State Farm Dropped My Insurance

[dbullard]

Just had my S repaired after damaging the left rear fender - $9600 (Portland, OR).

State Farm refused to pay full rate for the body shop ($85/hr). The shop said they used to pay, but a few months ago they decided to only pay $50/hr as the "standard" area labor rate. Guess who they want to make up the difference?

I see a lot of people quoting rates from their insurance company - that's basically useless information. If your insurance company does not pay full prices to fix your car, what's the point?

What irritates me about this is I have a fairly high deductible ($1000). If the car's expensive to repair, raise the premiums on Teslas - but don't refuse to pay.

I had to sign paperwork to take SF to arbitration to pay.

And, yes, I'm in the process of selecting a new insurance company.

 

[Cool-Model S]

Just had my S repaired after damaging the left rear fender - $9600 (Portland, OR).

State Farm refused to pay full rate for the body shop ($85/hr). The shop said they used to pay, but a few months ago they decided to only pay $50/hr as the "standard" area labor rate. Guess who they want to make up the difference?

I see a lot of people quoting rates from their insurance company - that's basically useless information. If your insurance company does not pay full prices to fix your car, what's the point?

What irritates me about this is I have a fairly high deductible ($1000). If the car's expensive to repair, raise the premiums on Teslas - but don't refuse to pay.

I had to sign paperwork to take SF to arbitration to pay.

And, yes, I'm in the process of selecting a new insurance company.

I have SF and my rates are $511/6 mo's ($1K Ded). Your rate should consider # of cars, home owners discounts, good driving, teenager in the mix, etc. I have all those and still a good rate. I have had SF for 20 years and they have been good. I switched to Costco Ameriprise last year before I got my S for lower rates but their rate for S was $680/6 mos. I am back with SF for now with good experience so far.

Comment about body work. I had exactly similar left rear fender and right rear fender work needed (another story how that happened). I probably went to the same body shop you went to (Tesla recommended shop). They also wanted to charge me $85/hr labor rate and their cost to repair was unrealistic. It was not only the labor rate being very high but also # of hours it takes to repair was also extremely high. I think they are taking advantage of the "Tesla is a different car and no standards are established" excuse. I went to another body shop near by recommended by SF. They were 1/3rd cheaper, SF covered all costs, got a rental car and no increase in rate. Body shop did a great job. I went there to periodically to see progress as I was interested in how the car would look while being worked on. Interestingly, body work is no different than any other expensive car's body work. Anyone in Portland area who needs body work should get a second opinion than just blindly using Tesla recommended body shop. I plan on informing Tesla SC about them as well. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Liz G]

I believe collision coverage may be the issue with the Model S. While the car does have an extraordinary record for occupant safety, the autobody repair costs I've read about on this forum are sobering. Basically, you can take whatever you'd normally pay for body work on a BMW, Audi or Mercedes and double or even triple it. One owner, who had a dented hood with no other damage, paid over $10,000 for a simple hood replacement. Furthermore, Tesla requires that the work be done at a Tesla-approved body shop. No wonder insurance rates are creeping upward as real-world data rolls in.

This suggests another possible business opportunity for Tesla and a groundbreaking solution for owners: Tesla could start selling auto insurance to its customers. With cost control at every step of the way, Tesla would be in a better position to offer insurance at competitive rates. Tesla could even open its own body shops. It might be time for another disruptive business tactic.

I really hope some one reports that shop to Tesla. After a shovel hit my S, I had the hood replaced, nose cone replaced, front splitter replaced, hood, both fenders, and front bumper repainted and rewrapped with paint armor all for $6000. And this was done by a Tesla certified shop. $10,000 seems a bit high.

 

[rtz]

I had State Farm for my bike for about 2 weeks. Then I got a letter in the mail that basically said "Thanks, sorry, bye."

Their reasons were since I didn't have a car or house insured with them and also my driving record showed points on it from a truck that got totalled out in an ice storm years earlier.

 

[VolkerP]

After a shovel hit my S, I had the hood replaced, nose cone replaced, front splitter replaced, hood, both fenders, and front bumper repainted and rewrapped with paint armor all for $6000.

You over-stalked the supercharger construction teams? :redface:

 

[kcveins]

Just had my S repaired after damaging the left rear fender - $9600 (Portland, OR).

State Farm refused to pay full rate for the body shop ($85/hr). The shop said they used to pay, but a few months ago they decided to only pay $50/hr as the "standard" area labor rate. Guess who they want to make up the difference?

