[jdpenn]

I just received my insurance bill for my new 2006 Insight. I was slightly surprised at the cost, which is almost twice the amount that I pay for my 2002 Chevy Venture Van, with the same coverage amounts.

The comprehensive rate is 4.5 times higher than the Chevy Van.
The collision coverage is almost 3 times higher.
Bodily Injury, property damage, and medical are all about 1.5 times higher, for the same exact coverage amounts.

I guess some of the increase could be related to declaring the Insight as my primary work car, but the overall rates still seem high to me.

Have others had the same experience with higher insurance rates on your Insight?

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Not here.

Insurance rates do vary by loacation and even more so by state. Some states have different mandatory coverages that effect cost. For an apples to apples compairson you'll at least have to wait for some other PA replies.

HTH!

 

[Kevin Dougherty]

Would you care to tell us the company and the costs?
Thanks

 

[HappyCamper]

Mine is 840 / 6 Months for full coverage through State Farm. 500 Collision and 100 Comprehensive deductibles. I'm 19.

 

[Willie Williford]

insurance

Wawanesa of Calif. full coverage, 500 deductable collision, Comp. 500 ded.
$226.00 a year...........NOT A MISPRINT....Multi car discount (4), no tickets in 20 years, persistency discount........You guys in the NE get ripped off. Blame it on the snow and rain?

 

[jdpenn]

I have Erie Insurance.
Excellent driving record, over 50 years old, multiple car discount, 100/500 deductible. Total for the 2006 Insight is 835 per year. Total for the 2002 Venture van is 454 per year. I also have 3 other older vehicles without comprehensive or collision coverage, and they are from 375 to 455 total cost.

 

[Guest]

For what it's worth I pay £234 a year F/C with £100 excess, protected NCD & legal protection.

 

[The Citrus Smoothie]

Following on from Mark's post, I am similar, paying around £290 for full comprehensive.

I should add that in the UK, cars are divided into twenty insurance categories with Ferraris typically in category 20 whilst the equivalent of a powered bicycle would be in category 1. The Insight is classified quite high up in category 12 and keeps company with some quite high powered saloons and GTI's...which is due to the expensive repairs that might be needed to the aluminium bodywork and possible misunderstanding about potential dangers of a hybrid powertrain.

 

[kari]

ha, the comment about different states is apt. I just moved to NJ and my insurance is sky high. I have a 2006 insight with a loan (aka I have to have collision/etc, which I've never bothered about before on my old junkers) and my annual bill is roughly $1500.

edited to say - and I've been told that this is a reasonable/cheapish amount of money for insurance, too.

 

[hawkGT647]

I wonder if the insurance company considers the Insight a "sports" car because of 2 doors/2 seats.

It would affect your insurance rates by a huge amount.

Regards,

 

[james]

Mine is actually slightly less ($10-20) than the CRX I had before. Of course I carry only liability, so there's no factor in there for the expensive aluminum body repairs and such.

 

[bretthans]

I too was surprised by the insurance rates when I first got the car. They were much higher than for my other cars.

The Insight shows up in the same risk ranking as some sports cars due to the high repair cost. The rankings are based on claims data and are set by a company the insurance companies use for that stuff (I forget the name). The repair costs are driven up by the aluminum repairs (only a few shops can do it!) and the high cost of replacement body parts (especially after the repair shop 100% markup).

I certainly didn't help the statistics after someone T-boned my Insight a couple of years ago and cost my insurance company over $6000 in repair costs. Most cars would have cost half that or less.

 

[kari]

I heard on Marketplace this morning on NPR that Travelers Insurance is going to offer a 10% discount on auto insurance to hybrid drivers - apparently, we're known to drive more 'cautiously' than others!

They don't have today's stories up yet but later today or tomorrow you might be able to catch the clip on their webpage.

 

[trs]

The info is on the Traveler's insurance web page. (http://www.travelers.com)

 

[apierpoint]

Sweet! I already use Traveler's. Can't wait to get my discount next month!

 

[bug_girl]

Here in michigan the rates are really high--i think it's because there are no inspections, so pretty much anything is street legal. :?

 

[jsanford]

My rates went up for next year, which I *thought* was because I was in the you're-too-old-to-be-single! category suddenly, but maybe it's the car.

Or they found out I have a motorcycle too.

I was planning on calling and grumbling anyway. $1283/year with low annual mileage. I have Amica.

 

[PowahPC]

Well, I've got you all beat in potential.

I called my insurance company, and they told me that if I pay every 6 months (for a slight discount, I suppose) it would be $1175.90. That's for 6 months. YES! That's for 6 MONTHS! Over $195/month!

I could hardly believe it either. Mind you, that's for a 2006 Insight, full coverage, in Alaska. There aren't a lot of people living up there, accidents are ... not rare things, and coverage amounts are high. VERY high. And that amount covers the cost of getting me another car for transport if I couldn't drive mine due to an accident, from what I understand.

I'm going to go shopping around for cheaper insurance. I am a safe driver. I think I could get a better deal. BTW - I'm 28 and never had anything other than one parking ticket in my entire history.

 

[Kevin Dougherty]

Allstate liability only, $318 / per 6 months $100-$300K limits.
I had a heck of a time getting signed up after being out of country for a few years. They wanted to put me in the hight risk catagory!

 

[Insightful Trekker]

Kevin, please update us on the recommisioning of your Insight project :!:

(in your original post if you please ) Here:
http://www.insightcentral.net/forum/vie ... 2&start=15