i'm curious to know whether others have found their insurance rates going up on their Mini's recently. mine is up for renewal next month, and my carrier, State Farm, is raising my premiums (slightly) due to (i'm paraphrasing) "crash data involving this class of car" or some such locution. for the record, i have a 2003 Cooper, am 53 years old, have never had an accident (knock wood), and haven't had a moving violation since 1971. in my experience, in my area (Denver), most of the Mini's i've seen have been driven by what one might term "mature people" for the sake of a clumsy generalization (i'm talking 30+), and i've yet to see one exhibit what i would call recklessly aggressive behavior of the type one may observe almost daily by some Urban Assault Vehicles driven by the occasional paranoid who steps into one and feels unassailable. i find it difficult tto believe, given the niche'/enthusiast appeal of the car, that people are suddenly crashing Mini's all over the place, and was wondering what's going on? is this a general trend, or simply an anamoly of State Farm?

paddy

 

It may be your area. My rates with State Farm went down this year. 2003 MC.

 

I was wondering this in general. I just bought my MINI and the insurance was $10 more/ month than my 2001 Toyota Celica GT-S was. I asked about this since the MINI is safer and about the same retail price. I got some song and dance, there not enought data, there aren't any used parts, yet, we found it a good opportunity to gouge you since you're changing something ... What is the general trend and are some companies much better (cheaper)? Mine is AAA currently.

 

my state farm rate went up 10% as well. i live in the bham,al. area and am 45+ as well.

 

I've had my 2002 MINI Cooper for 18 months and I'm on my third 6 month renewal and each 6 month period it has gone up. I also am in my early 50's with a clean record back into the 70's. The first increase came about the same time as the 5 mph impact bumper tests were done and the MINI repair costs were high, so I kind of expected it, but just before the 2nd renewal period the crash test results came out with a 4 star rating, and I thought the rates would stay the same or maybe go down. WRONG ... up again, "based on experience" I was told.

The other car on the same policy has remained virtually the same over this time frame

 

Here in Florida, State Farm is all about increases. For the last two years I have suffered through premium increases every four to six months, and now they are increasing their other fees every little whipstitch. The final insult is that they are now tripling the fee if you want to pay monthly instead of all at once. I will say that my premium only went up around $8 when I first got the MCS last June, but the increases have continued. What drives me nuts is that the only claim I've had in thirteen years was for $1,700 when my car was broken into and they only paid $250. Also the only ticket in the last 17 years was for a seatbelt violation.

I have already informed them that I will be shopping for another company. Hello Progressive!

 

Mines a 03MCS and I too am in the 30+ year old middle age group...

 

I'm 27 with no accidents and I'm getting raped by Nationwide. It's really ridiculous how they are allowed to charge you whatever they want. All we can do is bend over and take it from behind.

 

I used to have Nationwide; but after a 10% hike and a grand total of $1750 for six months, I had enough. After shopping around, I'm now with Progressive; similar coverage; $980/6months Much better! :smile:

Note; it's cheaper for me to insure a brand new BMW 330i than my MCS :evil:

 

My Mini insurance stayed about the same from my 2001 Jeep Cherokee. I have Horace Mann as my insurance carrier. Not alot of people have heard of them because they cater to teachers and state employees. But in most states they cannot discriminate against who they insure. I am 29 year old female with no tickets and no accidents and I pay about $428 every six months. Horace Mann is the cheapest that I have been able to find. They are all over the United States. Look in your phone book and call for a Quote, you may be surprised.

 

holly crap, Ryephile. Im paying about 1/3 of your latest premium
for 6months for my MCS under my umbrella.

 

I think i just crapped myself. I'm shedding many tears for you man.

I'm about 680 every six and I have full coverage on the MINI and my wrangler, with allstate.

 

for comparison - Allstate just quoted me $2,400 per 6 months! When the insurance costs more per month than the car, that's just obscene!

