1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Insurance offers w/h the prius C

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by actiondonkey, Mar 22, 2012.

  1. actiondonkey

    actiondonkey Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2012
    91
    30
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    II
    Let me start by saying I have no affiliation or affinity for any particular insurance carrier. I'm posting my story to help others in the community to hopefully save some cash on their car insurance.

    I'd been with Progressive for 4 years - no accidents, tickets or claims in over 5 years. Over 28 years old and a married homeowner. Vehicle is quoted at 10K annual mileage for pleasure driving. I get the good discounts.

    Before purchasing the C2 I called progressive to get a quote on the insurance. I gave her the VIN, Progressive came back and said the 6 month premium would be about $90 less than I pay for our Audi Q5 currently ensured through Progressive. So I buy the car, call in to get insurance, and sure enough the C2, a car that costs less than half of the Q5, would cost about $360 MORE per 6 months. I was.... upset.

    And when you get upset... you call other insurance companies (à la the DTV commercial).

    Each of the quotes below includes a dodge farm truck, accounts for anywhere from $50-$100 into each total

    1st offer. - Progressive - ~920/6mo with 10k/20k/10k liability and no insurance against uninsured motorists.

    2nd offer. - Travelers - ~760/6mo with 10k/20k/10k liability and no insurance against uninsured motorists.

    3rd offer - 21st century - ~1680/6mo:eek:with 10k/20k/10k liability and no insurance against uninsured motorists.

    4th offer :rockon: Geico :rockon: $324/6mo with 10k/20k/10k liability and no insurance against uninsured motorists.

    5th offer :rockon: Geico :rockon: $542/6mo with 100k/300k/100k liability and 50k insurance against uninsured motorists.

    Went with option 5. They say it's a guaranteed rate that will only change in the event of tickets etc but we'll see. Of note - this is important - none of these companies had a Priuc C in their computer systems yet. It seems like Travelers and Geico are the only two who took time to research and add the car so I got proper hybrid discounts, but who knows for sure.

    Here's my point - if you're paying more for insurance than you expected, it may be because your insurance carrier doesn't have your vehicle classified correctly or they don't give hybrid discounts. Shop around; I saved about $400/6mo with Geico and receive a MUCH higher level of coverage for the money than was offered elsewhere.
     
    1 person likes this.
  2. wifemomhockeyfan

    wifemomhockeyfan Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2012
    34
    9
    0
    Location:
    Newman CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    N/A
    Thank you for info. We have ours insured with State Farm. Not only were we with State Farm before, but they gave us a really good quote. Our insurance for our Prius c is only costing us $1 more than what we had on our 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan. My aunt also works for a State Farm agent back in Missouri and told me that they get recommended to customers from Toyota as a preferred insurer.
     
  3. BrunoPuntzJones

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2012
    107
    28
    0
    Location:
    Texas
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    IV
    I insured mine on the 7th with Allstate and they had them in the system. Gave him the VIN and he said "a Prius?" and I said yeah.

    There's wild variability from person to person, but I'm paying $65 a month for 100/250/100 and $250 deductible. 32 y/o male with a clean record.
     
  4. p00kienrayray

    p00kienrayray Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2012
    720
    135
    0
    Location:
    Long Beach, CA
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    My friend insured his through State Farm. Gave them the VIN, and they said, "2012 Toyota Yaris? Ok, you're covered!"...lol
     
  5. wifemomhockeyfan

    wifemomhockeyfan Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2012
    34
    9
    0
    Location:
    Newman CA
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    N/A
    Ours came back as a Yaris too. They had to fix it in the system.
     
  6. PRPrius

    PRPrius Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2004
    327
    198
    2
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    That is odd, Progressive is charging me $76 or ($456 for 6 months) for my Prius Plug in Advance. The coverage I have is 250/500/250 with 250 deductible and 12,000 commuting miles a year.
     
  7. PRPrius

    PRPrius Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2004
    327
    198
    2
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius Plug-in
    Model:
    Plug-in Advanced
    I wonder if the insurance companies are having problems figuring out what the Prius C really is. I am willing to be that once they update their systems and properly categorize the Prius C, their rates will go down significantly.
     
  8. pmike

    pmike Member

    Joined:
    Feb 29, 2012
    233
    80
    0
    Location:
    Central Florida
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Check out Amica, if you can't get USAA they are probably the best you can get.

    Edit: My aunt in law has her own All State agency and didn't know about Amica. They don't advertise so its not hard to trim their cost. More info on them: Amica Insurance - About Amica. I now have Auto and Umbrella through Amica. They are not insuring Home in my area of Florida, I currently have ASI for that, but need to reshop.
     
  9. strongbad

    strongbad Member

    Joined:
    Oct 19, 2011
    170
    47
    0
    Location:
    Driggs, ID
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Insurance is a crooked game. Rates vary all over the place which forces you to call everyone. Then you find someone with a good rate, but it's just a come-on. After a few months they jack the price way up hoping you won't go shopping all over again, but I always do just out of anger at being jacked around. I eventually ended up with esurance. Allstate bought them out, however, and I doubt their rates will stay low.
     
