Tesla complaint. Switching back to State Farm

[C-Ball]

I had a windshield rock chip claim, and in my email, I sent this. I'm sure nothing will change, but felt like sharing it here.



"Also,

This new safety score rating update is HORRIBLE. Bordering on discriminatory. Late night driving after 10pm???

I have to drive 10 miles from work to home late twice a week. On an empty 4 lane road. There is zero traffic. Trust me when I say that is FAR safer than in the daytime when half of the drivers are on their cell phones.

Also, I am a non-drinker. As in, I never drink alcohol. So you can rule out that risk of drunk driving.

So, Tesla insurance is saying that if a family of four goes to see a movie at the 9pm showing on a Saturday night, they get penalized for driving home at 11pm after the movie. That is ABSURD.

My premium has been around $105 per month with a score of 98.
Next month, it's going up to $193 with a score of 86.
That is an extra $1,056 per year that my insurance increased, even though I am a very safe and cautious driver.

All because I drive 10 miles on empty roads on autopilot twice a week.


You can bet your bankroll I'll be switching back to State Farm who was quoting me $170 a month.

Christian, I know you aren't the one that has to do with setting these policies, but you are my sounding board. So if you could pass this along to the department that fields insurance complaints, that would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Have a good one..

Chisolm"

 

[tewest86]

It's not that you are a worse driver after 10pm. Data shows that more accidents occur in those time spans. Therefore, Tesla deems that time frame more riskier to drive. It's not person, it's basic numbers and data.

Just because you don't drink doesn't means others aren't.

 

[jjrandorin]

Its all statistics, and yes OP you are correct, no one at Tesla (or any other company that uses those data driven things like "snapshot" etc ) care about the individual person, they care about the statistics behind the actions.

Your letter / email to them about whats absurd or not doesnt mean anything, because thats not what the statistics say.

I personally do not know why ANYONE AT ALL would agree to anything like ANY of these driving spy systems, Tesla insurance safety score, snapshot, or any of those insurance ODB meter things. There is NO CHANCE IN $#%@#$%$$%@$# I would ever sign up for any of that stuff, and I dont understand why anyone else would either, because they subject themselves to nonsense like what the OP of this thread is describing.

 

[C-Ball]

It's not that you are a worse driver after 10pm. Data shows that more accidents occur in those time spans. Therefore, Tesla deems that time frame more riskier to drive. It's not person, it's basic numbers and data.

Just because you don't drink doesn't means others aren't.

The time of day for most accidents, fatal and non-fatal combined is between 4pm-7:59pm. (I looked it up.)

So by your logic, everyone who drives home at rush hour should have their rates increased. How dare people put themselves in harm's way, and put Tesla insurance at risk of being on the hook when you cause a fender bender. "

"Therefore, Tesla deems that time frame more riskier to drive. It's not person, it's basic numbers and data. "
Yep. and basic numbers and data show that they will pay out more claims during 4-8pm. Yet, they don't raise the rates on "those" people.

Which brings me to another point. You say just because I don't drink, doesn't mean others don't. Obviously, I get that. But if a drunk driver hits me, THEIR insurance pays for my car damage, NOT Tesla. They are punishing people for driving times, as if they are more likely to be at fault. So this goes against your point.

 

[tewest86]

The time of day for most accidents, fatal and non-fatal combined is between 4pm-7:59pm. (I looked it up.)

So by your logic, everyone who drives home at rush hour should have their rates increased. How dare people put themselves in harm's way, and put Tesla insurance at risk of being on the hook when you cause a fender bender. "

"Therefore, Tesla deems that time frame more riskier to drive. It's not person, it's basic numbers and data. "
Yep. and basic numbers and data show that they will pay out more claims during 4-8pm. Yet, they don't raise the rates on "those" people.

Which brings me to another point. You say just because I don't drink, doesn't mean others don't. Obviously, I get that. But if a drunk driver hits me, THEIR insurance pays for my car damage, NOT Tesla. They are punishing people for driving times, as if they are more likely to be at fault. So this goes against your point.

Look at the data more closely. You have to compare that to the percentage of drivers present. You can just say more accidents happen and not show the total amount of drivers.

If a drunk driver hits you, who's to say he/she had insurance. The risk is still greater to Tesla.

 

[blkswn]

I've considered Tesla vs State Farm but have chosen to stick it Tesla even though State Farm would offer a slight discount. Mainly because State Farm could not confirm the use of new OEM parts during repair and availability to use Tesla's collision centers. Unfortunately I totaled my car after hitting a steel object on the road and I asked the shop about their experience in working with insurance providers and the guy said Tesla is the best to work with and State Farm is the worst as they always demand procurement of used parts which can be difficult to source.

I don't know how to feel about the Safety Score because I'm more so in your boat in terms of safety/risk, but I understand we're the minority in the population. For better or worse, though, California doesn't do real time insurance as of today so I haven't been hard pressed as in your situation.

 

[father_of_6]

They say after 9pm on Friday and Saturday, 1 in 4 drivers are under the influence of some amount until of alcohol, and the statistic gets worse the later it is (e.g. might be 1 in 3 at 11pm).

I would never use an insurance company that can measure my driving. My premium would be through the roof.

 

[Deep Purple]

Yeah, Tesla Insurance is a non-starter for me. It's discriminatory against people who work shifts.

 

[father_of_6]

Yeah, Tesla Insurance is a non-starter for me. It's discriminatory against people who work shifts.

To be fair, it's discriminatory against people whose driving patterns are statistically higher to be in an accident... and apparently driving late at night is one of those higher risk groups.

That's the problem with statistics. They're reliable, but they also play lowest common denominator. It may be true that speeding is associated with a higher risk of accidents, but some people speed all of the time, drive a lot, and have zero lifetime accidents.

 

[father_of_6]

The Model 3 tops out at 140mph. I've only had the courage and/or road space to get up to 130 so far (a few times). That was probably a 60mph rarely used section of highway. Tesla insurance would be calling the police on me.

 

[RonAz]

Late night driving is one thing, but what about hard braking? If Regen is at full you can touch the brake pedal with one feather and be ok. Two feathers and you get hard braking for 5% of your drive. At 0.3g for me, I would be applying 60 pounds of forward force to the seat, seat belt, and brake pedal. Sorry, not even close to that. Going to download a g meter app and test it.
Following too close? This is kept a total secret from the driver when it happens. No way to change your driving habits. FSD follows much closer than I do. My freightliner tells me exactly how much too close I am with a visual and alarm warnings. Come on Tesla, if you are going to do it, do it right.
Forward collision warning? Never had one except on my safety score.
Aggressive turning??? I am to good of a person to run over the dog to save my safety score!

 

[LadyOnikara]

Yeah, we have used State Farm for years. They have been great. I don't know how much we pay per month, but I know that if my mom didn't like paying that amount, she would go somewhere else.

 

[Deep Purple]

Now that State Farm has a Tesla Certified body shop on its list of preferred body shops, I see no reason to switch.

 

[RonAz]

If they really want to succeed with Tesla insurance, they are going to have to fix Safety Score. I can't believe that I am alone with my opinion.
Today on one leg of a four leg trip a car moved to my lane from the right lane without signaling and too close for safety score. When I got home I had three 100's and a 98. The 98 was from the merge. Ok, but it said that 25 minute leg was following too close for 63.5% of the leg. It was no more than 10 seconds because I slowed down, Regen only because touching the brakes is another penalty. How that became 63.5% escapes me. When I return home in the fall it will be time to go insurance shopping again. My perfect driving record for a couple million miles will probably hurt me, because they can't justify the high premiums.