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Northwest Tesla Auto Insurance

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I will be taking delivery on a Tesla Model S 80D in late March. I have checked with my current auto insurance carrier, only to learn that they do not have Tesla on their insurable list. So, I am going to have to seek other sources.
It occurred to me that possibly someone here with the Tesla Motors Club in the Northwest might have some good counsel for me.
 
I used to use National Merit (when I first insured my Roadster, it wasn't in their database but they just asked me the purchase price and insured it with no fuss). Now I use PEMCO. (One of the things I like about Pemco is that not only do they score fairly high on customer satisfaction, but auto repair shops like working with them too). Both seem to insure Teslas at decent rates.

There's been a thread like this before; there are many companies being used and most people are happy with the company they have. There are only a few that people have problems with.
 
Just before taking delivery of our P85+ checked with the company we had been with for over 35 years. They called back a few hours later with a quote of over $4100.00 per year. We are members of AARP so checked with them, the carrier they use quoted $751.00 per year for both the Tesla and my 50 year old show truck. Will see how it goes in a few months when re-up time is here. If you qualify age wise give AARP a shot.
 
Check with the Tesla-approved repair shop in your area - find out who's good at actually paying up on claims. They'll be able to give you several companies - then pick from them.

I actually ended up doing this. But I want to caution that what they tell you may not necessarily be in your best interest. When I called they told me to stay away from Liberty Mutual due to a recent situation with a customer. I ended up finding out who that situation was with. Liberty Mutual ended up giving them a very fair valuation that let them replace the car. So keep in mind just because the body shop says a given insurer won't pay for repairs, doesn't mean the owner lost out. It may very well be in your best interest to total out a car and get a replacement. It may also not be. It really comes down to your tolerance for waiting for a new vehicle to be produced and what the insurance company pays.

I ended up buying insurance from PEMCO as a result of my research and the recommendation of the body shop.
 
Over the course of 20 months of ownership, I've had 3 different insurance companies. I started with American Family (I think) then switched to Geico for about $1000 less. Then my new wife and I combined policies under Pemco for about $500 less again. She's been with Pemco for a long time and loves them.
 
The guy I use at Pemco has an office near Alderwood Mall, I think (I've never been there; I've only communicated with him over email). His contact info is:

[FONT=&quot]Kelly McClintock [/FONT][FONT=&quot]| Direct Insurance Agent | PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company
ph. 425-712-7854 | 1-800-467-3626 ext. 7854 | fax 206-268-2693
kelly.mcclintock (at) pemco.com[/FONT]
 
Thanks to all of you who have responded to my initial inquiry.
Pemco will not insure for anyone over the age of 76. That leaves out both me and my wife.
Costco/Ameriprise quote is much higher than a couple other quotes I have with both State Farm and Allstate. But, coverage bundled with homeowners seems reasonable with both of these carriers.
Progressive also offered a fairly reasonable quote.
Several of the carriers I have contacted would not offer coverage on the Model S Performance car. Since I have no interest in drag racing a Dodge Hellcat, I have ordered the standard Model S 85D. Also interesting that none of the carriers contacted recognized a model year of 2015 but do the 2014. Presently, I am leaning toward Allstate.
 
A few weeks prior to delivery, I settled on MetLife, however, after several premium changes without consulting me, I became disgusted with the runaround, found a different agent and am now with SAFECO, for about $500 less/year than MetLife finally wanted. My 85D arrived on 3/26/15. Now trying to absorb all the many features and enjoying every minute of it.
 
Safeco turned out to be the cheapest for me so far. I'm going to call around some more this week and see if anyone can beat their price. (2250/yr for home, 2 cars and an umbrella)

Has anyone had any experience with Safeco claims in general, or any claims for a Tesla? I see a lot of bad reviews of Safeco online especially with claims and I'm wondering if it's worth spending $800 more per year for a different insurance provider.

Thanks,
Tec
 
For others, here's my experience with shopping for insurance in Seattle. I'm shopping two cars, a KIA and my forthcoming S85. I'm also shopping home owners insurance and an umbrella policy so some of these auto prices have multi-line discounts.

