Tesla insurance gap coverage option missing

[SamTrinivach]

I recently signed up for tesla insurance bc its cheaper (for the MY but not the MS interestingly enough) than my normal auto insurance. However I noticed that loan/lease gap insurance was not an option like it is on most auto insurance websites. However once the insurance was active in the app, it shows that I do not have loan/lease gap coverage. If I then go into the edit coverage section of the app I can change all coverage options except for that one (its missing). Seems like maybe a bug? I have an email into them and tried calling but will have to wait until they are back in the office on Monday.

Anyone else have this experience? I am in california if it matters (probably, since insurance is such a regulated industry)

 

[Supcom]

I don't use Tesla insurance, but you should have access to the policy documents that spell out your coverage, limits, exclusions etc. It's better to view the actual documents rather than rely on what someone on the phone tells you.

 

[SamTrinivach]

Oh yea ofcourse I have also confirmed that the policy matches what the app says in terms of gap coverage. But thats not the issue.

 

[SamTrinivach]

Spoke to tesla insurance and they added the gap coverage. Calling tesla insurance was unfortunately a very mind-numbing 25 mins of on hold experience. The worst part being the constsnt interuptions recommending you use the app instead of calling which I ofcourse cannot do for this change. I mentioned to the customer service person that it sure would be great if they added this as an option to the app and they laughed and said that will never be an option because they have to be sure the car was new when we got it? This is confusing since this is an option on every major car ins website, but I did not press them further on it.

 

[wwu123]

Spoke to tesla insurance and they added the gap coverage. Calling tesla insurance was unfortunately a very mind-numbing 25 mins of on hold experience. The worst part being the constsnt interuptions recommending you use the app instead of calling which I ofcourse cannot do for this change. I mentioned to the customer service person that it sure would be great if they added this as an option to the app and they laughed and said that will never be an option because they have to be sure the car was new when we got it? This is confusing since this is an option on every major car ins website, but I did not press them further on it.

Up until our two Tesla's, we'd rarely bought brand-new in our household, so I don't have that much experience with gap coverage - we didn't get it with our Model S, but we did for the first time with our Model 3. I was just curious, when you shop and switch insurers on a car you already own (and thus have an existing loan), how do the insurers price the gap coverage, don't they need to know the remaining balance and term of your existing loan, to know size of the gap to cover? Are online insurance quotes able to instantly pull that lender and loan info via your car's VIN, once you submit for a quote, from some central database?

 

[SamTrinivach]

My most recent experience was on progressive ins website last week for my MS (which btw across all CA insurers I have polled somehow costs less than half of my MY to insure!!). Choosing gap insurance popped up a new question for my purchase date (mo/yr). Similar to tesla ins they charged me an extra $6/mo for the option. I suspect they maintain a table of price by year and model to price these options. At the scale that these insurance companies work I dont think the exact price matters, just a ballpark.