 

With multiple car discount, married, no accident, and no ticket, I'm paying $350/6 months in OR with Geico. Reasonable!

 

>>With multiple car discount, married, no accident, and no ticket, I'm paying $350/6 months in OR with Geico. Reasonable!

Quite reasonable, I'm $3.00 more than you, Geico in CT, this is for my MCS and Suburban, 36, married, 1 ticket in 19 years of driving and my MINI vs. Raccoon accident.

X2

 

i would like to thank everyone for their comments. there's just something not quite right about this.
i'm going to talk to my agent about it, and (probably) start shopping around.

thanks again,

paddy

 

I drive a 2002 MC, My rates went up 20 bucks a month!!! I am 25 and have a clean driving record...

 

I think it's also the price cost of replacing MINI parts. Although the MINI has gotten 4 star ratings in crash tests, that's in regards to passenger damage, not damage to the car. Because of the way they are designed (which is good) any crash will destroy the car long before the passengers (in theory, at least, never tested myself!). As a result, more parts would need to be replaced in a head-on collision than, say, a Ford F-150. That's probably why prices are going up. Search through some other posts for people who have been in accidents in their cars and see how much the repair bills were. It's really just a guess on my part, but I think that's why premiums have gone up. MINI"s are very expensive to fix.

I DON"T agree with it, just stating what I think might be going on.

FWIW, I pay $135/mo with Allstate on my wife's '03 Civic Si and my '03 Cooper here in Texas.

-Rob

 

I am also with State Farm here in Florida and the insurance premium policies for both of my MINIs have been increased every six months. Allow me to quote thier reasoning:

"The claim experience on your make and model of vehicle has resulted in an increase to your vehicle rating group for comprehensive and/or collision coverages".


I am currently paying $628.50 every 6 months for my '04 MCS ($250 deductible) and $587.22 every 6 months for the '02 Cooper CVT also with $250 deductible.

I am 32, married with perfect driving record and zero tickets.

Living in Miami, FL, you are expected to pay very high rates for auto insurance.

 

Mini is one of three cars, married, over 50, here in Northern Virginia: $297.16 for six months.

 

Just got out of Allstate as their quote of $2,100 every 6 mo. for my '03MCS and '02 Dodge pickup was absurd. They raised me $600 a year more because of a $2K repair (parking lot accident). Thats w/ a safty violation only on my driving record and two drivers (wife is clean).

Went to Progresive for $1,700 every six mo. and better coverage, $250 ded.

My MCS is more to cover than the pickup .

Miami and Florida insurance in general s*cks.

Forgot to add I'm 42, wife 41, outstanding credit score, homeowner.

My other two classic vehicles ('69 MGB, '73 VW bug) are $125 full coverage for BOTH FOR THE COMPLETE YEAR with $0 ded (declared value of $15K and $6K respectibly) thru a classic car insurance agent.

_________________
The Transporter. Rule #1.........

2003 MCS EB/W

 

It's fairly common knowledge that there's a huge difference between insurance company's rates. EVERYBODY should re-quote their insurance to a half dozen or so companies every year or so.

DREW

 

Also keep in mind that your Consumer Credit Report and Beacon Score (Also known as FICO score) has a direct impact in your auto insurance premium costs, not only your driving record and geographical location.

 

I have to disagree with Rob_Lewis. I hit a deer back in December 2003 which did a number on the right front fender/hood, door and 1/4 panel. The bodyman (a friend) told me that the actual body parts were incredibly cheap - much less than he expected. The door had a slight dent and would have normally have been repaired but it was cheaper for a new door. Other import body parts such as VW are horrendously expensive. Insurance companies will find any reason to raise rates. Ive lucked out with Metropolitan - less than $1000 for two vehicles/year.

 

Well I paid $1050 for my first 6 months of insurance, ever. I live in DC and I am 31.... I just got an online quote from progressive for the next 6 months..... $2000. I think I will stick to Geico.