Insurance for the Prius C is more expensive

I think it's because it's Japanese. It's $1.50 more a month over my Passat. A used 2012 only drops it a $0.25. A 2008 Maxima is the same too. My M is $12.50 more a month.

 

My c costs about $240 every 6 months through Geico. I consider that fairly cheap, though I just have the bare minimum coverage and my bank won't let me raise my deductible past $500, otherwise I'd max that out to to lower the cost some more. I also have full coverage because the bank requires it for the loan.

I haven't really shopped around lately, but again, I'm not too worried about the price. If it goes up for no apparent reason though, like it did with Progressive on my Honda Civic a few years back (no tickets or accidents on my part, and when I called them, and paraphrasing what they said, it's "because the drivers in your area suck, we're raising everyone's rates there"), I'll definitely start looking around again.

I've been hearing that insurance companies lately have also been looking at your credit score to determine your rate as well. While it doesn't bother me personally because my credit score is good (always paid bills on time), I'm wondering why they need that for car insurance.

 

Insurance companies have always done statistical analysis on claims, looking for correlations between customer profiles and claims paid. Somewhere along the line a program kicked out a statistically significant link between credit score and claim dollars paid, and the insurance companies adjusted premiums accordingly.

Nothing personal...

 

Mine is Cross insurance, I set all my deductibles to the minimum, and I have gap coverage. I pay $970 per year.

 

I have Mercury and my premiums went down by swapping Prius's into my policy.

 

I have USAA - got rid of a 2000 Ford focus zx3 & picked up a 2014 C3. Insurance went up $3.25 a month. I can live with that.

 

We happened to have a good size group this morning waiting for Watkins Glen qualifying.
State Farm, Nationwide and Farm bureau coverage all went down unless accidents or violations involved. Most of us have multiple cars and trucks so the 6 month premiums are only thing from memory.The insurance risk level appears pretty normal.
Never heard of Mercury so I supect they are sensitive to small cars being more risk of injuries than old Oldsmobiles.
You're headed the right way; get quotes from established companies like State Farm, Nationwide and Liberty Mutual. Don't think Farm Bureau is in CA.

 

We use USAA for the Prius, and 2005 Chevy Silverado 1500 4x4. CA- AAA has our Home insurance, Earthquake insurance, and our 1969 Buick Skylark "stated value- classic car policy", but to bring the other cars back onto AAA, (left them 3 years ago after a ticket and HUGE increase), it would only save me $40 bucks a year to jump on their "lower teaser rate" to get all my business back with them, (that would probably go up more than $50 the next renewal). AAA has this very annoying need for you to send them a form with the current vehicle mileage, for every car, every policy renewal, which for us = 3 times, for 3 cars, which = a real pain! (USAA does not require this yearly form). When we swapped out the new 2014 Prius, for the out going 2013 Dodge Dart, the difference was under $10 of an increase with USAA!

Progressive has the Best RV insurance I have found as it has "Contents insurance" that you can set limits on, (covering things such as lap tops, TV's, etc), and it even covers things locked to the outside of your trailer, such as bikes, or a Honda Generator. (Always take a cell photo of what is locked up, so you have proof to show it was in fact locked up!) Better yet, their policy is cheaper than the rest that have no contents insurance! (Yet their car insurance is higher than both AAA and USAA for us!)

 

Hi and Congrats. Welcome to the family. It must be Calivornia rates are very hi. I traded in a 2010 Mini Cooper s when I purchased my Prius. My Insurance never changed. Keep checking around. Enjoy your Prius.

 

That's about what I pay a year I also have Gap.

 

Another ringing endorsement for USAA here. If you're able to get a quote, it's worth the time.

 

The insurance is more expensive because the CAR is more expensive.
They're also more expensive to fix if you ding them.

If your insurance company is raising your rates year over year and you have no claims and a clean driving record for the last 5 years you DO need to shop around.
Some insurance companies are (in)famous for low-balling the initial quote and raising your rates thereafter (liiiiiike Progressive.)

Good Luck!

 

I am also shocked by the Prius C insurance rates. My bad on not looking into this before the purchase. I previously owned a 2001 Honda Civic 4 door sedan and my payments were $536 per year! This car in Hawaii is going to cost around $1300 per year. Shocker! Not cool. This car does not deserve sports car insurance rates- DOES NOT DRIVE LIKE A SPORTS CAR- which is why I like it.

 

I have USAA, my C cost me $5 a month less than the 14.5 camry

 

Speaking of my area here in Manitoba province of Manitoba, I had traded my 2010 Honda civic sedan paying $167 per month insurance to my new 2015 Prius c2, and I'm now paying $152 per month. Crazy I know.

 

I have Progressive on my old car (full coverage with $99 deductible) for $50/month, but it went up to $180 when I tried to add my Prius, so I started a separate policy with Geico for $70/month with a $100 deductible. Unfortunately, I still have my old car, but I was shocked and angry when I got the first quotes for the Prius.

 

My insurance went up about 50 bucks a month going from a 2013 civic si to my 2014 prius c. When I asked them how that was possible Progressive told me a prius is more expensive to repair. I switched to geico the next day and saved about 500 a year!

 

Here in Quebec Canada, annual prices for the Prius: $325cdn
Price went up $20 from a 2008 Honda Fit.
There some advantages to being 50 and owning more than one car

 

I'm also in SoCal and with Mercury. They raised my full cover rates by about 25%, from under $800 to over $1k a year about 3 months ago. I've never been in an at-fault accident, never had a claim in 20+ years of being with Mercury and no tickets since early 2000's. I called them to ask why, but they wouldn't talk to me. They said I'll have to ask my agent. The agent gave me a story about some proposition that was passed a year ago here in CA and said everyone's rates had been affected and that my policy was just catching up because it was renewal time. I didn't buy her story so I Googled around for news articles, reports of consumers screaming, etc. but found nothing to corroborate the claim. Maybe it's true but I found nothing. I ended up dropping full coverage and went with bare minimum liability for just over $500 a year. Anyway, first chance I get from my hectic work, I'll start calling around for better rates. Life's too short to play fiddle to an insurance company that doesn't have time to talk to its customers.

Also, I don't understand the comment above about Prius Cs costing more to repair if you ding it. Is that true? More than say a Corolla or a Matrix? Why would that be? Is the Prius C's body made differently or from different materials than a regular, non-hybrid sub-compact? Just wondering.