So- about that AAA rate hike for Teslas

[onautopilot]

I just got my new policy from AAA. I was sort of dreading opening it. They were all over then news a while back for raising the rates on Teslas by a hundred percent or something. So the rate for the year went up a whopping 80 bucks. 2419 for this year verses 2333 for last year. Policy also covers our 2013 Volt. Two people on the policy.

I realize my car is a year older and that would normally lower the rate slightly. It seems like it normally increases yearly no matter what though. I had been planning to shop around this year, but now I'm thinking of just renewing it.

Seeing as how the increase didn't materialize I think AAA was just after a headline that had Tesla in the title.

 

[kg7jo-]

But im paying $1400 for two persons and two cars with Progressive.

 

[kev1n]

my AAA insurance didnt go up

progressive is by far one of the cheaper companies to go with if you own a Tesla

 

[JPUConn]

Mapfre (American commerce insurance) informed me that they no longer cover tesla and canceled my policy effective end of November. I was informed that if I sell the tesla I can remain with them and my agent has requested to appeal this decision with underwriting but we’re not optimistic.

I pay ~$1,500/yr currently for my 2015 Model S and 2016 Subaru Legacy for 250/500 coverage and low deductible.

My agent has priced just about everything and I also quoted usaa last night and every single one that will write a policy for a tesla is tacking on a huge collision premium for the tesla with USAA at ~$4,200/yr ($2k of that is tesla collision) and the lowest I’m finding so far is travelers at $2,700/yr which is considerably higher than I have been paying in the past purely bc of a tesla on the policy.

I’m the farthest from a tesla hater (long on tsla and in for the long run). I just wish tesla would offer insurance sooner than later because this is impacting my decision to add a model 3 or two to our garage.

 

[onautopilot]

Okay so I went through the 200 million question process at progressive on kg7go's tip. Thanks for the tip but It came out 13% higher than AAA. Maybe its because I live in CA? My wife and I have perfect driving records.

They are a discount insurance provider right? I think AAA is pretty reputable. I think I'll just renew.

 

[BradDFW]

My Travelers is going to go up by about 550 (a year) to go from a 2014 Mercedes C250 to a 2015 Tesla Model S. I tried pretty much every other insurance company out there for Texas and most quotes were double what Travelers is charging. Some of that could be due to my girlfriend having an accident last year, but based on what I'm seeing here I suspect not.

I guess it is due to the expense in repairs and not the safety.

 

[demundus]

I'm at 1700 a year with 3 cars (tesla included) and one no-fault tbone (22K covered) with gieco. I'm 29, single, and own a home. 2400 seems steep @op

 

[kev1n]

Okay so I went through the 200 million question process at progressive on kg7go's tip. Thanks for the tip but It came out 13% higher than AAA. Maybe its because I live in CA? My wife and I have perfect driving records.

They are a discount insurance provider right? I think AAA is pretty reputable. I think I'll just renew.

im in CA and my progressive quote was a lot less than AAA, roughly $1000 less

 

[Ken7]

I'm at 1700 a year with 3 cars (tesla included) and one no-fault tbone (22K covered) with gieco. I'm 29, single, and own a home. 2400 seems steep @op

You're single and have 3 cars? Hmm.

I'm married and have 2 cars with Geico and am paying a lot more than that in N.Y.

 

[demundus]

You're single and have 3 cars? Hmm.

I'm married and have 2 cars with Geico and am paying a lot more than that in N.Y.

I have a live in gf, but for insurance purposes I'm "single". I also have 3 motorcycles on the same policy. I dont even have my house with them either, been lazy on that one.

edit: I rounded down, its actually 1800, but still...

 

[gaswalla]

When looking for the cheapest insurance, remember that your insurance carrier doesn't matter until it does.

 

[aesculus]

I just renewed my AAA insurance too. Last year the Tesla it was $1,211 and this year it's $1,386. We live in Nor Calif. Most of the increase was in collision and property damage. To be fair my older ICE car's collision went up 10% too. No accidents or claims in forever, so just their normal actuarial stuff in play here best I can tell.

 

[AmpedRealtor]

WOW that's a high premium. Unless you are a terrible driver, I think that premium is a complete rip-off.

 

[kort677]

as insurance companies gain experience with the extreme repair costs associated with teslas it is inevitable that rates will increase. if tesla can improve it's parts availability and delivery system and rework their certification polices, then maybe repair costs will be lowered and that would be reflected in the rates charged for insurance coverage.

 

[jbcarioca]

For all of us it is useful to realize that all the AAA policies are at State level with completely different companies in each, and ownership quite different also, so underwriting, claims and everything else can be complexly different. There simply is no national AAA policy.

