Does the Pulse & Glide technique work....

Interesting that AAA hiked the rate simply because you have a Prius. The rates on our insurance really did not go up that much. We went from a two year old full size Chrysler Van to a Gen II Prius a few years ago and only saw a $15 dollar increase. I would be interested to know what you had before you went to the Prius. Perhaps the vehicle's value was considerably lower than the Prius is. The full size Prius is not a cheap econobox. It is a rather expensive mid size five door hatchback that depending on the model and or package of your car can range anywhere from $19K to almost $30K new.

Ron (dorunron)

 

My 6-month premium went up $165.49 vs my 16-year old Montana van.

 

Okay, now we are getting to where the rubber meets the road. The reason for your insurance increase was indeed due to the value of said vehicle you were insuring versus the value of the new vehicle. This is common in the insurance industry. It stands to reason that if something is more expensive, it would be logical for the premium of insurance to be higher.

Thanks for clarification of the previous vehicle.

Ron

 

You're welcome, Ron. My agent said it has nothing to do with the high-mpg crowd unless they start having more accidents that drive up rates. It's not like the difference horsepower can make when buying a Camaro, Mustang of the 705-hp Hell Fire Challenger.

 

If you will go to You Tube there are a couple of good videos that will explain it pretty good. Just type in "how to drive a Prius" and the videos will come up.

 

I believe my insurance went up about $150/6 months with State Farm. 2 adults, no kids, drive less than 12K miles/year, replaced $10K value car with $22K value Prius Three (before going to the PiP)

 

I just traded my 2011 Prius Two in on a 2014 Avalon Hybrid XLE Touring, a much more expensive car than the Prius and my premium just increased $5.00 every 6 months.

 

I have and have had, 3 relatively late model cars. The oldest now is my sons hand me down '08 corolla from me. My wife, going from a 2001 CR-V to a 2012 CR-V made hardly any difference. Maybe 200.00 per year. I just got last months receipt in the mail today. My monthly premiums went from $296.xx per month to $387.xx per month with the same coverage that I keep on all my cars. I have never had this big a jump in payments and the total value of all my cars has always been relatively consistant.

To whoever posted about "AAA raising my rates", no, THEY didn't, but the insurance industry has been made aware of blogs and videos posted that encourage "California stops", or rolling through stop signs, and other habits of us who specifically drive Prii by them, and are encouraged to do so. I found out by a story from another "Green/Hybrid vehicle" type site about AAA's concerns as I was perusing the internet after I bought mine. If I can find which site, and the rant about it, I will gladly post a link but I can't remember the name of the site off the top of my head.

 

I guess I should have asked my State Farm agent what the change would have been had a bought a Toyota Sienna to replace my van. Then I'd know how much of the $165 change might have been because it was a Prius. I imagine location might make a difference too.

 

I think probably insurance rates have just gone up in general in the past couple of years. I know mine has. I have USAA.

 

Look for the following "Comparison of Differences in Insurance Costs for Passenger Cars, Stations Wagons, Passenger Vans, Pickups, and Utility Vehicles on the Basis of Damage Susceptibility", DOT HS 812 039, June 2014:

	class	average $/vehicle	model	avg $
1	4-door models	$107	Prius hybrid	$100
2	4-door models	$107	Prius plug-in hybrid	$116
3	4-door models	$107	Prius C hybrid	$123
4	station wagons	$97	Prius V hybrid	$103

So the answer is 'it depends' and given this is an NHTSA publication, well worth using to open negotiations with your current or next insurance company.

Bob Wilson

 

Does the Pulse & Glide technique work.... | Page 2 | PriusChat

My 2010 Prius was just totaled and what I learned about Prius insurance pretty much makes your statement 100% wrong.

Fist off, insurance companies set rates using data, not reports published by AAA. Secondly, what insurance companies are finding is that Prius owners in certain parts of the country are lying about their annual mileage, especially if they've had a recent change of address. We're talking people going from insuring a car at around 12k miles a year to people moving and buying a Prius and putting 18K on the car annually. More driving = more chances for something bad to happen (accidents, tickets, etc.)

Another thing happening with the Prius is the demand for a used one is high which means the replacement value for a total loss is higher. This is what happens when a car retains its resale value. My 2010 Prius retained 78% over 4 years.

 

When I added the Prius to our policy, I specifically asked about miles driven. They have a rate for under 7,500 (which I get for my Dakota) and over 7,500. I specifically asked if 12,000 or 18,000 made a difference and was told it doesn't. They do have a rate for higher miles driven, but I didn't get a specific number. I think I'll send them an email just to double-check. They have sent me a request for my odometer readings in the past.

 

What insurance company do you have if you don't mind revealing it? Just curious.

 

I have State Farm and I just got a reply to my email that confirmed my Dakota gets a discount for <7,500 miles and I'll have no problem with my Prius whether I drive 12,000, 18,000 or more miles per year.

I think the survey I got was for the Dakota to verify that I was not driving over the 7,500. I average <3,500 miles per year.

 

I have an acquaintance that works for Toyota. He says they can't give away used Hybrids so they wholesale them off after 30 days. I was thinking of trading mine in on a Civic about 3 months after I bought it only to find my $26,500 Prius had a trade in value (according to KBB I believe) was $18k and change (68% of its value and it had less than 2k miles on it). When my son had to enter a private school several years back I traded my 3 month old Civic EX with about the same amount of miles for a much cheaper base model Sentra and they gave me the payoff amount for it in trade. I have never been upside down in a Honda and I have owned 4 in the last 15 years. Every single time I have checked they were worth more than I owed so I was quite surprised when I got the Prius and saw the drastic drop in value. My son totaled my wife's 12 year old CR-V and I got $8500.00, after my $500.00 deductible, from the ins company, on a vehicle I paid $20,000 for. 12 years old with 140k miles and it still retained almost 50% of its value.

 

I see. That makes sense that you would have received a survey in your situation. I had State Farm for 50 years and I never received a survey. Obviously it was because I did not have a second vehicle or even the one vehicle I owned that I claimed such low miles driven per year. I now have USAA. Thanks for your response. Appreciate it.

 

No problem, I have no trouble sharing such info. I checked USAA when I switched from Liberty to State Farm, but they were higher. Before that they wouldn't accept enlisted retirees and that's still a sore point.

 

I was enlisted also so I can see your point. Of course now they have changed that. Funny how companies change their rules when they need more customers, they will almost take anyone when they need the money.

 

Yes, and my friends roll their eyes when I tell them some of the things I do on principle, the least of which is not buy insurance from USAA for just that reason.
Might not mean anything, but Kadena AFB on Okinawa was my first assignment way back in 1967, so I like the moniker you use.