The Hartford Insurace Co. Not Prius Friendly Or Green

[Walker1]

Hi All,

I had a recent negative experience with The Hartford insurance company and thought this was worth sharing. I am a member of AARP and got a reasonable auto insurance quote from their carrier The Hartford. The price was good and policy was for one year versus six months so I signed up.

My policy was up for renewal at the end of January. I received a questionnaire from The Hartford regarding the current mileage on my two cars. Our 2006 Prius logged about 12,000 miles during the last year. The other car only logged 1,200 miles in that time period.

The Hartford had already told me there would be no increase in the policy price this year. When I received my renewal bill it was $110 higher than last year. I called The Hartford and was told the increase was because the Prius logged more than 7,000 miles in the last 12 months. I was never told that the price quoted for the policy was based on each automobile being driven up to 7,000 miles a year. The total mileage for both vehicles was 13,200 miles. The average mileage for each vehicle is 15,000 miles a year, not 7,000.

I asked if the Hartford offers a discount if a vehicle is driven far less than 7,000 miles during the year? The answer was a flat "No". Then I asked if The Hartford offers a discount for a "Green" or Hybrid automobile and once again I got a "No" answer. I was then told that driving the Prius over the limit increased the Hartford's risk factor. What risk? I have not been in any accidents, received no tickets, and my driving record is clean.

I then requested a supervisor and proceeded to plead my case to her. I explained that the combined mileage for both vehicles was below 14,000 miles for the last 12 months and therefore the insurance company was not incurring any additional risk. My second vehicle sits in the garage most of the time so it is not much of a risk to any insurance company.

The supervisor said she had to speak with an underwriter and that person would make a determination regarding the $110 surcharge. I already disliked The Hartford insurance company as they are one of the worst companies doing business. After the underwriter's decision I still incurred an additional $55 which I feel is nothing more than stealing.

This is a huge insurance company that is ripping people off for as much as they can get, but not disclosing the fact that you are limited to the amount of driving you can do based on their BS. I have never encountered this situation in the past and I was most definitely pissed. However, I decided to renew the policy for this year and start looking later for an insurance company that is reasonable. I personally have no respect for any company that has nothing better to do than look for ways how to "fleece" you.

The Hartford has no interest in rewarding policyholders that drive green vehicles like our Prius's. I told the supervisor the company would probably pick up a lot of new business from Prius owners and other hybrid cars if they gave a discount for environmentally friendly vehicles. In addition, they might be looked at as good guys versus common thieves that they really are.

In addition, the same company will not sell life insurance to anyone who is a diabetic. It doesn't matter how good your health and blood sugar numbers are. I see no valid reason why any insurance company would deny a minimal amount of life insurance to a diabetic with no health issues.

These are two reasons why I and many other people hate insurance companies. I understand they have to make a profit or they can't stay in business for long, but this company is extremely unreasonable and money hungry.

Do yourselves a favor and stay away from the Hartford insurance company. It's not worth bothering with to save a few bucks as the harassment is nothing more than a clever ploy to squeeze your hard-earned dollars out of your pocket and into their multibillion-dollar coffers. I have a friend who has had them for several years and they checked your mileage readings annually.

The Hartford truly sucks!

[mingoglia]

I'd say if the combined mileage is what you say then yeah, you're getting screwed if you exceed a certain amount per vehicle. They calculate risk on how many miles your drive. They can offer discounts if they feel someone drives under the norm. The reason of course is if you drive 100 miles a day statistically you're at a higher risk of having an accident.

I don't agree however with you sounding like you expect a discount for a green car. They're a business and as a business they have to make money. Giving a discount to green vehicles doesn't make sense. In fact I'd venture a guess that a particular crash in a Prius is probably more costly to repair than the same crash in a non-hybrid and therefore they should probably charge more money for the Prius.

Mike

[McShadowManager]

On my Farmer's insurance policy I received credit for driving an alternative fuel car, and more for my good driving record and the cars safety equipment. I even got a discount for having multiple cars covered. I was not sure if it was normal for a insurance company to reward green drivers, so I was suprised when my agent was able to save me the extra money. Makes sense, anyone who is smart enough to drive a fuel efficient car should be smart enough to drive that car in a safe manner. For being a male under 21, I still have to pay about $500 every six months though...

[mingoglia]

Originally Posted by McShadowManager

...Makes sense, anyone who is smart enough to drive a fuel efficient car should be smart enough to drive that car in a safe manner. For being a male under 21, I still have to pay about $500 every six months though...

Or perhaps you're getting screwed so much that they have multiple discounts they can offer you to distract you from being screwed. Kinda like one of those credit cards that offer you a percent back towards a Ford product (or something similar). The interest of the credit card is 4% higher than the same companies equivalent credit card so they can offer you 1% back.

