CNN
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Progressive and State Farm, two of America’s largest auto insurers, are refusing to write policies in certain cities for certain older Hyundai and Kia models deemed too easy. stealing, according to the company.
Some reports say companies have stopped providing insurance for these vehicles in cities including Denver, Colorado and St. Louis, Missouri. The insurers did not tell CNN which city or state was involved.
Highway Loss Data Institute released last september claim data confirmed the various social media accounts were Some Hyundai and Kia models manufactured between 2015 and 2019 are twice as likely to be stolen than other vehicles of the same age, said the report. because many of them lacked some of the basic auto anti-theft technology found in most other vehicles in those years, according to HLDI.
Specifically, these SUVs and cars do not have electronic encryption key devices, relying on a computer chip in the vehicle and another chip in the key to communicate with each other to confirm that the key is really belongs to that car. If the right key is not available, the immobilizer will do just that – stop the vehicle from moving.
According to HLDI, the immobilizer system is standard equipment on 96% of vehicles sold from the production years 2015-2019, but only 26% of Hyundai and Kia vehicles have them. at that time. Vehicles with push-button start systems, rather than relying on a metal key that have to be plugged in and turned, have immobilizers, but not all models with turnkey start have them.
Theft of these cars has become a social media trend in 2021, according to HLDI, like car thieves started posting videos of the thefts and their fun and even a video explaining how to steal a car. In Wisconsin, where crime first became common, theft claims from Hyundais and Kias have skyrocketed more than 30 times their 2019 levels in dollar terms.
“State Farm has temporarily stopped writing new business contracts in certain states for certain model years, and the cutbacks of Hyundai and Kia vehicles because of theft damage to these vehicles have increased significantly. told,” the insurance company said in a statement provided to CNN. “This is a serious issue affecting our customers and the entire auto insurance industry.”
Spokesman Jeff Sibel said Progressive is also cutting coverage for these vehicles in some markets.
“Over the past year, we have seen theft rates for certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles more than triple and in some markets these vehicles are likely to be hit,” he wrote. theft is nearly 20 times higher than other vehicles. “Given that we value our policies based on the level of risk they pose, the explosive increase in thefts in many cases makes it extremely difficult for us to insure these methods. this convenience. In response, in some geographies, we have increased prices and restricted the sale of new policies on some of these models.”
Progressive continues to insure people who already have a contract with the company, he said. Progressive also gives them advice on how to protect their vehicles from theft.
Michael Barry, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute, said it was very unusual for auto insurers to simply stop writing new policies for a certain make or model of vehicle.
“They often want to expand their market share depending on where they are doing business,” he said.
Hyundai and Kia operate as separate companies in the United States, but the Hyundai Motor Group owns a large stake in Kia, and many Hyundai and Kia models share most of their engineering.
The engine immobilizer is now standard on all Kia and Hyundai vehicles, the two companies said in a separate statement. Both automakers also said they were developing security software for vehicles that weren’t initially equipped with immobilizers. Kia says it has begun to notify owners of the availability of the software, which will be provided free of charge.. Hyundai says its free software update will be available next month.
Hyundai also said it is providing free steering wheel locks to several police departments across the country to provide local residents who own Hyundai models that can easily be stolen. Hyundai dealers are also selling and installing vehicle security kits, the company said.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misrepresented the cost of Hyundai’s security kits.
