The Hyundai/Kia theft drama simply retains getting worse. The shockwaves from what began as a dumb social media development have changed into a full-blown epidemic of headache for hundreds of thousands of Hyundai and Kia house owners throughout the nation. The newest blow: Insurance corporations refusing to cowl theft-prone fashions. New Orleans CBS affiliate 4WWL experiences that State Farm is now declining protection on sure Hyundai and Kia fashions in Louisiana, and probably a number of different states.
It all stems from the “Kia Boys” social media development, the place customers publish movies exhibiting how straightforward it’s to start out sure Hyundai and Kia fashions by ripping out the ignition swap and utilizing a USB cable to function the turn-key starter and get the automobile operating. Fallout from the “Kia Boys” social media development in and round St. Louis and Milwaukee resulted in huge nationwide insurance coverage corporations like State Farm and Progressive declining protection on vulnerable automobiles from the Korean producers. The dangers are too excessive, the insurance coverage corporations say, due to the rise in thefts. Now that insurance coverage drawback has spilled over to different states.
Two State Farm brokers spoke with 4WWL detailing a chart despatched from State Farm headquarters that outlines a blacklist of weak Hyundai and Kia fashions the corporate gained’t insure in Louisiana. The fashions listed cowl a six-year span from each Hyundai and Kia beginning with the 2015 mannequin 12 months:
- 2015-2021 Hyundai Accent
- 2015-2021 Hyundai Elantra
- 2015-2021 Hyundai Kona
- 2015-2021 Hyundai Santa Fe
- 2015-2021 Hyundai Tuscon
- 2015-2021 Hyundai Veloster
- 2015-2021 Kia Forte
- 2015-2021 Kia Optima (4-door and hybrid fashions)
- 2015-2021 Kia Rio
- 2015-2021 Kia Sedona
- 2015-2021 Kia Sorento
- 2015-2021 Kia Soul
- 2015-2021 Kia Sportage
As 4WWL experiences, the Louisiana Department of Insurance seemingly hadn’t been notified of the modifications. I reached out to each automakers and State Farm to get extra info.
Hyundai gave me the very same assertion it did once I reached out to them about an identical insurance coverage difficulty in St. Louis in late January. Kia gave an announcement saying engine immobilizes at the moment are commonplace on all Kia fashions, and that wheel locks and software program updates can be found to affected house owners without charge:
Kia America regrets this determination by sure insurers and its affect on house owners and lessees of choose Kia automobiles, which we anticipate will probably be momentary. Engine immobilizers at the moment are commonplace on all Kia automobiles and have all the time been commonplace tools on Kia automobiles with push-button ignitions.
Additionally, Kia has taken a collection of actions to cut back the declare frequencies related to affected automobiles. Kia has been growing and testing enhanced safety software program for automobiles not initially geared up with an immobilizer and has began notifying house owners of sure fashions of the supply of this software program improve without charge to shoppers. Kia anticipates that it’s going to make software program upgrades obtainable for many affected automobiles by mid-2023. Kia can be persevering with to supply free steering wheel locks, as obtainable, to legislation enforcement companies throughout the nation for distribution to native residents who personal or lease affected fashions.
Kia house owners with questions concerning their car might contact our Customer Care crew straight at 1-800-333-4542 (4Kia) or on-line by way of the Owners Portal on kia.com.
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I reached out to State Farm for affirmation that this was an organization coverage going ahead. A consultant for State Farm confirmed that it was:
State Farm has briefly stopped accepting new buyer functions in some states for sure mannequin years and trim ranges of Hyundai and Kia automobiles as a result of theft losses for these automobiles have elevated dramatically. This is a significant issue impacting our prospects and all the auto insurance coverage trade.
We take significantly our accountability to handle danger and the affect of extra declare prices on all our prospects. In this case, it turned essential to take motion to guard our policyholders and our enterprise.
I requested the State Farm consultant if this was being completed elsewhere within the nation. I didn’t get a solution, however the two brokers who spoke with 4WWL stated the corporate is implementing this coverage in Georgia, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington, and Pennsylvania. Crucially, the change gained’t apply to present policyholders — the blacklist solely applies to new prospects searching for protection on listed “high risk” fashions.
While this all sounds screwed up, it’s essential to keep in mind that insurance coverage corporations can deny protection for nearly any motive. Unfortunately, the excessive theft charges of a few of these Hyundai and Kia fashions offers motive sufficient. Data from the Highway Loss Data Institute reveals that Hyundai and Kia fashions with out immobilizers have a theft declare fee of two.18 per 1,000 insured automobiles, far greater than the trade common of 1.21 per 1,000 automobiles.
Source: jalopnik.com