Insurance cost, which companies will provide insurance?

[DuckTruck]

I use Metromile and hope to continue using them unless Rivian come out with a by the mile insurance. I pay a small-ish monthly flat-rate and then a few cents a mile. I have saved quite a bit since the pandemic and really like the model...If I was a long, daily commuter not sure if it would make sense, but I am not, so a great fit.

Good to hear. Metromile can be a great way to go for someone with a number of vehicles, none of which are driven a great deal over the course of a year. It's great to have options and they found a niche that works well for some. I'll be interested to see how they (and other carriers) rate these new vehicles.

As Greg pointed out, the cost of repairing Rivians will impact rates, especially during the first few renewal cycles. It's always a gamble, but if you have available policy term options of either six or twelve months, going with the full-year option may stave off an increase at the six-month mark. Often, carriers will discount the initial term and also may adjust the rates at renewal based on industry-wide experience with Rivian, as they did with Tesla, and all new vehicles. Going with the annual policy means you may keep that lower rate for the full year.

The same is true if your carrier takes a state or territory-based rate increase for all insureds during the year. By going with the annual policy, you may avoid that for another six months, as well. It may not be much, but if you can keep the initial, lower rate for the full year, and also avoid regular rate increases for another six months every time they occur, it adds up. Of course, it's always possible the rate will drop during the year. OK....that was just an insurance joke.....sorry....?

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[CommodoreAmiga]

Asking for the VIN to just get a quote seems a little personal to me.
I would think It would not be needed to get a 'rough' quote.

A Chevy Truck VIN tells them whether it's a $30K or $80K truck. It's just easier for them to use the VIN to provide an accurate quote, since it encodes model year and most/all of the significant options - model series/weight rating, engine, heavy duty, 2 door, 4 door, extended cab, etc.

They want to avoid the resulting issues of giving someone an unverified rough quote for $X, and then when they call back with the VIN, it's $2x because the owner never mentioned it was a extended cab, heavy duty, powerstroke diesel, dually 3 ton model. I can't really blame them for doing this.

It's more than just the cost of the vehicle. Insurance companies categorize make/model/trim/options into different categories/buckets of risk; they get fairly detailed, as well.

For example, a little over 10 years ago, back when Suzuki was still selling cars in the USA, they entered into an agreement with Nissan for a midsize pickup truck. They agreed that Nissan would run batches of their Frontier pickup truck for Suzuki, and Suzuki would sell the vehicle as their own model named "Equator". The trucks were mechanically identical. Even 99% of the body panels were identical. The most significant difference was the front grill, which had a different design. It was one of the laziest badge-over jobs I can recall.

For all intents and purposes, a Nissan Frontier and a Suzuki Equator were the same truck. They used 99.999% the same parts, and were even manufactured in the same factory, on the same production line, by the same employees. Suzuki had fewer configuration permutations, but the configurations they did offer were also available from Nissan. If you spec'd out two identical pickups, with the same options -- the only difference was the "badge" -- and obtained insurance quotes, you'd be given two wildly different numbers. The Suzuki was higher, every single time. Why? Suzuki drivers were statistically riskier. The vehicles were the same in terms of performance, capability, size, and safety; but the insurance companies knew that the average customer was different. Although in this example we're cross-shopping Nissan/Suzuki, the insurance companies recognized that was not common. The actuaries at the insurance carries had run their statistical models and found meaningful differences in risk between customers actually buying the Suzuki Equator compared to customers actually buying the Nissan, and they believed those risk factors were higher with Suzuki.

So you can't just call an insurance company and say "I want a quote on an $80k truck". Whether it's a Chevy Silverado or a Ford F-150 or a GMC Sierra Denali or a Rivian R1T will all make a difference in the rate.

 

[Rivian-WI]

I guess my car shopping experience is different then most here. When I am car shopping, I do not have a VIN, I only have year, make, model, and trim level. I have no problem getting an insurance quote with that info. Is it an exact final number, hell no, but it helps make a decision of if the car will "work" for me.

Now if I would be insurance shopping for a vehicle I already have across multiple insurance companies, then yes the VIN would come into play.

