insurance question

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My auto insurer gave me the new rates when I'm ready to get the Clarity. I understand that part of this shock is due to the fact that I'm going from a 2007 Camry to a 2018 Clarity. But wondered if anyone else experienced a really big jump in insurance rates. My insurance company is Liberty Mutual and we have it bundled with our home insurance. But the auto rates would be over $3000 per year.
 
I went from a 2009 Civic Hybrid to a 2018 Clarity and my rate with State Farm went up by about $200 (still well under $2000 annually). And I'm in Baltimore. Insurance rates have many factors/discounts, but you might want to shop around.
 
With Commerce/Mapfre, in Boston, our rates for a (2015 Mazda 3 + 2003 Honda Accord LX) were around $1020; when we ditched the Accord, rates for the (2015 Mazda 3 + 2018 Clarity) rose to $1400. So a $380 rise. Absolute rates vary by driver history, other cars, deductible (we have lots of coverage, and it's full, but a high deductible), paid-in-full discounts, and many other reasons. But the personal injury part should be the same.

I agree with ClarityDoc; might want to shop around, even if you lose the bundled discount. Or think about raising the deductible, if you can swing that.
 
For sure get other quotes! Unless there is something unusual about your situation, +$3000/year is super high. Our insurance did not rise noticeably when we went from a Ford Fusion Energi PHEV to the Honda Clarity PHEV.
 
I live in New Jersey and the rate for Clarity, full coverage, was about $200 more a year compared to my previous car, 08 BMW 328. Wasn't too bad
 
Did you have full coverage on the camry? If you didn't, you are probably paying more because you are now buying it for the Clarity. I think full coverage is supposed to go down as the car ages. Mine went up a few hundred bucks. I think it is possible that they expect PHEV or hybrid vehicles will be driven more. People usually buy hybrids to save gas because they have a significant commute.
 
like it was said above if you have collision the rate is going to go up up up. Without collision it will be the about the same.
different insurance structures in different places but that logic should hold where ever.
 
My rate actually went up by only $50 per year when I swapped a 07 Mazda 3 to the base model Clarity. Annual premium is under $700 for me. We're with Ameriprise through our Costco membership.
 
oko said:
Geico increased my premium by $100/year, when I went from 13 Altima to 18 Clarity.
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Similar to my experience with Geico. I also opted for the Mechanical Breakdown Insurance after verifying with Geico that it covers all electrical systems including battery. It's a good deal at approx $110 per year for 7 years 100k miles in my opinion. Anyone else buy that coverage instead of the Honda Extended Warranty?
 
ProspectiveBuyer said:
My auto insurer gave me the new rates when I'm ready to get the Clarity. I understand that part of this shock is due to the fact that I'm going from a 2007 Camry to a 2018 Clarity. But wondered if anyone else experienced a really big jump in insurance rates. My insurance company is Liberty Mutual and we have it bundled with our home insurance. But the auto rates would be over $3000 per year.
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That seems really high. Mine increased about 300 bucks a year but that was switching from 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid that only had liability coverage. Question: what are your deductibles. They make a huge difference. I have never had an at-fault accident (knock on wood for me everyone please) so I have all my deductibles at $2000. My approach is that for anything less than 2k I’m not going to report to the insurance anyway since they will increase my rates anyway (I have accident forgiveness with Allstate but I’m still paranoid) and I will just fix it on my own using some of my 6 month fund. Been working for me for 20 plus years. Insurance: the only thing you buy that you hope you never use.


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Dave Ferrell said:
Similar to my experience with Geico. I also opted for the Mechanical Breakdown Insurance after verifying with Geico that it covers all electrical systems including battery. It's a good deal at approx $110 per year for 7 years 100k miles in my opinion. Anyone else buy that coverage instead of the Honda Extended Warranty?
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There is a nice discussion about that here:

https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=197760

You have to buy it in first 15 months, so I don't recommend buying it now since Honda covers everything for 36 months (add the coverage at the 15th month). So basically you are paying for year 4,5,6,7 starting 2nd year. What if Geico increases the rates and you switch to another carrier? Then the money is gone. But the premium is cheap ($70/year for me) while the deductible is fair ($250).

