CNN
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Progressive and State Farm, two of America’s biggest auto insurers, are refusing to put in writing insurance policies in sure towns for some older Hyundai and Kia fashions which have been deemed too simple to thieve, in keeping with the firms.
Several experiences say the firms have stopped providing insurance coverage on those automobiles in towns that come with Denver, Colorado and St. Louis, Missouri. The insurance coverage corporations didn’t inform CNN which towns or states have been concerned.
The Highway Loss Data Institute launched insurance coverage claims information remaining September that showed what quite a lot of social media accounts have been announcing: Some 2015 thru 2019 Hyundai and Kia fashions are more or less two times as prone to be stolen as different automobiles of equivalent age, as a result of lots of them lack one of the crucial fundamental auto robbery prevention generation incorporated in maximum different automobiles in the ones years, in keeping with the HLDI.
Specifically, those SUVs and vehicles don’t have digital immobilizers, which depend on a pc chip within the automotive and any other in the important thing that keep in touch to substantiate that the important thing in point of fact belongs to that car. Without the appropriate key, an immobilizer must just do that – forestall the automobile from shifting.
Immobilizers have been usual apparatus on 96% of automobiles bought for the 2015-2019 style years, in accordance the HLDI, however simplest 26% of Hyundais and Kias had them at the moment. Vehicles that experience push-button get started techniques, moderately than depending on steel keys that should be inserted and became, have immobilizers, however no longer all fashions with turn-key ignitions do.
Stealing those automobiles changed into a social media development in 2021, in keeping with HLDI, as automotive thieves started posting movies in their thefts and joyrides or even movies explaining tips on how to thieve the vehicles. In Wisconsin, the place the crimes first changed into prevalent, robbery claims of Hyundais and Kias spiked to greater than 30 occasions 2019 ranges in greenback phrases.
“State Farm has temporarily stopped writing new business in some states for certain model years and trim levels of Hyundai and Kia vehicles because theft losses for these vehicles have increased dramatically,” the insurer stated in a remark supplied to CNN. “This is a serious problem impacting our customers and the entire auto insurance industry.”
Progressive could also be reducing again on insuring those vehicles in some markets, spokesman Jeff Sibel stated in an emailed remark.
“During the past year we’ve seen theft rates for certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles more than triple and in some markets these vehicles are almost 20 times more likely to be stolen than other vehicles,” he wrote. “Given that we price our policies based on the level of risk they represent, this explosive increase in thefts in many cases makes these vehicles extremely challenging for us to insure. In response, in some geographic areas we have increased our rates and limited our sale of new insurance policies on some of these models.”
Progressive continues to insure those that have already got insurance policies with the corporate, he stated. Progressive could also be offering them with recommendation on how to give protection to their automobiles from robbery.
Michael Barry, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute, stated it used to be very peculiar for auto insurers to easily forestall writing new insurance policies on a given make or style of car.
“They generally want to expand their market share depending on where they’re doing business,” he stated.
Hyundai and Kia perform as separate corporations within the United States, however Hyundai Motor Group owns a big stake in Kia and quite a lot of Hyundai and Kia fashions proportion a lot in their engineering.
Engine immobilizers are actually usual on all Kia and Hyundai automobiles, the firms stated in separate statements. Both automakers additionally stated they’re creating safety device for automobiles that weren’t at the beginning provided with an immobilizer. Kia stated it has begun notifying house owners of the supply of this device, which shall be supplied at no rate. Hyundai stated its unfastened device unfastened replace shall be to be had subsequent month.
Hyundai additionally stated it’s offering unfastened guidance wheel locks to a couple police departments across the nation to offer native citizens who’ve Hyundai fashions that may be simply stolen. Hyundai sellers also are promoting and putting in safety kits for the automobiles, the corporate stated.
Correction: A prior model of this tale misstated the price of Hyundai safety kits.