Specifically:
CSAA is in California where refusing reasonable cover for Tesla would be unlikely. They also have historically been much less restrictive about luxury/high performance cars than have some other states. They've also been a bit tough on divers histories

American Commerce is the AAA Ohio licensee and is a subsidiary of MAPFRE, a global insurance company with a historical base in Spain. They have a good rating for solidity, but historically are quite opportunistic with affinity groups, like AAA OHIO. They are noted for conservative definitions of acceptable risks so tend to avoid anything unusual, not analogous to inexpensive.

Because every State is different and each have different views of geographical risk there is really no consistency from place to place with AAA branded product. YMMV!

FWIW, the Tesla deal is with Liberty Mutual which has absolute independence in underwriting. early indications are that they have zero preference for Tesla and that they also have the same aggressive telemarketing followup for which they are noted. In some places with some drivers they'll be competitive. In others not...

For me Liberty Mutual Tesla was 40% more than my existing Progressive policy but with slightly less coverage. That was in Miami-Dade county Florida with no claims in the last two decades.

In sum, it's worth looking at all options because no two places, companies, geographies will be exactly the same. You never know until you quote.

The most common categories on which wildly divergent pricing happens are: age (<30>60 a most likely to diverge); homeowner status, credit rating (>750 bureau FICO tend to get favorable looks), driving history, vehicle types plus ownership/lease/financing, and company relationship.

People in the San Francisco Bay Area, for example, are seeing higher Comprehensive rates because of the increased shopping center vandalism in the last couple of years.

Rates can magically increase or decrease based on deductibles for Comprehensive, Collision and Uninsured Motorist. Some places have deductible flexibility in all those, some others have only for Collision. Look at the Fine Print.

Hint:

Lastly, some companies give a big break for payment in advance, others have monthly payments that do not have inherent interest cost included. That is another area to check.

Really, it's almost impossible to know whether a price is high or low without looking at all the factors.

Hint: a company underwriter who owns a Tesla will invariably be more favorable than one who does not.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

The liberty mutual Tesla insurance is a joke. I got quoted 3x my current premium, and then they keep calling me on my cellphone to tell me how awesome they are. Between all these reliability issues, and high repair costs, Tesla can't seem to catch a break. I hope this EV story doesn't die because of this, especially now that all other manufacturers are focusing on EVs.

 

[kort677]

The liberty mutual Tesla insurance is a joke. I got quoted 3x my current premium, and then they keep calling me on my cellphone to tell me how awesome they are. Between all these reliability issues, and high repair costs, Tesla can't seem to catch a break. I hope this EV story doesn't die because of this, especially now that all other manufacturers are focusing on EVs.

your only mistake is giving them your cellphone #, I give out an email I maintain for such purposes and a landline phone # in my home that I never monitor or answer.

 

[JPUConn]

Mapfre (American commerce insurance) informed me that they no longer cover tesla and canceled my policy effective end of November. I was informed that if I sell the tesla I can remain with them and my agent has requested to appeal this decision with underwriting but we’re not optimistic.

I pay ~$1,500/yr currently for my 2015 Model S and 2016 Subaru Legacy for 250/500 coverage and low deductible.

My agent has priced just about everything and I also quoted usaa last night and every single one that will write a policy for a tesla is tacking on a huge collision premium for the tesla with USAA at ~$4,200/yr ($2k of that is tesla collision) and the lowest I’m finding so far is travelers at $2,700/yr which is considerably higher than I have been paying in the past purely bc of a tesla on the policy.

I’m the farthest from a tesla hater (long on tsla and in for the long run). I just wish tesla would offer insurance sooner than later because this is impacting my decision to add a model 3 or two to our garage.

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Update: super excited that tesla hasn’t this but sad that Liberty mutual actually wins for highest quote and as others have stated most persistent (annoying) sales agents.

I ended up submitting a quote online for AAA and their online prices were not competitive. Afterward yet a local AAA agent emailed me to say that CSAA will cover my Tesla and the rate is competitive to what I had been paying to American Commerce/MAPFRE. Unfortunate that MAPFRE didn’t want to keep taking my $ as I did like their customer service.

 

[bkp_duke]

My Travelers is going to go up by about 550 (a year) to go from a 2014 Mercedes C250 to a 2015 Tesla Model S. I tried pretty much every other insurance company out there for Texas and most quotes were double what Travelers is charging. Some of that could be due to my girlfriend having an accident last year, but based on what I'm seeing here I suspect not.

I guess it is due to the expense in repairs and not the safety.

More than likely its that the Model S costs about 2x as much as that Merc.

 

[xbox4me62]

I use ameriprise (yes i heard their service is not the greatest) and it's ~$2500 to insure 5 cars. I'm 25 and the Tesla is full coverage and the rest are liability only.