So it is a hard decision. I bought the Clarity from a dealer which gives lifetime powertrain warranty, so the decision is even harder for me. But I have 14 months to decide :-).
 
When I bought my clarity back in December, it took a couple tries for my (usually very good) insurance agent to get it right in terms of PHEV vs Electric vs Fuel Cell. Heck, my local dealer still gets confused by it when I come in with the car (and I'm in the Midwest with no Electric or Fuel Cell...) I'd definitely agree with double checking that.
 
Same thing here. We went from a 2015 Chevrolet Volt to a 2018 Clarity Touring and our premium went up $460/year with Mercury Insurance. I reached out to our insurance agent and this is the response I received:

"I was actually surprised as to why the Clarity was more expensive and from what I can tell it is due to the symbol rating currently assigned to it. Insurance companies rate vehicles based on a “symbol” which is determined by an outside company. The symbol relates to cost to repair the vehicle, cost to replace etc. Newer vehicle are usually more expensive and new models can occasionally be more expensive in the first few years. I assume this is what is happening with the Clarity since it is a new model. There is not as much data on cost to repair and currently parts are more expensive since there is limited inventory and not aftermarket availability yet. I can’t promise the cost will go down in a few years, but this is a phenomenon I have seen with other new models.

I wish I had a better explanation, but currently it seems like the rate is high for the Clarity."
 
ProspectiveBuyer said:
My auto insurer gave me the new rates when I'm ready to get the Clarity. I understand that part of this shock is due to the fact that I'm going from a 2007 Camry to a 2018 Clarity. But wondered if anyone else experienced a really big jump in insurance rates. My insurance company is Liberty Mutual and we have it bundled with our home insurance. But the auto rates would be over $3000 per year.
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A 2007 Camry is not be worth very much (maybe $6000) so that would limit how much the insurance company would have to pay if you wreck it. For the Clarity, it would be $34K or $37K before it is totaled so any repairs below that level they would have to pay in the first year. Some insurance companies also realize that EVs (especially Teslas) cost a bomb for even minor repairs so they might factor that in when they don't have actual repair costs. Realistically, with the Clarity's extensive use of aluminum (nearly all body panels and suspension), it is very expensive to repair. Someone backed into my car in the first month. There was little visible damage and the initial estimate was $650. After it was finished, it turned out to be over $3000.
 
I went from a 2009 Camry to a 2018 Clarity and my rate increased a whopping $32. I suspect that the agent must have made an error but guess what ... I am not going to ask!
 
skhoibidoo said:
Same thing here. We went from a 2015 Chevrolet Volt to a 2018 Clarity Touring and our premium went up $460/year with Mercury Insurance. I reached out to our insurance agent and this is the response I received:

"I was actually surprised as to why the Clarity was more expensive and from what I can tell it is due to the symbol rating currently assigned to it. Insurance companies rate vehicles based on a “symbol” which is determined by an outside company. The symbol relates to cost to repair the vehicle, cost to replace etc. Newer vehicle are usually more expensive and new models can occasionally be more expensive in the first few years. I assume this is what is happening with the Clarity since it is a new model. There is not as much data on cost to repair and currently parts are more expensive since there is limited inventory and not aftermarket availability yet. I can’t promise the cost will go down in a few years, but this is a phenomenon I have seen with other new models.

I wish I had a better explanation, but currently it seems like the rate is high for the Clarity."
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I was pleasantly surprised when we went from a 2001 Camry to our 2018 Clarity the upcharge for our 6 months of insurance (Progressive) was only $74. Michigan is one of the highest in auto insurance cost in the US. Be thankful that you don't live (which I don't [emoji4]) in Detriot where the average annual auto insurance cost is over $5,400.
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Our 2018 Clarity Electric is slightly less to insure than our 2013 C-Max (by about $1/mo).
Is is significantly more than the car it replaced, but the Fit EV came with Comp & Collision as part of the lease and we only had to carry Liability :)
 
Went from a 2004 Acura TL to the Base Clarity, and my rate went up by over $200 per month. I have two young drivers, so I'm sure that has something to do with it.
 
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