Time to leave Florida?

 

That's even more expensive! And doesn't guarantee the increases won't follow me.

 

Dang, that is ridiculous! I was surprised that my 2021 Tesla Model Y long range was $67.00 more per 6 months, than my 2023 Ford Lightning. I'm in Colorado; my monthly insurance for the Tesla with multi-car discount is $241.72/mo.

 

That's close to what my old rate was. Yours might be headed much higher soon.

 

I just received a bill from State Farm for June, and it not only went up by more than $100/month, they also tacked on a retroactive increase from last year which will be spread out over the next 6 months on top of that.

I called the agent, and they said the specific reason is because of Tesla vandalism reports, and because of the customer lawsuits against Tesla over things like the odometer readings.

Okay......

How does a lawsuit about odometers increase claim payouts? And if that's a legitimate reason to raise rates, why aren't insurance companies filing their own frivolous lawsuits for every brand/model? Share holders want to know.

 

Didn't know they could increase rates retroactively.

 

I don't think they can. Drop them and find someone else.

Granted this is from AI, but...

"In Florida, if your car insurance policy has been in effect for more than 60 days, or if it's a renewal policy, the insurance company must notify you in writing at least 30 days before any rate increase, reduction in limits, or change in coverage conditions takes effect."

 

I've been with State Farm since they issued policies written on stone tablets. I have all available discounts, no surcharges, no recent claims, a clean driving record, and excellent credit. I paid $684/6mos on the 2023 Model Y Long Range that I sold a few weeks ago, $670/6mos on the 2026 Model Y Long Range that I recently purchased, and $486/6mos on a 2019 MX-5 Miata Grand Touring.

I've never heard of a retroactive increase, although I have received a few refund checks for retroactive decreases over the decades.

I am in Texas and every state is different when it comes to insurance.

 

I am in Texas and every state is different when it come to insurance.

That's what makes this even more strange - almost none of the Tesla vandalism has happened in Florida, that's something based on reports from other states.

In Florida in particular though, the insurance companies are all trying to punish policy holders in the state until the "No Fault" law is repealed. Supposedly they're doing the same thing in all of the "No Fault" states.

 

How does a lawsuit about odometers increase claim payouts? And if that's a legitimate reason to raise rates, why aren't insurance companies filing their own frivolous lawsuits for every brand/model? Share holders want to know.

I'm not sure how that works, but that was part of the reasoning.

Didn't know they could increase rates retroactively.

They can and did!

 

Maybe time to get rid of the Tesla(s) and drive a 1970 Ford F-100?

 

Eek! I had a '71 F-100 that I bought from my brother. It did not have power steering or power brakes and even the clutch was mechanical rather than hydraulic. The A/C didn't work, the shift linkage would bind up at the worst-possible time, and the EPA would probably through me in jail if they knew how much oil it leaked onto the ground. It did, however, have a nice radio. I sold it to a neighbor and I suspect it ended up in Mexico. That was 20 years ago and the last I checked, the title was never transferred out of my name.

 

Eek! I had a '71 F-100 that I bought from my brother. It did not have power steering or power brakes and even the clutch was mechanical rather than hydraulic. The A/C didn't work, the shift linkage would bind up at the worst-possible time, and the EPA would probably through me in jail if they knew how much oil it leaked onto the ground. It did, however, have a nice radio.

YOUR TRUCK HAD A RADIO? LUXURIOUS!

We bought a new 88 GMC S15 "Special" pickup. What made it "special" was all the standard S15 features that they removed in order to offer it for an MSRP of $6840.

It had no radio at all. It also had no power windows. No power door locks. NO POWER STEERING. NO POWER BRAKES!!! Let me tell you - if you've never tried to stop a vehicle with manual brakes, you don't know what you're missing. You had to plan your braking well in advance, or else you were standing on that pedal with both feet.

I loved that truck.

View attachment 50250

 

No issues with SF here in Georgia...

 

Got this ad in my Google feed. Hmmm, I wonder why. 😁

Anyone care to try or check them out?

OCR needed to pull info from this post, but that's child's play these days for the bots.

 

No such thing as a retroactive increase. John's rates are going up by that amount this year, just communicating it in a shady way.

One of the reasons we use USAA and have for 4 decades. If they bring in more $ than expected versus claims they give all eligible customers a rebate. Rates fluctuate, but generally down as we age....

 

I am insured by USAA (50+ years) in coastal North San Diego County. The 6-month premium for my 2020 M3 is $654.98. In California, insurance companies are heavily regulated, with rate structures approved by the Department of Insurance. I have never heard of a retroactive premium increase, but perhaps you could complain to your department of insurance. It may be State Farm just doesn't want the expense of repairing Teslas, with all the electronics and sensors, so has increased rates as a way of discouraging more business. Tesla vandalism sounds like a weak excuse. I don't think there has been very much, despite all the publicity. Vandalism would fall under comprehensive coverage and be subject to a per-claim deductible, so I find it hard to believe State Farm has paid very much for those claims.

 

By the way, I'm not receiving the "retro" increases, I merely commented on an earlier post.

 

No complaints with State Farm in Georgia. I pay $174 a month for auto insurance.
2023 YLR, 1 speeding ticket, will drop off next year

 

Got this ad in my Google feed. Hmmm, I wonder why. 😁

The only problem with some of those "mini carriers" is they talk you into cutting your insurance down to bare minimum coverage in order to get the savings. Something like $1000 deductible, $10k liability, $25k uninsured. Taking the chance that if there's a crash, it won't cover nearly enough.