I see a lot of people quoting rates from their insurance company - that's basically useless information. If your insurance company does not pay full prices to fix your car, what's the point?

What irritates me about this is I have a fairly high deductible ($1000). If the car's expensive to repair, raise the premiums on Teslas - but don't refuse to pay.

I had to sign paperwork to take SF to arbitration to pay.

And, yes, I'm in the process of selecting a new insurance company.

I had a big accident in June; 9 weeks and $30K in repairs later it came home. SF covered everything. I didn't get a change in my latest 6 mon premium (although this could be due to the fact that the accident was not my fault).

 

[Gizmotoy]

I had a big accident in June; 9 weeks and $30K in repairs later it came home. SF covered everything. I didn't get a change in my latest 6 mon premium (although this could be due to the fact that the accident was not my fault).

If the other party was adequately-insured, SF wouldn't care what the cost of the repair was. Even if you coordinate through them (in other words, they wrote the check to the body shop), the other party's insurance is still the one footing the bill. For not-at-fault accidents, most times they won't increase your premium, but there's nothing that prevents them from doing so (happened to my wife, once). The fact that you were in an accident at all goes into your risk profile, which ultimately determines your rate.

I looked at SF a few weeks ago and found they were roughly double GEICO and 75% more expensive than Progressive for me.

I'd like to get away from the majors and find someone who isn't going to pull that "we want to use these parts we got from some guy in China" crap, but I don't know who is trustworthy.

 

[hsctiger93]

Funny thing. I'm still in buying-decision mode and called my SF agent to give me a rough quote on a car I have not yet purchased. The lady on the other end of the line couldn't find the brand! She kept asking "who makes it?" After I got it through that Tesla makes the Tesla Model S, she gave up and provided a rough estimate based upon age of car and approximate value. The point about length of time with an insurer and bundles definitely came into play here. It's only going to be about $450 more than my 11 year old BMW. I asked why and she said I got nice discounts due to 10+ years without accident and homeowners policy bundle.

Of course, the proof will be in the pudding when they deliver the real quote. I'm still waiting for something higher than $450 additional per year.

 

[rblack]

Just had my S repaired after damaging the left rear fender - $9600 (Portland, OR).

State Farm refused to pay full rate for the body shop ($85/hr). The shop said they used to pay, but a few months ago they decided to only pay $50/hr as the "standard" area labor rate. Guess who they want to make up the difference?

I see a lot of people quoting rates from their insurance company - that's basically useless information. If your insurance company does not pay full prices to fix your car, what's the point?

What irritates me about this is I have a fairly high deductible ($1000). If the car's expensive to repair, raise the premiums on Teslas - but don't refuse to pay.

I had to sign paperwork to take SF to arbitration to pay.

And, yes, I'm in the process of selecting a new insurance company.

My car is in the same shop, state farm refused to pay for 7000 dollars three months ago, now we are still 2053 dollars apart. I just get a bunch of confusing double talk from the state farm representatives. The auto body shop would not do me the courtesy of "Assignment of Proceeds" that you got to do. The auto body shop now charges 115/hr rate. My damages were more than 24,600 total but that is going up as the the shop has now found suspension components that are cracked.

Tesla is part of the problem as parts took way to long to get. State farm delayed for a month for sure, due to not releasing a itemized detailed estimate to work from. It could be 4 months before I get my car back, no telling what I will have to pay but we are 2053 dollars apart right now with out the new suspension parts that are being ordered. I did not know that parts were restricted to certified body shops because of this I cannot take my car to a non certified body shop but state farm pretends I can. By fighting state farm we are approx 2000 dollars apart instead of 7000 but the depreciation alone is killing me. This shop has repaired more than 75 Tesla's in the last year or so. Many of them had to have been state farm accidents as they are large insurer here in the NW yet state farm pretends it's all new to them. State farm delays and I pay a car payment, depreciation and insurance for a vehicle that I cannot use. State farm holds all the cards and the policy holder gets the shaft when it comes to repairing Tesla's that they insure.

 

[RavynArcadia]

Damn I'm getting screwed. When I got my Tesla Travelers wanted to charge me 9k a year. I eventually switched to PURE insurance and it's that much a year for my car and home insurance.

 

[Brit4864]

What can I say about State Farm? Read this for starters...

I'm in mourning!