You could have a point there though but not for the reason cited. Insurance companies evaluate risk in part by the vehicle driven. Not because it's green, but because statistics show that that purchasers of certain vehicles tend to take less risk and there fore are less of a liability for the insurance company. Take for example pickup trucks. There's a huge price jump from a compact pickup truck when you go from 2wd to 4wd. On a fullsize pickup truck the price jump is pretty small. Statistics show that a small pickup truck is more likely purchased by someone that's going to go offroad and romp around where a 4wd fullsize truck is often used on the job site or the occasional trip off the paved road.

[donee]

Hi Walker,

This depends on the value of the two vehicles, and the cost to repair of the two vehicles. If the second vehicle has a low value, and is cheap to repair, as compared to the Prius, then the Hartford is incuring a risk of more monetary value if you drive the Prius mor. But this is no different with any new car/old car situation.

[Walker1]

Originally Posted by McShadowManager

On my Farmer's insurance policy I received credit for driving an alternative fuel car, and more for my good driving record and the cars safety equipment. I even got a discount for having multiple cars covered. I was not sure if it was normal for a insurance company to reward green drivers, so I was suprised when my agent was able to save me the extra money. Makes sense, anyone who is smart enough to drive a fuel efficient car should be smart enough to drive that car in a safe manner. For being a male under 21, I still have to pay about $500 every six months though...

If you're paying $1000/yr. for auto ins. you're doing much better than I did when I was 17-20 yrs. old. I had a hot Mustang and I remember selling it as the ins. was $2,000/yr. & I couldn't afford a car payment and ins. Insurance is a very dirty game. Now I'm 57 & they like me. But, after age 70 or so it will be different as FL is thinking about forcing older drivers to take a road test every year after age 70. Unfortunately, as we get older ins. cos. no longer view us as safe drivers.

I am mad at them because they didn't disclose anything about their milege limit. To me that's false advertising. AARP should find a nicer auto ins. co. It sounds like you might have one.

[Walker1]

Originally Posted by mingoglia

Or perhaps you're getting screwed so much that they have multiple discounts they can offer you to distract you from being screwed. Kinda like one of those credit cards that offer you a percent back towards a Ford product (or something similar). The interest of the credit card is 4% higher than the same companies equivalent credit card so they can offer you 1% back.

You could have a point there though but not for the reason cited. Insurance companies evaluate risk in part by the vehicle driven. Not because it's green, but because statistics show that that purchasers of certain vehicles tend to take less risk and there fore are less of a liability for the insurance company. Take for example pickup trucks. There's a huge price jump from a compact pickup truck when you go from 2wd to 4wd. On a fullsize pickup truck the price jump is pretty small. Statistics show that a small pickup truck is more likely purchased by someone that's going to go offroad and romp around where a 4wd fullsize truck is often used on the job site or the occasional trip off the paved road.

I get the usual array of discounts mentioned above. In FL once you hit age 50 you can take a 4 hr. class for "advanced" older drivers. The ins. cos. must give a small discount for 3 yrs. Then, you retake the course again & you're OK for 3 more yrs. The course is only $10- (Florida law) & I made out saving about $20/yr. I think.

[Walker1]

Originally Posted by donee

Hi Walker,

This depends on the value of the two vehicles, and the cost to repair of the two vehicles. If the second vehicle has a low value, and is cheap to repair, as compared to the Prius, then the Hartford is incuring a risk of more monetary value if you drive the Prius mor. But this is no different with any new car/old car situation.

The 2nd car is a 2003 Honda Accord with 38,000 miles on it. Tomorrow we are picking up our 2008 Prius and saying goodbye to the Honda. The dlr. is allowing $12,000 in trade on the Honda.

Does anyone know of a body shop that is "cheap"? I think they are more expensive than some MD's.

[ForTheGlory]

Maybe I'm missing something, but how does your experience suggest that your insurance company is "Not Prius-friendly or green-friendly"? Because they didn't give you a discount for driving a hybrid? My insurance is with Erie, and I never had any expectation that I'd get a hybrid discount.

My impression was that the insurance company computes the insurance premium for each vehicle separately and then adds them up to get your total cost. If you don't want to pay to insure the other car, then your only recourse is to either stop driving it and keep it in the garage or sell it.

[Walker1]

Originally Posted by ForTheGlory

Maybe I'm missing something, but how does your experience suggest that your insurance company is "Not Prius-friendly or green-friendly"? Because they didn't give you a discount for driving a hybrid? My insurance is with Erie, and I never had any expectation that I'd get a hybrid discount.

My impression was that the insurance company computes the insurance premium for each vehicle separately and then adds them up to get your total cost. If you don't want to pay to insure the other car, then your only recourse is to either stop driving it and keep it in the garage or sell it.

My big bitch was they weren't honest up front. I also don't like being forced to buy any form of ins., period.