Erin Walters tried to update her car insurance with State Farm but was turned down because she drives a 2019 Hyundai Elantra.
Walters told WCCO News, “I was shocked that State Farm was denying me.” She had been with the company for five years.
Walters claimed that an agent informed her that she had been turned down because of the type and make of her car and that it would need a push-to-start ignition to be insured.
And it’s not just State Farm that won’t cover her. Progressive told Walters that they couldn’t give her a policy because of “high theft rates.” Walters says she’s been trying to get a new policy from a different company.
State Farm and Progressive have dropped some Hyundai and Kia cars.
A spokeswoman for State Farm told WCCO News that the company has stopped taking new applications in some states for certain model years and trim levels of Hyundai and Kia cars because theft losses have gone through the roof.
It looked like these thefts were happening to Hyundai and Kia cars made after 2011 and after 2015.
The representative said, “This is a major issue that affects our clients and the whole auto insurance business.” “We are monitoring this situation very closely and will adjust our approach as appropriate.”
Both State Farm and Progressive first said last year that they would no longer cover certain Hyundai and Kia cars because of thefts. The number of thefts may have gone up because of a TikTok trend where people showed how to start cars without keys.
In 2022, a Kia representative told CNBC that thieves are only interested in cars with a steel key and a “turn-to-start” starting system. However, newer models have engine immobilizers that make them harder to steal.
A Hyundai representative also told USA Today that as of November 2021, all Hyundai cars will come with engine immobilizers as standard.
Walters said that the car company should return these dangerous models and pay for the needed improvements.
“I would never buy a Hyundai because they’re not stepping up to fixing this situation,” she told WCCO.
A class-action case against Hyundai and Kia was recently settled. The lawsuit said that Hyundai and Kia made their cars easier to steal by not installing immobilizers in models made from 2011 to 2022.
Also, Hyundai and Kia have been giving free anti-theft software updates and devices to qualified customers.
That being said, many car owners are still reporting thefts even after getting the free updates.
A police chief in Minneapolis told MPR News, “I just don’t understand why everyone isn’t up in arms saying that these cars need to be recalled right away.”
People who still have insurance on these makes and models might want to get comprehensive theft insurance until a better answer is found.
