insurance cost
- Thread starter Oppiefive
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Washingtonian
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- Nov 15, 2014
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How high is it? I'm paying $492/year in WA through Ameriprise. Coverage is $100k/$300k with $1000 deductible. Good driving record.
jmueller065
Well-known member
When I picked up ours the insurance wasn't much different from the ICE Focus we had at the time. My insurance agent said at the time that they don't classify it any different from the ICE Focus and thus you get a higher rate because of the nature of the drivers of the ICE Focus (younger, more accident prone, etc.).
hybridbear
Well-known member
Exactly. The FFE isn't separated out from the ICE Focus so we pay the price for the young ICE Focus buyers having more claims.jmueller065 said:
Yes, the 2013 Focus Electric costs $27 more per month than the 2013 Prius that it replaced on our insurance. That's about $325 per year more!! We changed nothing else on our policy except replacing the Prius with the Focus. When I saw how much the Focus would increase our insurance I shopped around and while other companies wouldn't have as much of an increase for the Focus Electric versus the Prius, Geico was still the lowest overall cost. eSurance was the second lowest.Oppiefive said:
So much depends on age & zip code. We live in a good zip code for cheap insurance but we're both in our 20s which means that insurance is expensive, even with a perfect driving record.
Rogerschro
Well-known member
My insurance dropped after I traded my Ice Focus for the FFE. Same basic model, 2012 Focus SEL for 2012 FFE, if anything, the FFE is a higher model with the touch screen and better headlights. The color and milage were similar, with the FFE being about 3000 fewer. I expect the lower price had more to do with my driving record and years with the company than the actual change of car.
Insured both a 2014 Outlander SUV and 2014 FFE around the same time. Outlander is $1163.60 per year. Both cars have roughly the same MSRP. Outlander has a ton of extra safety features like lane departure and automatic collision mitigation. FFE is $1073.60 per year via Geico. I'm in Hawaii.
I was deciding between paying off the 0% loan or keeping the collision which is $500/year for nothing. The difference is about $250 per year in savings.
The insurance company wants a piece of your new car expenses. That's the way I see it. They increased the premiums on all my cars this year by about 20%. I'm not sure if the FFE put my family in a different risk category altogether. I called up the insurance company and they said everyone's premiums went up by about 12%.
The insurance company wants a piece of your new car expenses. That's the way I see it. They increased the premiums on all my cars this year by about 20%. I'm not sure if the FFE put my family in a different risk category altogether. I called up the insurance company and they said everyone's premiums went up by about 12%.
It also has a lot to do on the car itself...and less to do with the cost of the car. Insurance rates are heavily based on statistics. Teenage drivers cost more because...well, they get in accidents more. Sports cars cost more because people who buy them like to drive fast. I'm afraid to guess at how they would model the FFE. I would think they would look more at the type of car (Electric) and less at the body style, but it doesn't help that an ST version of the Focus exists. If in doubt, play the "what-if" game with your agent...what if I had a Leaf, what if I had an ICE Focus Titanium, what-if... You'll end up with a better idea about why you are paying more to insure it.hybridbear said:
For me, in southern California, it wasn't much different to ensure it vs a 1999 Ford Explorer.
hybridbear
Well-known member
I think in California aren't there restrictions regarding how insurance price is calculated? In MN other big factors are your level of education, credit score & what you do for work.davideos said:
Our insurance company, GEICO, doesn't care that the Focus is Electric. They just have one risk group for all Focus drivers. At least, that's what I was told when I asked if we got any sort of distinct pricing for driving an EV versus a gas Focus. There are some companies that offer discounts for PHEVs & BEVs. When we traded the Fusion Hybrid SE for the Fusion Energi Titanium our premium didn't change. GEICO didn't care that one car has an MSRP of $45k and one was $35k. It's all a Fusion Hybrid to them. The cost is different from the gas Fusion, however.
The Hartford advertises that they offer discounted rates to EV drivers. The first woman who rear-ended our FFE had insurance with The Hartford and they were really good to work with to get our car repaired. I will definitely contact them for a quote in the next few months to see how their prices compare. I have not previously gotten a quote from them.
I know each region and customer scenario is different. I can compare it to my other vehicles for a true estimate.
With State Farm, my FFE is 20% higher than my 2013 Acura TL Advance and my 2012 Acura MDX Tech. In fact, it is more than my 2005 Honda CBR1000rr and 2014 Honda CBR600rr sportbikes as well. It is the most expensive vehicle I insure even though it was cheaper to purchase than the Acuras. It has the same coverage and drivers listed on it so that comparison is apples to apples.
I did my research with my agent way before buying the car so I knew what I was in for. When I calculate the rebates and gas savings, I still come out way ahead each month, even with the higher insurance costs.
With State Farm, my FFE is 20% higher than my 2013 Acura TL Advance and my 2012 Acura MDX Tech. In fact, it is more than my 2005 Honda CBR1000rr and 2014 Honda CBR600rr sportbikes as well. It is the most expensive vehicle I insure even though it was cheaper to purchase than the Acuras. It has the same coverage and drivers listed on it so that comparison is apples to apples.
