to own" when insurance is taken into account. Wow. What an eye-opening couple of days for me.
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I live in Ventura county, California and pay about what you do errr did. I haven't checked on what my new rates will be but now you have me curious.
An FYI to those getting USAA: I just called because when I put the VIN for my 60 in, it came up as a 70. They escalated to some kind of senior insurance person who said that the VIN is accurate for a 60, but their naming convention is wrong, so if you get a quote for USAA and it comes up as a 70, it's really quoting you for a 60.
I got hit with a 300% increase from farmers despite the fact that the total value of the cars I'm insuring only went up by about 30%. I've been hunting the last few days and I've settled on Amica, which (as far as I can tell) has some of the best ratings around. With my new policy I'll be paying about 10% more than my old one plus I'm going to save about $1000 per year on my home and umbrella policies.
Bottom line is that policies need to be hunted about every 2-3 years. I came to farmers from geico, to geico from Hartford. Each time I saved money.
Bottom line is that policies need to be hunted about every 2-3 years. I came to farmers from geico, to geico from Hartford. Each time I saved money.
BobinBoulder
Member
So glad I saw this thread. I just called up my insurance agent (Farmers) when I noticed my premium when up almost 3X! I couldn't believe it. Part of my decision making process in the purchase of the car was insurance that he quoted me in May. Three months later, it jumped by over $200 a month to $1600 for a SIX MONTH PREMIUM. I know it's a Tesla, but $3,200 a year for insurance?!?
I was so angry. He explained the "new numbers" for calculating availability of parts, costs of repairs and rental fees have gone up dramatically for the face lift version (ELON: PLEASE MAKE SPARE PARTS!), but in the end I feel like it was a bait and switch on Farmer's part. I don't even know how you justify to a customer a tripling of their rates in less than a quarter!?!
I'm calling up Liberty Mutual.
Any other good suggestions out there for reputable (key) companies that aren't using the excuse of parts and repair time to gauge their customers?
I was so angry. He explained the "new numbers" for calculating availability of parts, costs of repairs and rental fees have gone up dramatically for the face lift version (ELON: PLEASE MAKE SPARE PARTS!), but in the end I feel like it was a bait and switch on Farmer's part. I don't even know how you justify to a customer a tripling of their rates in less than a quarter!?!
I'm calling up Liberty Mutual.
Any other good suggestions out there for reputable (key) companies that aren't using the excuse of parts and repair time to gauge their customers?
TaoJones
Beyond Driven
When I called around, quotes ranged from near $1K to over $4K per year.
If I had had the presence of mind to domicile the car not near Los Angeles I could have cut the cost nearly in half but I wasn't that smart.
Replacement value policies through Chubb and Allstate were the highest.
Gap coverage varied across the board.
AAA was a joke. What they wanted for collision alone was double what the 4 cheapest policies were.
Without recommending any one of these over the other, consider:
Wawanesa
Geico
Liberty Mutual
Costco/Ameriprise especially if you have more than 1 chariot.
If I had had the presence of mind to domicile the car not near Los Angeles I could have cut the cost nearly in half but I wasn't that smart.
Replacement value policies through Chubb and Allstate were the highest.
Gap coverage varied across the board.
AAA was a joke. What they wanted for collision alone was double what the 4 cheapest policies were.
Without recommending any one of these over the other, consider:
Wawanesa
Geico
Liberty Mutual
Costco/Ameriprise especially if you have more than 1 chariot.
Thanks for the Costco/Ameriprise suggestion, I hadn't thought of them. I went with AAA because they were competitive with others at about $2k per year for two drivers in Southern California.
If you are not military or a defense contractor or their families, you cannot get USAA. They are the highest rated auto insurance in the US. A very close second is Amica Mutual Insurance Company. As they are a mutual company, I receive rebates at the end of each insurance year for about 25% of what I paid in.
With multi-line discount for home, umbrella liability, and multi-vehicle auto, I currently pay about $1630 per year for my 2015 Model S P90DL in northern California. This is for 250/500/100 liability and 250/500 uninsured motorist coverage with $1,000 deductible. Amica lists my car officially as a "2015 TESLA PERFORMANCE 85 KWH AWD EL SEDAN." It is a low mileage quote of 8.000 miles per year, so take that into consideration. Remember, as above, I will receive about 25% of that number back in a rebate check at year end. Also, I have no tickets/points/accidents/claims in many, many years.
