Insuring a Prius

I do not know have not checked lately. I was thinking the tool was for 2013 new model and I was just getting deltas. I heard on WTOP radio yesterday that DC is 2nd highest to NJ on car insurance and average was $1000+. They said VA was among cheapest at $675 average. But this tool is for new cars. I never lived in DC but I lived in NJ so I know what's going on there...when we moved we had 3 law suits hanging over us basically for little fender benders we did not even cause in some cases.

 

^^^ Now that I think about it, that's probably about right. When I moved to DC from MD, my insurance went up quite a bit on my old car. I have Progressive and save 26% on my insurance using snapshot (it really works!), but if I didn't, I would be paying about $1100 annually for the Prius.

VA's insurance might be cheap, but they also get you with those pesky annual auto taxes, right? That is crazy about the lawsuits in NJ. I am worried people are becoming overly litigious. Do we all need dash cams?

 

OK Progressive one for Flo nice! Don't get me started on VA car tax I'm the No.1 critic. If you haven't seen my new song yet check out "I'm dreamin' of a White Prius" over on Fred's House of Pancakes (or just Google it).

Have a good one!

 

I can't remember how much, but my Prius is more expensive to insure than my wife's Outback, and the Outback was $10k more when new and is only a year older. Part of it is that I actually admit how much driving I do to USAA, but part of it has to be the car.

Of course with that said, insurance on my old Civic was way too much for what it was. I always attributed it to the fact it is a perennial favorite on the "most stolen cars" list. 2000 Civic coupe in particular. No tickets or accidents on my record, so it isn't that.

Interesting to hear someone using that Progressive monitoring device. I figured the awful nature of driving in the DC Metro would freak out the Progressive computer analyzing your driving. Whether I like it or not, I'm frequently slamming on the brakes (cut off), sometimes flooring it to get away from rolling hazards I come across or to utilize a gap in traffic to get into the lane I need in gridlock.

 

I really can't recommend it enough... I got it when I first switched to Progressive a year and a half or so ago and raised my insurance from liability only (on my 1999 New Beetle) to "full coverage" on an Audi A4 Convertible, also CVT. I was hoping to diminish the overall cost of my coverage a bit since I drive very little (~5k/year) but Progressive didn't really offer a low/recreational mileage policy that would save much. In DC your initial insurance quote/rate can't go up for not doing well with the Snapshot device in (I think it only can in two states), so I figured I had nothing to lose to try to save some money for craft beer and other "necessities" every six months. I had to use the device for six months on the Audi. When I got my Prius and changed my insurance over last month, I thought they would send it to me to plug back in in case my driving habits changed with the new car (it's stipulated in the contract that they can send it back at any time), but they said it wasn't necessary.

It's actually really interesting to use because it transmits all your data in real time and you can check on it whenever you want by going to the Progressive website. It shows how long your trip was (distance-wise), time of day, your average speed, and how many hard stops (slowing in excess of a 7mph decrease) you had. You can parse the data by trip, day, month, or overall averages and there are lots of fun visuals. The time of day readout is broken out into low, middle, and high risk driving times. Rush hour times are mid-risk; weekend, mid-day, and around 8pm-12am trips are low risk; and 12am-4am are high risk times. The tracker does NOT have a GPS, so it can't tell if you are breaking the law. (IE. It can see you are going 60, but won't be able to tell if you are legally going 60 on a highway or illegally going 60 on a 25mph residential street.) Your percentage off estimate (up to 30%) is updated in real time based on your driving habits. I saw my estimate go down after a 500 mile drive, after a drive with 5 hard brakes, and once when I was on the road around 2am driving home from BWI airport.

Since Prius drivers seem to be such data nerds (I say that lovingly as one of you), I'd think people on here might enjoy it. I kind of wish I still had to have it in, because it was really fun to see my stats and I felt like that instant feedback made me a better, more aware driver in pursuit of a good discount. And, like I said, I save 26% every six months, which works out to about $290/year. Why not?

 

When I had a 93 Honda Civic, my 6 month rate with Geico was $120.

Then when I got a 2012 Prius c four, it jumped to about $248 every 6 months, so basically doubled. I accepted it though, because it's a new car, so it'll cost more to insure. I hope the cost goes down over time provided I don't get tickets (meh, more interested in saving gas than speeding with this car lol) or into a crash (I try to take back roads to and from work, but I do have a stretch of freeway to drive, so defensive driving comes into play here).

 

Just got my renewal. Like everything else, insurance went up. $705 for 12 months. I do have a speeding ticket on my record that will fall off at next renewal (after 5 yrs).

 

Our 2012 Prius v is less expensive to insure than the 1998 Dodge Grand Caravan it replaced.

 

I realize this is an old thread, but I went from driving a 2008 Yaris with 130,000 km to a 2015 Prius c still smelling like new car and my insurance dropped $30/month with no other changes but the car. (Both cars financed.)

 

I priced out the cost of dropping my 2002 civic and adding a 2015 Prius, and our insurance will go up by $460 for the year in Northern Virginia

 

I pay about 120$ a month of my 2009 Malibu. My 2014 Prius runs close to 260$ a month. Not too shabby compared to some other quotes I got.

 

$260 a month for insurance?? For a Prius? That's $1560 every 6 month term!! $3120 a year! My god that seems high... That's car payment territory, I mean I can see how it's possible if you have tons of tickets / accidents / etc and no points left on your license as at that point they will insure you but your high risk and it will cost you..

I pay half that.....for 2 brand new Prius, full coverage..

 

Ouch, and I thought the $350 I pay every 6 months for my liftback was expensive.

 

Im only 22, no tickets 1 accident. I really didnt think that was alot but by comparison it does lol. I go through travelers insurance, was one of the cheapest options, has loan lease payoff.

 

It couldve been about 140 a month if I had gone with usaa which is who my other car is insured through but they don't offer loan lease payoff which my finance company requires.

 

I'm with USAA, great company. Have been with them quite some time.

They don't offer gap insurance? Seems odd? If they don't I'm certain that the bank or credit union you financed with will sell you Gap coverage... Just an idea so you can maybe save some money on your policy..

I presume you did not finance with Toyota financial? I do know that on a lease the higher coverage is required which I believe is 100/300 coverage as opposed to state minimum coverage, but that's a good thing and might save your nice person if you ever did wreck and needed the higher coverage. I know this stuff as I have been leasing on and off for the last while for my second car (wife's car).

 

I pay $217 every 6 months.

 

Age, driving record, claim history, credit score, and location all factor into the rate.

Taking a driver improvement program in NJ qualifies one for an insurance discount. Check with your MVA or AAA to see if there are any discounts to be had.

Insurance is cheap in Nebraska because there's nothing to hit.

 

You really think 100/300k is enough in this era of 100k cars?

Imagine you are liable for the accident involving 3 cars, 5 injuries, one serious enough for a week or more in the hospital. In an environment where the lawyers have to pay for all those adds you see on TV, 300k is a drop in the bucket. A good friend showed me his hospital bill for $1.3 million and that didn't include the $50k helicopter flight.

Take out at least a million and then a floater on top of that in order to protect your future.

 

Nah, I think a Billion dollar policy is better suited to today's day and age.

It's very possible that you could wreck into a Bugatti dealership on your slog home from work and take out the whole fleet, not to mention the nuns walking the preschoolers back from the zoo. Then you'd really be up $hits creek with the drop in the bucket measly million dollar policy!!

What would the fella with "THE GENERAL" insurance do? Jump off a bldg I guess...