ZHP Insurance, Trying to Make it Better

[theothersawyer]

It is, but tell a young kid you're going to give him the keys to your BMW (no matter how fast it is) and I bet he already has some irresponsible ideas in his head of what he will do with that car...or at least that's what the insurance companies think!

[LivesNearCostco]

I think in most states insurance companies discriminate--ah I mean use risk-adjusted pricing--on any factor they legally are allowed to use, anything except race, income and zip code (zip code redlining no longer allowed in California, not sure about other states)

Make, model, year and even body style (coupe, sedan, convertible, SUV) of the car
Age, gender, driving history, job type, and education level of the driver
Miles driven per year, and driving style, if you let them put the tracker in your car
Which state you live in

Maybe they can't officially charge you more if you didn't go to college or work as a professional street racer, but they can charge you less if you have a college degree and/or work in certain professional fields. For example I think sometimes engineers and school teachers can get a profession-based discount.

When I priced insurance for my E36, the sedan was about $120 less per year to insure than the coupe with same motor. Not sure if they actually look at the car's color.

[stephenkirsh]

Wow that's pretty significant price difference. Just another reason sedans are better

[Simmsled]

Nice. Very interested to see where this goes.

[3ZHPGUY]

Update:

I talked to Lee yesterday and yes I can insure it as a classic for a predetermined value however; that limits me to 2000 miles a year. As I talked more with Lee, he and the other party involved felt that with the pictorial history, documentation of over 100,000 miles of service, gas fill up and more, that I would not have a issue of them paying a premium value for the car in a total loss situation.

Their recommendation was, to leave it as it is and enjoy driving it as much as i want.

[stephenkirsh]

Interesting. Did you get that in writing?

Also, what's significant about the gas fill up?

[LivesNearCostco]

Proves it's getting reasonable mileage and kept in good condition?
BTW, I might have been wrong about the premium price difference between E36 M3 sedan and coupe--maybe it was only $75? I'd have to find the old quote. But sedan was definitely cheaper to insure.

[itdnwiwbp]

I think in most states insurance companies discriminate--ah I mean use risk-adjusted pricing--on any factor they legally are allowed to use, anything except race, income and zip code (zip code redlining no longer allowed in California, not sure about other states)

Does this mean they can't change rates based upon zip code in CA? I just changed my zip code last month to a nicer area and it went up like $24/mo on my Z4M.

[LivesNearCostco]

I think I was mistaken. A quick web search suggests auto insurance redlining was still allowed in California in 2005 and I assume still allowed now. There was a voter initiative from 1988 that requires insurance companies to use driver experience, driving record, and annual mileage as the top three factors for setting auto liability insurance premiums (no doubt value and repair cost of your car also affect your comprehensive/collision premiums), but there doesn't appear to be any law against using zip code (or driver education, profession, age or gender) as secondary factors for setting premiums.

I also seem to remember my auto insurance rates changing whenever I moved. Maybe mortgage redlining is the one that illegal.

[itdnwiwbp]

Cool. Thanks for the follow up. I hate being judged on my zip code - especially since it doesn't seem to matter what type of area I'm moving to, always goes up. Such is life!