I have had Amica for over a decade. They are extremely reliable and have great service. See their ratings in Consumer Reports. It's not just about how much you pay. Terms and conditions of each company vary. It is difficult to compare exactly the same package of insurance.
Good luck everyone. Insurance is a difficult thing to manage under the best of circumstances.
With multi-line discount for home, umbrella liability, and multi-vehicle auto, I currently pay about $1630 per year for my 2015 Model S P90DL in northern California. This is for 250/500/100 liability and 250/500 uninsured motorist coverage with $1,000 deductible. Amica lists my car officially as a "2015 TESLA PERFORMANCE 85 KWH AWD EL SEDAN." It is a low mileage quote of 8.000 miles per year, so take that into consideration. Remember, as above, I will receive about 25% of that number back in a rebate check at year end. Also, I have no tickets/points/accidents/claims in many, many years.
I have had Amica for over a decade. They are extremely reliable and have great service. See their ratings in Consumer Reports. It's not just about how much you pay. Terms and conditions of each company vary. It is difficult to compare exactly the same package of insurance.
Good luck everyone. Insurance is a difficult thing to manage under the best of circumstances.
I don't know about Amica but I trust your opinion on them. I qualified for USAA and know they are the highest rated but even after deducting the anticipated year end rebate and other volume incentives, for me, they were on the higher end of pricing.
TaoJones
Beyond Driven
Glad it worked out. Interesting. They wanted $2800 for collision alone when I checked. At that point I hadn't decided whether I wanted stated/replacement value coverage or not but the regular policy quotes were all near $1K.
Ameriprise was good while I had 2 cars due to a 45% multi car discount (and 5% for being a Costco member). Amusingly, when I sold the ICE, they became decidedly non-competitive for a single car quote.
I started with Geico, and left the day after a fellow posted about them paying a monster claim in 25 days for his P that he'd wrapped around a tree. Great service. Sure enough, rates went up as much as 30% in certain markets.
grayguy
Member
You got me so excited there about the 25% rebate at the end of the year, as I had just gotten off the phone with Amica and they were higher than my quotes from Ameriprise through Costco and Mercury Insurance. I just called them back to inquire about the rebate program, and they said that they do offer rebates in some states, but they no longer offer rebates in California for automobile or homeowners insurance policies.
I told him that the person who mentioned the rebate lives in California, and he said that it might be a case where the person was grandfathered into the program. He assured me that Amica no longer offer rebates in California. Bummer.
I thought I would report back here so that I could save others the legwork.
On the same subject, I'm getting the following quotes for my Tesla S 60 on order:
- $1,718/year: Ameriprise (Costco)
- $1,758/year: Mercury Insurance
- $2,021/year: Amica
All policies are for $100k/300k/100k, 100k/300k uninsured motorist (except Mercury is $50k/100k) $1,000 deductibles, $5,000 medical, $75 roadside assistance, $30/$900 rental car.
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@ greyguy said: "You got me so excited there about the 25% rebate at the end of the year, as I had just gotten off the phone with Amica and they were higher than my quotes from Ameriprise through Costco and Mercury Insurance. I just called them back to inquire about the rebate program, and they said that they do offer rebates in some states, but they no longer offer rebates in California for automobile or homeowners insurance policies."
Gee, sorry about that. I had no clue I was somehow grandfathered in with Amica. Just moved to CA last year, so it must be due to the fact that I have been a customer for over 15 years. They are higher in quotes, but, in my case, generally made up the difference with the rebates. I guess you have to live in the right state(s) for these now. Regulations are so different from state to state . . .
Gee, sorry about that. I had no clue I was somehow grandfathered in with Amica. Just moved to CA last year, so it must be due to the fact that I have been a customer for over 15 years. They are higher in quotes, but, in my case, generally made up the difference with the rebates. I guess you have to live in the right state(s) for these now. Regulations are so different from state to state . . .