The table below is just for the automotive portion only.

My wife and I are in our 30s, no other drivers.

These should be all apples to apples quotes similar coverage, rental car and roadside assistance, low deductibles and high coverage amounts. Safeco and Nationwide have newer car replacement.

CompanyYearly cost for both cars
Allied$2100
AllstateWon't cover Tesla
Costco (Ameriprise)$2320
Esurance$1728 (Won't cover Tesla)
Geico$2600
Mutual of Enumclaw$2900
Nationwide$2370
Progressive$2360
Safeco$1440
State Farm$2200
 
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AllState does cover Tesla. I have coverage from them just fine. My price for Model S (85, not D, not P) is $1388 for 1 year. We are in 40s, no "teen" drivers etc. NO rental coverage (I got other car, fortunately), $500 deductible for collision, $100 for comprehensive deductible, 500k Bodily/100k property coverage.
 
Thanks for all the details.

I pay $1732 a year with PEMCO to cover both of our Teslas. My wife and I are early 50s, no other drivers. The coverage is pretty good, but we do have a $5k deductible.

According to checkbook.org, PEMCO is above average in every area they checked, including near the top (behind USAA, at least) in three areas that I think are key: "simplicity of claim procedures", "complaint rates", and "shops giving favorable ratings".

Tecmage, you asked about Safeco. According to checkbook, they range from a little above to a little below average in most areas. But they do poorly in the "shops giving favorable ratings" area. In once sense you may not care about that, but I do know some people that needed repairs that had extremely long waits due to insurance wrangling, so how important that is to you may depend on your need for/access to other vehicles.
 
AllState does cover Tesla. I have coverage from them just fine. My price for Model S (85, not D, not P) is $1388 for 1 year. We are in 40s, no "teen" drivers etc. NO rental coverage (I got other car, fortunately), $500 deductible for collision, $100 for comprehensive deductible, 500k Bodily/100k property coverage.

Thanks Tokuro, I think their policy might have changed, esurance originally quoted me a figure, then I received this message today. "I have received a message this morning from our underwriting department that due to original MSRP being over the threshold that we write unfortunately we would not be able to insure your new 2015 Tesla model. I apologize for the inconvenience."

Considering they're owned by Allstate the rules might have changed, or I just over configured my S 85 and it's over some internal threshold of their underwriters. I will call a local Allstate agent and check on the rules when I get some time.

Thanks,
Tec

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Thanks for all the details.

I pay $1732 a year with PEMCO to cover both of our Teslas. My wife and I are early 50s, no other drivers. The coverage is pretty good, but we do have a $5k deductible.

According to checkbook.org, PEMCO is above average in every area they checked, including near the top (behind USAA, at least) in three areas that I think are key: "simplicity of claim procedures", "complaint rates", and "shops giving favorable ratings".

Tecmage, you asked about Safeco. According to checkbook, they range from a little above to a little below average in most areas. But they do poorly in the "shops giving favorable ratings" area. In once sense you may not care about that, but I do know some people that needed repairs that had extremely long waits due to insurance wrangling, so how important that is to you may depend on your need for/access to other vehicles.

Wow, thank you for checking checkbook.org, that was the type of information I was looking for. I think that I can deal with around average for the price of Safeco. I did ask one of the agents I was working with to quote PEMCO and he priced them, said they wouldn't be competitive with the other quotes he ran for me and I didn't ask for a figure. He did mention he has seen more issues with them recently something to do with raising premiums and service going downhill. Have you experienced any unusual premium increases over the last few years? He mentioned some clients going up by 10% or more every year for the past 4 years.
 
Tecmage, you asked about Safeco. According to checkbook, they range from a little above to a little below average in most areas. But they do poorly in the "shops giving favorable ratings" area. In once sense you may not care about that, but I do know some people that needed repairs that had extremely long waits due to insurance wrangling, so how important that is to you may depend on your need for/access to other vehicles.

The body shop Tesla pointed at me when I researched said to avoid Safeco, but recommended Pemco. Pemco ended up being the cheapest for me.