No such thing as a retroactive increase.

It was specifically stated as retroactive. It showed an amount I owe from under-rating over the last 6 months, and that the amount will be split up over the next 6 months.

 

It was specifically stated as retroactive. It showed an amount I owe from under-rating over the last 6 months, and that the amount will be split up over the next 6 months.

Yes, I get that's what they said, but you're paying it now so it's a this year rate hike no matter what they call it.

If they went back in time to tell you about it last year, would you still be a customer today?

 

I have SF on my Model Y LR 2023 in NC. $180 per month with no points against my record. When my daughter moved to Florida in 2023, SF would not insure her. Her record was clean and she drove a Civic. She is 35 so an experienced driver. She has had one accident since there and Allstate is charging $700 per month. I understand that 50% of drivers there are uninsured. It’s a hot mess, not limited to Tesla.

 

I knew about that, but if you read the first post, this is the first time a State Farm agent said directly to me that the increase was focused on Teslas for specific reasons.

What worries me is, because of the threat of vandalism, or possibly the political association, maybe State Farm is trying to scare Tesla drivers away from them because they don't want any part of any of it. And that's a bad trend, because if other companies then believe the same way, Teslas become uninsurable.

 

Insurance constantly goes up, and the insurance companies will use ANYTHING to justify increasing it even more (pretty easy to do in Florida from what I’ve heard). With that said, my rates aren’t too bad. Currently at $470/mo for my home, 3 teslas, and a motorcycle.

 

You definitely live in an insurance favorable state.

 

My State Farm premium in Ohio is $561.49 for six months. Including Drive Safe & Save of $66.20

 

I'm in NY and I was paying State Farm $222 a month for 2025 M3AWD. My new premium went up to $237. No tickets, no accidents and that's with Safe driver discount.

 

I just read a few articles where I can add a few things:

1. Florida used to be the second highest rate for car insurance, behind California. It's no longer second, and is now the highest rates in the country. The steep rate increases in Florida over the past 2 years left California in the dust.

2. Insurance companies are indeed trying to punish people in "No Fault" states. Florida is taking the biggest hit over that because most states with No Fault have already put the topic up for debate, but the Florida legislature refuses to even look at it. So the insurance companies seem to be intentionally creating an insurance crisis to force them to.

3. One article in particular (from "Way Better Insurance") indicated that though credit score used to only factor slightly into rates, now it's being treated as a huge factor in some states, especially those with "difficult" insurance.

4. There are a lot of Teslas in Florida (I think it's something like 2nd or 3rd in the country now), and since Tesla is starting to compete with insurance companies in some states, there are some insurance companies taking the opportunity to discourage Tesla owners and force them out in any state where Tesla is trying to set up insurance. Though Tesla was denied being allowed to offer insurance flat out in Florida, so I don't know how that's supposed to work.

 

I totally forgot to add to the original post that I have zero crashes since moving to Florida in 2010, one windshield claim in 2021, and no tickets since 2020. Just in case someone might suggest those as reasons.

 

Insurance companies are indeed trying to punish people in "No Fault" states

Pennsylvania is a no fault state but my insurance is nowhere close to what you report.

though credit score used to only factor slightly into rates, now it's being treated as a huge factor in some states

That would be yet another reason to strive to have a pristine credit score.

Something like $1000 deductible

That is not unreasonably high. Have you looked into how much that would save you? That is one way to pocket the benefit of being a low risk. It’s been awhile since I crunched those numbers, but a $1000 deductible pays for itself if you aren’t having accidents.

None of my 4 EV's (2024 Kia EV6, 2024 Nissan Ariya, 2025 Nissan Ariya, and 2024 Nissan LEAF) are more than $120/mo here in Denver and one of those is only $85/mo. I guess I cannot afford to purchase a Tesla with those high insurance rates.

As you can see in this thread, rates are all over the place. I insure 3 Teslas and the cheapest is $60/month, the most expensive is $80/month, and the total for all 3 is $202.

 

That is not unreasonably high. Have you looked into how much that would save you? That is one way to pocket the benefit of being a low risk. It’s been awhile since I crunched those numbers, but a $1000 deductible pays for itself if you aren’t having accidents.

I don't want to add insult to injury someday. There are other expenses beyond the deductible in the case of a crash, such as towing fees and sometimes car rental if the insurance coverage doesn't cover it for more than a certain number of days. Coming up with $1000 on short notice would be difficult for me, having it balloon to $1500 or $2000 would be really destructive.

Could I just bet on that never happening? Probably, but I guess I'm not brave enough to take that gamble.

 

By the way, I'm not receiving the "retro" increases, I merely commented on an earlier post.

I totally forgot to add to the original post that I have zero crashes since moving to Florida in 2010, one windshield claim in 2021, and no tickets since 2020. Just in case someone might suggest those as reasons.

USAA member in Fl. 2024 MYP home&auto and no mention of these reasons. $304.33/mo.

 

re: USAA - No one messes with the military and their families. They hold a special place in most people's hearts. There isn't the same connection between random insurance company policy holders so companies can do whatever they want, more or less.

I mean nothing to my insurance company whereas a USAA policy holder participates in the gains and losses of the company.

I've never thought about this before, and these are my thoughts after reading a little about USAA. I'm willing to learn from and accept more knowledgeable views.