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Re: Prius High Cost of Insurance (in USA)
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Re: Prius High Cost of Insurance (in USA) Michelle Steiner 11-02-2007
Posted by Michelle Steiner on November 2, 2007, 2:30 am
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> Below you can see the Prius is near the very top of all cars in the
> general class of smaller 4-door sedans.
>
> Edmunds.com total cost of ownership, first year of insurance:

My current policy's premiums are $285.88 for six months. I have
100/300/50 liability (same coverage on uninsured and underinsured
motorists), with 100/250 deductible on comprehensive/collision.

This is for a 2004 Prius with the most expensive option package
available.

--
Support the troops: Bring them home ASAP.

Posted by wlcna on November 2, 2007, 1:30 pm
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>> Below you can see the Prius is near the very top of all cars in the
>> general class of smaller 4-door sedans.
>>
>> Edmunds.com total cost of ownership, first year of insurance:
>
> My current policy's premiums are $285.88 for six months. I have
> 100/300/50 liability (same coverage on uninsured and underinsured
> motorists), with 100/250 deductible on comprehensive/collision.
>
> This is for a 2004 Prius with the most expensive option package
> available.
>

Thanks for the info, but it's actually off topic since I'm talking about
"comparative" rates, though I would like to know your secret for being in
such an amazingly cheap bracket (if there is a secret that would be usable
by others, e.g. that wouldn't require moving to a farm or something :). I
can tell you I'm a middle-aged male in a large Midwestern city with perfect
record over say last 10 years and I'm seeing rates nowhere near what you
are claiming here, closer to double and I have never even looked into $100
deductible.

But my topic is more like what you *would be* paying with say a PT Cruiser,
Pontiac Vibe, Honda Fit, etc. Have any info on that? The PT Cruiser for
some reason is almost always one of the absolute cheapest to insure
(similar rate to a minivan usually), that's why I mention it.

But I believe for any given person the Prius seems to be always more
expensive than say a Honda Fit, in most cases significantly so (though for
some insurers Honda Fit is not very far from Prius either), though the Fit
can be pretty high too.

Here's some examples of my quotes *in percentage terms* with Prius versus
Fit and then one vehicle that was at the cheaper end of things for that
insurer:

Allstate Prius 7% higher than Fit, 31% higher than PT Cruiser.
Progressive: Prius 13% higher than Fit, 25% higher than Pontiac Vibe.
Edmunds: Prius 13% higher than Fit, 28% higher than PT Cruiser.

(Edmunds link so people can try for themselves:)

http://www.edmunds.com/apps/cto/CTOintroController

Like I said the different insurance companies do seem to have different
ideas about which vehicles should be cheaper and more expensive, but some
things are obvious checking with say the 3 or 4 insurers I've checked with,
like that the Prius is generally more expensive to insure than almost any
similar car on the road, it's almost always right up there next to the Kia
Rio (and I have no idea why that car is so expensive).

Relatedly, I noticed that small cars generally are expensive to insure,
which I wouldn't have expected since generally they are much cheaper to
buy, including the domestically-branded Chevy Aveo being quite expensive to
insure (though I know it's made by Daewoo).

Another question here might be if anyone knows a good, economical small car
that's also among the cheaper to insure...? PT Cruiser is the closest
thing I can see but it's not particularly good on gas.



Posted by Michelle Steiner on November 2, 2007, 1:59 pm
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> Thanks for the info, but it's actually off topic since I'm talking
> about "comparative" rates, though I would like to know your secret
> for being in such an amazingly cheap bracket (if there is a secret
> that would be usable by others, e.g. that wouldn't require moving to
> a farm or something :).

Actually, I live in a suburb of Phoenix, which has some of the highest
insurance rates in the country. When I moved here from the San
Francisco Bay area, my insurance actually went up.

But I'm insured with USAA, which has some of the lowest rates in the
industry, and I have discounts from them for various things such as
having my home insurance and mortgage with them, having had military
service, a good payment history, and having had insurance with them for
30 years; I also have a discount for being a good driver, and one called
"Vehicle Experience Discount", which means that they have had fewer
claims and/or less cost per claim for the Prius than for other cars.
The discounts total $176.30.

--
Support the troops: Bring them home ASAP.

Posted by Bill on November 4, 2007, 8:37 am
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>
> > Thanks for the info, but it's actually off topic since I'm talking
> > about "comparative" rates, though I would like to know your secret
> > for being in such an amazingly cheap bracket (if there is a secret
> > that would be usable by others, e.g. that wouldn't require moving to
> > a farm or something :).
>
> Actually, I live in a suburb of Phoenix, which has some of the highest
> insurance rates in the country. When I moved here from the San
> Francisco Bay area, my insurance actually went up.
>
> But I'm insured with USAA, which has some of the lowest rates in the
> industry, and I have discounts from them for various things such as
> having my home insurance and mortgage with them, having had military
> service, a good payment history, and having had insurance with them for
> 30 years; I also have a discount for being a good driver, and one called
> "Vehicle Experience Discount", which means that they have had fewer
> claims and/or less cost per claim for the Prius than for other cars.
> The discounts total $176.30.
>
> --
> Support the troops: Bring them home ASAP.

I wonder if the higher insurance rates for the Prius might relate to
driver age. When one is looking at retirement and reduced income with
increasing gasoline prices going to a hybrid seems a good idea.


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