4 ms·

Is this just a UK thing? I pay $160/mo to insure my Model 3 and I didn't even really shop around for a good deal.

ceejayoz 3y ago
My dad saw (here in the US) a fairly hefty insurance bump going from a bells-and-whistles Acura to a Tesla Model 3. The single-cast underbody is a big and expensive single thing to repair if it gets damaged, as is the battery. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42709679/tesla-insurance-fixes-expense/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42709679/tesla-insurance-...
- aetherson 3y ago
  Okay, sure. But £5,000 is like $17million (okay, it's $6000), and why on God's green earth does anyone's car insurance cost $6k per year?
  - robga 3y ago
    Due to a mathematical actuarial assessment of the risk of the individual circumstances: driver risk- age, driving history, speeding history, gender, claim history, post(zip)code for theft prevalence, car storage location (street); vehicle risk- cost, claim history, etc. then add a premium to make the insurer its profit. My bet is that the quote wasn’t an error or a deliberate tilt against EVs but instead a real assessment based on modelled risk.
- notacoward 3y ago
  So this is Tesla specific? I've certainly seen no such thing with my Nissan Leaf in the US.
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    The casting may be, but the Leaf definitely has a big battery too.
toomuchtodo 3y ago
All of my Teslas have gone up $30-$50/month in Florida within the last six months, but more of an artifact of the FL insurance market (25% of Florida drivers are uninsured and the cost of both parts and labor have gone up significantly) vs EV/Tesla specific.
- martinald 3y ago
  Potentially getting slightly off topic but how is that possible? In the UK the police can check insurance status just by typing the registration number into an app, which can be connected to ANPR (I know ANPR is contentious in the US). Couldn't you just have a couple of officers stand and type the registration in of all passing cars? They'd make a fortune in fines (which I know US police depts like) if 25% of drivers were uninsured?
  - HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
    It wouldn't make any difference. While you are required to have at least liability insurance in most US states, I can tell you that here in MN there is no link between your insurance status and vehicle registration. When you register a vehicle, they ask for a policy number and expiration date. As long as that date is in the future, the registration will be issued. I know this because there have been times when I couldn't be bothered to look up my insurance policy and just made something up (at work, couldn't log into insurance site for some reason, etc.). Cars registered just fine.
  - toomuchtodo 3y ago
    Not enough law enforcement for a variety of reasons, and people don’t buy insurance because of poverty. Can’t cite or ticket a car with no plate, illegible plate, etc and you’re not getting a fine out of someone who can barely afford their car already (no insurance). Complex socioeconomic issues as usual. I don’t plan on staying too much longer.
    - extraduder_ire 3y ago
      This is another large distinction. IIRC for quite a few years now, if you're found driving without insurance in the UK, the car is confiscated and crushed into a cube. I may be confusing that with another "driving without $THING" offence. That might not work too good where you can get a new shitbox automobile for less than insurance costs.
veqq 3y ago
160/mo seems very expensive. I pay $900/yr for my parents' car.
- salad-tycoon 3y ago
  If you live in US you may be surprised at how state dependent this is, eg, my current state car insurance costs as much as my last states house mortgage (same cars and history), ie much more expensive and kinda makes me wish I had kept the house for our cars registrations.
  - Kirby64 3y ago
    Not just state, but zip code. Costs if you live downtown in a bigger city are likely to be much higher than if you lived in a rural area. It just has to do with density, how likely you are to make a claim, etc.

My dad saw (here in the US) a fairly hefty insurance bump going from a bells-and-whistles Acura to a Tesla Model 3. The single-cast underbody is a big and expensive single thing to repair if it gets damaged, as is the battery. https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42709679/tesla-insurance-fixes-expense/ https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a42709679/tesla-insurance-...

aetherson 3y ago
Okay, sure. But £5,000 is like $17million (okay, it's $6000), and why on God's green earth does anyone's car insurance cost $6k per year?
- robga 3y ago
  Due to a mathematical actuarial assessment of the risk of the individual circumstances: driver risk- age, driving history, speeding history, gender, claim history, post(zip)code for theft prevalence, car storage location (street); vehicle risk- cost, claim history, etc. then add a premium to make the insurer its profit. My bet is that the quote wasn’t an error or a deliberate tilt against EVs but instead a real assessment based on modelled risk.
notacoward 3y ago
So this is Tesla specific? I've certainly seen no such thing with my Nissan Leaf in the US.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  The casting may be, but the Leaf definitely has a big battery too.

toomuchtodo 3y ago

All of my Teslas have gone up $30-$50/month in Florida within the last six months, but more of an artifact of the FL insurance market (25% of Florida drivers are uninsured and the cost of both parts and labor have gone up significantly) vs EV/Tesla specific.

martinald 3y ago
Potentially getting slightly off topic but how is that possible? In the UK the police can check insurance status just by typing the registration number into an app, which can be connected to ANPR (I know ANPR is contentious in the US). Couldn't you just have a couple of officers stand and type the registration in of all passing cars? They'd make a fortune in fines (which I know US police depts like) if 25% of drivers were uninsured?
- HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago
  It wouldn't make any difference. While you are required to have at least liability insurance in most US states, I can tell you that here in MN there is no link between your insurance status and vehicle registration. When you register a vehicle, they ask for a policy number and expiration date. As long as that date is in the future, the registration will be issued. I know this because there have been times when I couldn't be bothered to look up my insurance policy and just made something up (at work, couldn't log into insurance site for some reason, etc.). Cars registered just fine.
- toomuchtodo 3y ago
  Not enough law enforcement for a variety of reasons, and people don’t buy insurance because of poverty. Can’t cite or ticket a car with no plate, illegible plate, etc and you’re not getting a fine out of someone who can barely afford their car already (no insurance). Complex socioeconomic issues as usual. I don’t plan on staying too much longer.
  - extraduder_ire 3y ago
    This is another large distinction. IIRC for quite a few years now, if you're found driving without insurance in the UK, the car is confiscated and crushed into a cube. I may be confusing that with another "driving without $THING" offence. That might not work too good where you can get a new shitbox automobile for less than insurance costs.

veqq 3y ago

160/mo seems very expensive. I pay $900/yr for my parents' car.

salad-tycoon 3y ago
If you live in US you may be surprised at how state dependent this is, eg, my current state car insurance costs as much as my last states house mortgage (same cars and history), ie much more expensive and kinda makes me wish I had kept the house for our cars registrations.
- Kirby64 3y ago
  Not just state, but zip code. Costs if you live downtown in a bigger city are likely to be much higher than if you lived in a rural area. It just has to do with density, how likely you are to make a claim, etc.