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posted by n1 on Wednesday June 07 2017, @07:23AM   Printer-friendly
from the as-much-as-you're-willing-to-pay dept.

At least one national insurer, AAA, is raising rates on Tesla vehicles based on data showing that the Model S and Model X had abnormally high claim frequencies and high costs of insurance claims compared with other cars in the same classes.

AAA said premiums for Tesla vehicles could go up 30 percent based on data from the Highway Loss Data Institute and other sources.

Tesla is disputing the analysis.

"This analysis is severely flawed and is not reflective of reality," the electric-vehicle maker said in a statement emailed to Automotive News. "Among other things, it compares Model S and X to cars that are not remotely peers, including even a Volvo station wagon."

Anthony Ptasznik, chief actuary of AAA, said the group noticed the anomaly in company data and then investigated other data sources, primarily relying on the Highway Loss Data Institute because of its scope, to confirm its analysis. "Looking at a much broader set of countrywide data, we saw the same patterns observed in our own data, and that gave us the confidence to change rates," he said.

Other large insurance companies, including State Farm and Geico, said that claims data is a major factor in calculating premiums, but would not disclose if their Tesla-owning customers would also see rates rise.

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by wolfinator on Wednesday June 07 2017, @04:46PM

    by wolfinator (3173) on Wednesday June 07 2017, @04:46PM (#522047)

    There's a lot of arguing about whether Teslas are unsafe, or if their drivers crash more, or if there's an insurance conspiracy to make the media undermine Teslas brilliant, revolutionary product that has no equal.

    I think this entire discussion thread is missing the more mundane, likely factor: Teslas just have higher collision repair costs.

    This isn't particularly surprising. Teslas current models are have unusual repair considerations. They're largely aluminum, they have a huge battery pack that probably has structural aspects, and they are low volume. In addition, you have to have your Tesla repaired at a "certified" facility, of which there are few. That - plus low-volume, single-sourced parts - can lead to long repair wait times, which also drives up insurance costs.

    When you crash your Ford Focus, you can drag it to any repair shop where a standard-trained autobody guy will work the steel using normal techniques and replace broken components with abundant Chinese knock-offs (or parts from a Tier-1 supplier or whatever) and repaint easily. And he doesn't have to worry about an explosive battery that probably holds the under-body together.

    NONE of this applies to Tesla. Parts are rare and can come only from Tesla. Some parts (battery components) are extremely expensive. Aluminum work requires special equipment and training. And Tesla demands only a few, special snowflake repair places work on their cars.

    All of this drives up collision repair costs. It's not a conspiracy or proof Tesla drivers are unsafe. If you buy a low-volume rare car made with exotic materials, you get higher repair costs. I've heard stories on this score from owners of everything from a DeLorean (super rare, made with unique stainless steel body panels) to a Pontiac GTO (late model Australian-made car with parts that come over an ocean to the US.)

    If you buy a low-volume or exotic car of ANY type, collision repairs costs go up. The only story here is that non-car people are freaking out when they learn how niche car insurance works.

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