 

[Silver9k]

I called my company months ago, explained I wanted a ballpark figure, got quite a bit of resistance at first as they had no idea what/who Rivian was. Explained some basics like "$90-100k electric truck with 800hp." The R1T is replacing two vehicles for me, it was about 10% more than both those vehicles together. I expect it will be a bit higher still when all is said and done, and definitely understand that several variables are at play. But its nice to know if you're in the same stadium or stuck out in traffic on the freeway off-ramp still.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

I called my company months ago, explained I wanted a ballpark figure, got quite a bit of resistance at first as they had no idea what/who Rivian was. Explained some basics like "$90-100k electric truck with 800hp." The R1T is replacing two vehicles for me, it was about 10% more than both those vehicles together. I expect it will be a bit higher still when all is said and done, and definitely understand that several variables are at play. But its nice to know if you're in the same stadium or stuck out in traffic on the freeway off-ramp still.

How confident are you that you’re even in the same stadium?

The cynical side of me would think they just threw out a random number to get rid of you.

 

[Gshenderson]

Good to hear. Metromile can be a great way to go for someone with a number of vehicles, none of which are driven a great deal over the course of a year. It's great to have options and they found a niche that works well for some. I'll be interested to see how they (and other carriers) rate these new vehicles.

As Greg pointed out, the cost of repairing Rivians will impact rates, especially during the first few renewal cycles. It's always a gamble, but if you have available policy term options of either six or twelve months, going with the full-year option may stave off an increase at the six-month mark. Often, carriers will discount the initial term and also may adjust the rates at renewal based on industry-wide experience with Rivian, as they did with Tesla, and all new vehicles. Going with the annual policy means you may keep that lower rate for the full year.

The same is true if your carrier takes a state or territory-based rate increase for all insureds during the year. By going with the annual policy, you may avoid that for another six months, as well. It may not be much, but if you can keep the initial, lower rate for the full year, and also avoid regular rate increases for another six months every time they occur, it adds up. Of course, it's always possible the rate will drop during the year. OK....that was just an insurance joke.....sorry....?

My first $10k+ repair on my Tesla was when it had 250 miles on it. So it didn’t take my insurance company long to learn how expensive it was
to repair Tesla’s (and how long they have to pay for a rental car!). Mine was in the shop for 6 weeks waiting for parts. Insurance only paid up to 30 days on the rental, but they were kind enough to extend my coverage on that. Kudos to them!

So the long story on the accident... My daughter had just gotten her learner’s permit, and we had to drive from NC to DC for a soccer tournament. So I let her drive. Not 20 miles from home on a multi lane highway going about 70mph, something fell off a tow truck two cars ahead of us, The car in front of us swerved, but hit the object and sent it airborne, and it smashed into the front drivers side of the Tesla. Front faring, headlight, hood, left quarter panel all destroyed, along with AC condenser and whatever else lives up front.

For a beginner driver, she handled the whole situation amazingly well. She could have easily panicked and ended us all up in a far worse situation. But she remained calm throughout the whole thing and calmly pulled to the side of the road. Only at that point did she lose it a bit. I think she was more worried that I was going to be upset with her for wrecking my brand new car (that I’d had on order for over 9 months!).

The biggest bummer to me in the whole thing was that while it was in the shop they activated the Gen 1 AutoPilot. I had purchased it, but it was still in beta when I got the car. So for 3 weeks all I could do was watch YouTube videos of other people using their AutoPilot. Man that was hard!

 

[Eeyore]

I think the thing to keep in mind is that there is a significant difference between asking for and estimate and a quote. They are not the same thing. An Estimate is an educated, non-binding, guess. A quote is a hard, this is the price, number.

 

[LeoH]

When a new model enters the market ( from any manufacturer) the insurance quotes are higher. Other than the very good reasons everyone mentioned here, there are some statistics that alter the premium but they take 1 to 3 years to produce.

For example, a new car does not have enough theft data to adjust insurance by state or area. There aren't enough accidents to determine the price of parts and labor. The number of windshield replacements which some states mandate free replacements and some mandate low deductibles for it.

All of these are variables, and insurance companies take risks on how soon to adjust their premiums, if they adjust too soon they risk pissing off clients, if they adjust too late, they also risk losing clients to other insurers who might lower the premium too soon. My Tesla insurance was 2200, then it went down to 1200, then up to 1800, then down to 800. So with a new vehicle and a new model, you will have to shop more often in the first 3 years, it might be a hassle if you have multiple cars and houses, but it's worth it.

 

[Silver9k]

How confident are you that you’re even in the same stadium?

The cynical side of me would think they just threw out a random number to get rid of you.

I feel like 220% over a typical vehicle is probably a good starting place. I might be pissing in a trough, but I’m in there.

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