I did my research with my agent way before buying the car so I knew what I was in for. When I calculate the rebates and gas savings, I still come out way ahead each month, even with the higher insurance costs.
twscrap
Well-known member
There really isn't any rhyme or reason that I can see in the pricing. We're paying less for the 2013 FFE than we had been paying on a 1996 Audi A4 Quattro. And we didn't have collision or comprehensive on the Audi...
triangles
Well-known member
My insurance is less than $350/year for 100/300 full coverage with $500 deductible and gap coverage. This surprised me since it was less than $50 more than I was paying on my 2000 Escort ZX2 (similar coverage). I shopped around and got numbers as high as $1200. The only slight ding against me was another driver on the policy hit a deer 3 years ago (iirc about a $10 rate increase). Not sure why that's a strike against you since there's nothing you can do to avoid that except of course not driving. Travelers insurance (who I have now) told me they have a discount for EV's when I was getting a quote from them.
hybridbear
Well-known member
Our policy was ending and the Geico renewal notice included a $20 per 6 month policy price increase. I called Geico and they said that they had an across the board increase in MN due to the severe hail storms we had last summer and the summer prior. I shopped around a bit for insurance and now we have eSurance. We're saving about $90 per 6 month policy period versus Geico. I also talked to a very knowledgeable agent from Liberty Mutual. Our credit union has a partnership with them where CU members get discounts on insurance. Their price was about $850/6 months as opposed to $515/6 months with eSurance and $610/6 months with Geico. They said that eSurance & Geico have lower premiums because they are "non-standard insurance" companies. He said that since they sell insurance to drivers who are in higher risk groups the high premiums paid by those drivers can offset the cost of the safer drivers. Since Liberty Mutual is "selective" in who they'll underwrite their premiums are higher...
I'm a bit nervous about having changed insurance. We were very satisfied with Geico. We never had any claims other than glass claims in our time with them. They have a nice accident/ticket forgiveness policy.
One thing I noticed in getting quotes from eSurance...increasing our Property Damage Liability from the default of $50,000 to our preferred level of $100,000 resulted in a $0 premium increase. Choosing "commute" or "pleasure" use for the cars had no impact on the premium. With eSurance the Focus Electric only costs $10 more than the Fusion Energi for 6 months of liability, comprehensive & collision is identical. Geico charged a much higher rate for the Focus, close to $50 more than the Fusion over the course of the policy period for comprehensive & collision and $30 more for liabilty. The savings with eSurance is on comprehensive & collision. If we were buying liability only then Geico would be cheaper. eSurance is about $120 cheaper for comprehensive & collision than Geico.
I'm a bit nervous about having changed insurance. We were very satisfied with Geico. We never had any claims other than glass claims in our time with them. They have a nice accident/ticket forgiveness policy.
One thing I noticed in getting quotes from eSurance...increasing our Property Damage Liability from the default of $50,000 to our preferred level of $100,000 resulted in a $0 premium increase. Choosing "commute" or "pleasure" use for the cars had no impact on the premium. With eSurance the Focus Electric only costs $10 more than the Fusion Energi for 6 months of liability, comprehensive & collision is identical. Geico charged a much higher rate for the Focus, close to $50 more than the Fusion over the course of the policy period for comprehensive & collision and $30 more for liabilty. The savings with eSurance is on comprehensive & collision. If we were buying liability only then Geico would be cheaper. eSurance is about $120 cheaper for comprehensive & collision than Geico.
jmueller065
Well-known member
Some companies lump the FFE in with the ICE Focuses and since its an inexpensive car (ICE version) its lumped in with all the accident prone young drivers that result. Other companies separate the two...hybridbear said:
hybridbear
Well-known member
This is what I posted previously in this thread was true of Geico, back on 3/12/15.jmueller065 said:
michael
Well-known member
In my case, I was changing from a 2012 ICE Focus to a 2013 FFE, straight across swap with State Farm. The cost went up considerably. The agent said that was due to the higher sticker price of the car (true...$40K at the time vs low $20s) and the unknown cost of repairing collision damage to electric cars.
Of course, with insurance companies, everything is a reason to increase the cost....
You live in a fancy neighborhood, high premiums because you will run into expensive cars.
You live in a poor neighborhood, high premiums because you will run into uninsured cars.
You commute on surface streets, high premiums because the accident rate is higher on surface streets than freeways.
You commute on freeways, high premiums because high speed causes expensive accidents
etc
etc
etc
Of course, with insurance companies, everything is a reason to increase the cost....
You live in a fancy neighborhood, high premiums because you will run into expensive cars.
You live in a poor neighborhood, high premiums because you will run into uninsured cars.
You commute on surface streets, high premiums because the accident rate is higher on surface streets than freeways.
You commute on freeways, high premiums because high speed causes expensive accidents
etc
etc
etc
How is that you paying that much when companies let you choose your insurance depends on the coverage you need and the monthly premium and deductible that best suit your budget... :? I pay between $900 and $1,300 per year I got $20 a year for the first five years many factors can change this amount, but considering that the averages for many cars are much higher than this, it is a good indication that the Ford Focus is an insurance bargain. Insuring a Focus is not significantly higher than most other sedans, I found this article compare car insurances quotes talking about why electric vehicles need a different kind of insurance, you can check it, hope it would help 
When insurance companies calculate your premiums, they use driving history (accidents, tickets), Driver age and gender, type of car (2 door, 4 door, Sports car Model), accident incident rate, your zip code, average miles driven in a year, average accident repair cost, and total vehicle cost.
Insurance companies have very little track history to go by to quote an insurance policy.
EV driver tend to be slightly higher income earners. The reason is EV's cost more than a standard gas powered vehicle.
Higher income earners tend to be more responsible. A high credit score can also be an indication of a more responsible person.
Insurance companies have very little track history to go by to quote an insurance policy.
EV driver tend to be slightly higher income earners. The reason is EV's cost more than a standard gas powered vehicle.
Higher income earners tend to be more responsible. A high credit score can also be an indication of a more responsible person.