I had SF myself for 12 years but after last years' accident..I would never have them again. I had Allstate until 6 months ago when they jacked up the rate quite a bit. I've been with progressive since March and the renewal is $684 this month which isn't that bad for here in South FL. I'm amazed how cheap other people's Tesla repairs are. For those who don't want to read through the thread, my repair was just over $22k and I ended up suing SF for diminished value and loss of use as their approval process was so slow and they gave crazy low initial estimates for the repair, all of which resulted in over 7 weeks loss of use. I've just settled with SF for a 5 figure sum.

 

[JBourke]

Hi JonCampos:
I am about to take delivery of an 85D and I have Statefarm for my other cars. SF has not given me a final quote yet. Who did you end up going with? Would you share your premium amount?

 

[yobigd20]

I've just settled with SF for a 5 figure sum.

Well that seems like it worked out for you then

 

[themacs]

I have a Nissan LEAF, a Honda van that I use infrequently, and the Model S (P85). I changed from 21st Century because they wouldn't cover the S when I bought I last summer and I moved all three cars over to Ameriprise (Costco). The premium for the same coverage I had before from 21st is $650/6 months for all 3 cars...I'm the only driver...

Moved from Allstate. Have a 2014 Tesla S85, 2014 Jaguar "F TYPE" and a 2011 Lexus RX 350. The 6 month for all 3 was about $1800 with the Tesla being highest. Ameriprise was about $650 for 6 months for all 3. Yep, I switched after over 30 years with Allstate (I was happy with their service).

Seems the quotes are all over the board. I guess you need to shop state by state.

 

[a0128]

Perhaps it might be a good idea to let ownership @ Tesla know about this.

And what EXACTLY would ownership be able to do?

 

[flankspeed8]

And what EXACTLY would ownership be able to do?

I am taking a guess, but if it seems like a lot of the rate increases is because of the high cost to repair, they could try and reform/reign in their authorized service network? Tesla is in the business of selling cars. Complaints like this do not help that, therefore they have a vested interest in removing these obstacles the best they can. Make sense?

 

[yobigd20]

I am taking a guess, but if it seems like a lot of the rate increases is because of the high cost to repair, they could try and reform/reign in their authorized service network? Tesla is in the business of selling cars. Complaints like this do not help that, therefore they have a vested interest in removing these obstacles the best they can. Make sense?

I've heard that Tesla is starting to step up and assign certain service center personal the new role of "advisor to certified repair centers" to guide their pricing and keep them in check. It looks like raising awareness of this issue might actually be working and Tesla might actually be trying to take control of this before it gets any worse. I'd like to know more details about this role the next time someone talks to a service center employee.

 

[a0128]

I am taking a guess, but if it seems like a lot of the rate increases is because of the high cost to repair, they could try and reform/reign in their authorized service network? Tesla is in the business of selling cars. Complaints like this do not help that, therefore they have a vested interest in removing these obstacles the best they can. Make sense?

Makes no sense at all. Tesla manufactures an expensive car made from aluminum panels. Insurance companies price their premiums commensurate with their risk.

Reform their authorized service network?? Assuming I was a body shop owner with the expertise to repair aluminum panels (i.e. skilled technicians experienced in aluminum repair, skilled in the application of water-based paints) I would price my services accordingly so I CAN MAKE A PROFIT. I am not about to give away my services or under-price my work so Tesla can sell more cars.

Perhaps Tesla should build out their own body repair facilities adjacent to their service centers. Then they can take a loss on the repairs in order to keep their customers happy and sell more cars.

Face it, you bought an expensive, limited production, aluminum bodied car much akin to a Ferrari, Aston Martin, or Panoz. Since Tesla tightly controls the supply of parts, excludes the use of salvaged parts, has no patterned parts suppliers, your repair costs will reflect that. If you can't afford the insurance, or are unhappy with your rates, perhaps you should not have bought the car in the first place.

 

[jonbcampos]

Hi JonCampos:
I am about to take delivery of an 85D and I have Statefarm for my other cars. SF has not given me a final quote yet. Who did you end up going with? Would you share your premium amount?

Total 6 month premium $1072 and some change. I did up some values to make sure if anything happened that I would be well taken care of. I tried quotes at many places and once I raised the various values to all match the premium came out even at just about each one.

 

[artsci]

I have used USAA for 12 years and they insured my S with no issues. I have multiple banking/insurance accounts through USAA and think very highly of them. Great customer service and great rates. If you are eligible (current or former military or have a family member that was/is a USAA member) you can qualify.

USAA is the best. Makes me very happy that my wife is a Marine Corps daughter, which qualified us to be covered by USAA. My premiums went up a bit after my goofy accident a year ago, but not by much.