Massive increase in car insurance

DrEskimo

I have a performance Model S, but can’t provide direct experience on the impact of a claim on my insurance premium.

My insurance cost did go down last renewal though, so would also agree the accidents are what are driving the cost increase, not simply that Tesla’s are becoming more expensive to insure generally.

I found that USwitch comparison site gave me cheaper quotes for the same companies compared to the other comparison sites (confused/meetkat/etc), so maybe something to look into.

GixerKate

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82185070#Comment_82185070

Not necessarily. Just because the driver was uninsured, the car itself sounds like it was insured so would have been able to claim against that. I had the same - I was hit by a uninsured driver who was driving his Dad's car. The car itself was insured so the process was very straight forward plus the driver got the book thrown at him.

UnsureAboutthis

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82185266#Comment_82185266

The uninsured driver incident, the idiot admitted straight away that the car wasn't his and that he was completely uninsured. Otherwise, the car was fully road-legal—TAX/MOT/registered at correct address/etc were up to date, and it was a decent-looking 2020 BMW 2 Series. He offered to pay us back weekly, but given our son had just bought a relatively new Tesla for nearly £43k, he was having none of that.

I realise how insurance works—as mentioned earlier, it’s purely a business—but I just wanted to hear from other Tesla owners who have a couple of claims under their belt to see what their renewals looked like. I can safely assume that if our son or daughter-in-law had actually been at fault, their quotes would be sitting closer to £5k or £6k!

Accidents happen, but driving without insurance, texting on a hand-held mobile, and ploughing into the back of a stationary car with young kids is another level. I would have called the police on the spot and had the culprit arrested, but our son said he felt sorry for the young lad (he was only about 22 to 25). I get it, but still. The main thing is that our son and his family weren't injured and were able to carry on with their trip to Cornwall.

So, has anyone else with a Tesla had to contact their insurer after an incident? What did your premiums look like on renewal?

I was actually considering getting a Tesla Model S Plaid—or honestly, any Tesla S would do for a local run around, ie older model—but reading up on insurance costs after making a claim has completely put me off, especially as I only intend to use it locally as a second car.

LeafGreen

Who is the policy with at present?

Firstly I'd give them a call to establish the status of each of the claims - specifically whether a full recovery has been made, or if one is likely to be made in the future. Have they been formally closed or are they still ongoing?

Next steps would depend on what they say. However, and this probably does depend on the company, it may be worth asking if it can be referred to an underwriter or manager, given the circumstances of each incident being clearly non-fault. It's quite a few years ago now but I used to work in motor underwriting and a specific part of my job was to do exactly this type of thing. Personally I do think it is unfair that most of the time there seems to be no distinction between avoidable and non-avoidable non-fault incidents.

By the way, if any of the claims are currently being treated as at fault because they are still ongoing and a full recovery has not (yet) been made, if a full recovery is made in the future, then if that is initially affecting the premium, a refund should be issued once settled in your favour.

tom192

Have you tried Adrian Flux? Worth a phone call, they have always been pretty good with me and you can speak to a human.

UnsureAboutthis

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82186009#Comment_82186009

Many thanks, Tom. I’ve just texted our son. He’s a very busy young man, but I imagine he’ll call his current insurer first, then try Direct Line, Aviva, and Adrian Flux if he has time to shop around.

Newbie_John

Even if he wasn't at fault on any of these occasions he can still be classified as risky driver by either driving a lot or often driving in collision hot spots.

Statistically he has a collision once every 1.5 years, drives a more expensive car. So insurers see him as very likely to have another one soon which this time could be his fault / shared fault.

Also the car had three collisions - so also may be seen as one that can break down and cause another collision..

All I can say is thats not a fair system to all.

He could always try to change his car to second hand micra - Im sure the price will be lower.

ThorOdinson

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82184809#Comment_82184809

This is why it's important to add increased insurance costs to your claim when it's not your fault. Probably too late for the OP though.

dnpark38

@ThorOdinson

I had a not my fault accident earlier this year and other driver admitted it was their fault. My Insurer asked me to claim against their Insurer if I did this I would pay no excess and my no claims bonus would not be effected. I asked if my next premium would increase and they said not their decision but the renewals dept. in due course which in fact is next month.

So I could not have earlier this year added any change in my next premium if there is to be any.

MattMattMattUK

A friend was involved in one at fault and two no fault accidents in a year, most mainstream insurers give him a price of several thousand, he has to go to a specialist as he is seen as a high risk.