  10. rmojo

    rmojo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 2, 2012
    12
    1
    0
    Location:
    WI
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Full coverage for a new Prius C at our State Farm office. $40 a month
     
  11. Ashley7

    Ashley7 Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 19, 2012
    545
    222
    0
    Location:
    Oregon
    Vehicle:
    2019 Prius
    Model:
    XLE
    Geico doesn't have the c in their online system yet (nor is the V, but they do have the plug-in). It doesn't recognize the VIN. I plan to call them to see what they want to do, but I noticed this when playing around with quotes: All options remaining the same, the quote when I called it a Yaris was over $50 higher than when I called it a Prius. I know it's only $8-9 a month, but still... Interesting.
     
  12. greeneggs

    greeneggs New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2012
    14
    2
    0
    Location:
    Northern VA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    Umm yeah, you don't understand insurance pricing.
     
  13. jge340456

    jge340456 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 4, 2012
    2
    0
    0
    Location:
    Ky
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I have had Farm Bureau for over 15 yrs. I asked them for ballpark quotes on a corolla and Prius C a couple weeks ago. They didn't know what a C was so they quoted a standard Prius. 100/300 w/$1000 deduct, 2012 corolla was $6?? For 6 months and Prius was $420 for 6 months. They assured me the C would be cheaper. The cheaper insurance helped sway me to decide on the C. Went to get insurance today and vin number wouldn't work with their system and after about a half hour on the phone with dealer they said $671 every 6 months. Im not very happy with FB and trying to get other quotes, but nobody seems to know was a Prius C is
     
  14. orangenerd

    orangenerd Junior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2012
    58
    1
    0
    Location:
    Lawton
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    the only place I found that recognized what a prius c was esurance
     
  15. yogipaolo

    yogipaolo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2012
    69
    8
    0
    Location:
    washington, dc
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I have one accident in 2009 that was my fault and cost just under a grand. No other accidents or speeding tickets.

    Liberty mutual quoted my at $4600 a year for a standard policy with no roadside assistance or rental car reimbursement. I asked the representative if someone bumped his or her head coming up with this quote. He mumbled some lame thing about "rates vary from place to place". They called me back a couple times, but with an offer like that, I don't want to talk to them. I also know how to manage risk based on history...

    GEICO is offering mechanical breakdown insurance, roadside assistance and rental reimbursement for the same rate I'm paying state farm. My state farm rep claims that GEICO quotes without considering accidents, then raises your rates in 6 months.

    Anyone have that experience with GEICO?

     
  16. greeneggs

    greeneggs New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 10, 2012
    14
    2
    0
    Location:
    Northern VA
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    uhhhh... you can trust a insurance rep just about as much as you can trust an auto sales man. They'll tell you anything to try and get you not to go somewhere else.

    If what your state farm rep claims is true and the department of insurance for your state finds out, they would tear a company a new one. No company wants that publicity, so your rep is mistaken.

    Geico's policy is 6 months long, so when you renew, your rates may vary if they have adjusted rates for your state. Rate adjustments is common for any company and any state, but they happen at an aggregate level, and won't be because your accidents were not counted the first time.

    If your rates ever change for some reason not your fault, you can switch to another company...
     
    1 person likes this.
  17. yogipaolo

    yogipaolo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2012
    69
    8
    0
    Location:
    washington, dc
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    This is excellent information. How would you suggest getting assurances from GEICO that their rate is accurate? I'm feeling a little bit pulled in different directions here and could use advice on figuring out which is the most accurate information.

    What would you do in my case? My agent suggested getting something in writing from GEICO.

     
  18. yogipaolo

    yogipaolo Junior Member

    Joined:
    Apr 1, 2012
    69
    8
    0
    Location:
    washington, dc
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    I managed to get state farm to reduce my premium to about 115 per month. Not ideal, but I had to promise not to drive more than 7500 miles in that six months.

    I'm not sure why these insurance companies want to rape me so badly. Rates seem to be incredibly high from all companies compared several people my age with similar histories. Driving that little will not be a problem because I have a motorcycle and don't commute to work.

    Still trying to figure out what is going on. I have had one accident in 15 years and that happened in 2009. I've had two moving violations in the past 10 years. And one DUI about 20 years ago. Does all that count? Am I singled out for as high risk DUI event two decades ago?

    Anyone with insight on how risk assessment in the insurance industry works? Wth is going on here...

     
  19. actiondonkey

    actiondonkey Member

    Joined:
    Mar 9, 2012
    91
    30
    0
    Location:
    Florida
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    II
    None of the insurance companies I contacted had the C in their system and the VIN brought up a Yaris or something else... They had to lookup and manually add in the specs which probably contributes to the great variance we see in the insurance rates. Of course all this manual input caused each quote to take about an hour, hence the reason I created this post to save you guys some time. Glad some of you found it helpful.
     
  20. Prudence_K

    Prudence_K New Member

    Joined:
    Apr 6, 2012
    17
    3
    0
    Location:
    Seattle
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    Hey all, I recently switched my insurance from Progressive to AAA (Travellers) because they gave me a really great rate on my Prius C, $712 for an entire year (paid in full discount included). Just a heads up to check out AAA if you haven't. I was with Progressive for 11 years but they were charging me $400 more a year AND the insurance coverage was worse.

    Note, I declined PIP and no rental car reimbursement.