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High Insurance costs on 2004 Prius?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by FredWB, Dec 13, 2003.

  1. FredWB

    FredWB New Member

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    I just received my insurance bill from Wawanesa. Where my wife's new Acura RSX (160 hp) costs $355., the new BC Prius is going to cost a whopping $555! The comprehensive coverage for the two vehicles is $146 and $233 respectively. The Bodily injury is $72 and $115 respectively. Property damage is $63 and $101. I have $500 deductible too. Virtually everything is much much higher for the Prius. And it's not all due to the cost because our 1994 Acura Integra is $409. Anyone else experiencing insurance shock like me. I know where my fuel savings is going to go now!
     
  2. dismack

    dismack Junior Member

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    DAMN!!! I wish I had :guns: insuranace rates like that here in jersey, I got quoted at 5k :cussing: :guns: :cussing: :cussing: :cussing:

    -John.
     
  3. FredWB

    FredWB New Member

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    Well I guess I won't get any sympathy from you! 5K!!!!! I think I'd walk, well maybe not in the winter.
     
  4. Wolfman

    Wolfman New Member

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    Odd. My 03 Prius was cheaper than my VUE.
     
  5. tag

    tag Senior Member

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    My suggestion is this:

    Get some auto insurance quotes online. I tried Progressive with an 04 Camry and Prius; the Prius was cheaper (only a few bucks but still cheaper).

    Real names, e-mail addresses, street addresses, social security numbers, etc., are typically not necessary. Just fill in all of the fields with bogus information. Not 100% accurate but should get you in the right ballpark.
     
  6. FredWB

    FredWB New Member

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    OK I did that. Progressive was $1487 verses $1319 I'm paying at Wawanesa for the 3 cars. The reason Progressive was so high was that the RSX was very high even though it was entered as pleasure use only. The 94 Acura was 1 mile to work for my wife. The Prius was 11 miles. The Prius coverage was very low, about $175 less than the 2003 RSX and about the same as the 94 Integra.
     
  7. FredWB

    FredWB New Member

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    I just got word that NHTSA plan to crash test the 2004 Prius in Feb 2004. After their engineers and Toyota's review the data and determine fairness, it should be made public for use by Insurance companies. Hope that helps.
     
  8. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    I dream of insurance that is that low for me. My MR2 Spyder's insurance is killing me.
     
  9. tag

    tag Senior Member

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    I also dream of low rates. With a youthful driver in the family, my monthly auto insurance (on auto-debit) looks more like a car payment.
     
  10. cybele

    cybele New Member

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    Los Angeles Insurance Costs (one example)

    Of course the insurance costs are going to vary due to many, many reasons. Location, your age, driving history, car or cars insured, how much you drive, where you keep your car, etc.

    I live in Los Angeles (a 900XX zip code). I'm replacing a nearly 10 year old (lesser) car and upping my coverage from 30/60/50 to 100/300/50. I'm married, have a house, drive 7,500K or less per year and have been a licensed driver with a clean record for more than 15 years.

    My Tideland BI got me a discount because of the ABS and additional airbags.

    That said, my insurance is going from $506 for 6 months to $780. Yes, it's a big jump, but it's not an apples to apples comparison. It's a little more than my husband's 2001 Saab. (But his car is a few years old.)

    Basically, I'm doing everything right, I'm not driving a lot, I've got all the safety features (except the VSC) and have combined coverage but because I live in the city of Los Angeles, I find my insurance rates to be absolutely ridiculous.

    I'm only offering this as a touchstone for other folks curious about
    the insurance costs associated with the prius.
     
  11. tag

    tag Senior Member

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    Re: Los Angeles Insurance Costs (one example)

    Ditto, and I'm in a (very) quiet suburb of Chicago with a family that has zero claims in the last 10 years, no tickets or infractions, etc.

    Let's face it, the primary problem is that these insurance companies haven't been able to get a decent return on their investment over the past few years because of the low interest rates and they're taking it out on us. :cussing:
     
  12. blubrid

    blubrid New Member

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    Insurance on my '04 Prius is exactly the same per year as the 1998 Mazda Millenia it replaced. While the Millenia was a much more luxurious car in its day, it's blue book value, retail, was only about $10k versus $20k plus for the new Prius.
     
  13. FredWB

    FredWB New Member

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    For what it's worth I call Wawanesa the the $555 is the price. They are not going to lower that or change it when the crash test results are in. I was in error comparing it to my RSX, since that is for pleasure use only. I can only compare to the 1994 Integra which is $409 with the same coverages.
     
  14. JeffG

    JeffG New Member

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    I traded in a 2002 Solara convertible for my Prius. The insurance went down $54 a year.
     
  15. Bob Allen

    Bob Allen Captainbaba

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    I checked with State Farm about the increase I could expect from buying a Ford Focus wagon or a Toyota Prius. The Focus would up the rate by 28 bucks a month; the Prius, by 40 bucks. Considering that my present car is a 1991 Escort wagon, I felt the increase to be quite reasonable. I didn't inquire about a possibly lower increase should I get a Prius with the added safety features. This is in the Seattle area; single owner, no kids on policy. I have had very good service from State Farm for more than 35 years. I'll let you all know if the actual, genuine, DELIVERED, Prius actually costs this little to insure....
    Bob
     
  16. DaveG

    DaveG Member

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    Location:
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    This is for Vancouver, Canada, but my rates are:

    $750 for basic (mandatory) insurance (this includes my %43 safe driver discount).

    +

    $850 for extended insurance:

    -$2,000,000 3rd party liability
    -Collision (anything that hits car, or gets hit by car)
    -Comprehensive (any damage to car while it's not moving, theft, etc)
    -Full Replacement Value for first 3 years

    All-told, it's only up $500 from my previous car, which was a '87 Corolla. Not too bad considering how happy I am with the new one.

    Dave
     
  17. mikepaul

    mikepaul Senior Member

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    My Allstate 6-month policy went up $146 over what I was paying for a 1999 Kia Sephia.

    I'm grandfathered into a $100 collision deductible, which I refuse to raise to save money...
     
  18. tag

    tag Senior Member

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    Is this different in Canada? Typically, down in the lower 48, wild animal hits (e.g. deer) are considered a comprehensive loss.
     
  19. rockluvr

    rockluvr New Member

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    You definitely have to do your research to get the best auto rates - they vary wildly for the same coverage. I just went through this exercise and some rates that I had a quote for were DOUBLE other rates. I found those companies that advertise low rates like Geico, Progressive had some of the highest rates. In the end I went with a regional affiliate of Liberty Mutual - Colorado Casualty from an agent who works with several companies and compares them to get you the best rate. With full coverage on the Prius with a $500 ded and 100/300/100 coverage, my premium for 6 months is $244. This was actually less than for my 1993 Subaru Legacy. For one thing be sure to mention all the safety features - ABS, side and curtain air bags, and the passive anti-theft key (I'm talking about the regular key not SE/SS). When you take the key out of the car, it automatically sets the alarm so that counts as a passive anti-theft which got me 15% off! Yes, they say all of that is listed as part of the VIN number, but it isn't as I got the discount only after I told the agent about it. My advice is to shop around if you want to save money and ask about all possible discounts.
     
  20. dismack

    dismack Junior Member

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    I live in New Jersey, and unforuntally, we are VERY VERY limited to where we can get auto insurance because of peoples greed. Its very unfortunate that some suffer because others want a free ride threw life.

    :cussing: :cussing: :cussing: