albertb

I leased a 2010 C300 in March of 2010 and I'm coming up on my insurance renewal with Geico. They're increasing my rate by 10-15% because they say the rating from the Insurance Services Office changed meaning the car is either more expensive to fix than last year, has kept more value or another reason it would cost more for the insurance company.

According to them the Insurance Services Office is an independent organization and they have determined the 2010 C300 is a Symbol P this year whereas it was a Symbol K last year.

Is there someone on here who is familiar with this system? Is this a legitimate reason on their part?

lamonsas

how much are u paying per month? i have a 2011 c300 with Geico and i pay 300 a month.

SuPERSaK

Holy molly,

I only pay $107 a month full coverage thru State Farm

tmrdc5

i pay 180 full coverage w/ progressive, i'm 26 btw

lamonsas

i gotta give progressive and state farm a call tomorrow, does it matter who i speak with or they all can do the same?

SuPERSaK

I'm 28

State Farm checks for discount all the time. So they say.. LOL IDK

I also have a clean record, defensive driving awhile back ago, and motorcycle license. So IDK if all that helped or not.

Also they give discount for staying with them for over a year.

Just give them a call and see what they can do. Ask for what discount you can get.

I'm in Texas so that might be a big differ. I use to have a 07 350z and I was paying $160 a month since it was a sports car...

lamonsas

the older you are the better price you get or the younger you are the better the price?

victort

i have AAA and it is actually cheaper for me to put 2 cars on my policy. MB alone was 1900 a year, but i added an accord onto it and it's now 1500 for both cars. weird, but i'm not complaining =) and i'm 26 btw

SuPERSaK

It's true the more you have insured with them like, car, motor, house, life, renter, etc. they will give you a good deal.

The older you are and the longer relationship you have with the same insurance help a lot.

The younger you are means the more expensive.

In Texas the age to hit is 25 for male and your insurance will drop.

IllusionX

I have an 08 C300, I pay 225 a month with progressive, full coverage with rental... and thats even after I flipped my c230. Lol

I'm 22..

victort

forgot to mention your location plays a big factor to prices also

albertb

I appreciate the exchange of insurance rates - but does anyone have any information about the question in my original post?

S5504maticowner

lamonsas i don't know where you are located, but that rate is outrageous.

I have a fully loaded S550 4matic and I pay $140 a month with full coverage (no rental, don't need it) with GEICO and I am 29. I do have a clean driving record but my wife doesnt (some violations) and she has a C300 at $160 a month.

Albertb I would advise that you switch to a different insurance company or try a different agent. Dont buy into that nonsense of your car being on a different rating or symbol to justify an increase or price hike. You are being scammed.

Go to the S class forum and there are people in there with AMGs and 600s that pay cheaper insurance than me.

jctevere

Comparing Insurance rates really is pointless. There are so many factors that go into them, not to mention that they vary GREATLY from state to state. NYS undoubtedly has some of the highest insurance rates across the United States, although, I am sure that some other states aren't that far behind (Mass, etc).

Anyway, I doubt that reliability or repair expense, nor safety has anything to do with the rate increase. It probably has to do more with value than anything else. However, you never know with insurance companies (there could be some weird ratios like number of accidents reported by model or theft or something). But who really knows.

I know that while my father's SL500 is a very expensive car and probably much more expensive to fix than my c-class, but since it is a 2003 (even though the dollar value is almost the same as my car) its insurance is 1/3 the cost. $500 every 6 months. This may not sound good, but it is fairly impressive when the c-class cost $1300 every 6 months for my older sister and $1750 every 6 months for me. I am a 20 year old male and live in NYS, go figure...

phobos512

I pay $96 monthly for Geico, I have my house and my motorcycle with them as well, plus I'm 30 and an 8-year federal employee (GEICO = Government Employee Insurance COmpany).

AZN Optics

I pay around $400 for 6 month well coverage on the C. California, 33, federal employee, and all sorts of other discounts tossed on. This is also including the $35 MBI extended warranty.

Spec_Davis

I'm 22 I pay a 6 month prem. for $625 with Geico and that is for Full Coverage and Road Side

JimPap

Mine's only $43.01 per month.....I win!!!

encoder

I'm 28, I pay $95/mo for Geico on my 08 C350.

Of course there's so much variance in coverage that it's kinda meaningless just to compare using numbers. Tho I'd hope nobody has state minimum... in fact that would be against your terms with MBFS (if you financed thru them)

SuPERSaK

Wow is that the state min ?

C300Sport

lol...try moving over to Atlanta and see what happens...

Do insurers in the States use a rating system like they do in the UK or is it more informal and insurer specific?

Sportstick

Costs vary by:

Zip code
Age
Gender
Marital status
Driving record
Credit rating
Car model
Car age
Number of cars in household
Number of drivers in household
Whether car is garaged or parked outdoors
Presence of alarm system
Presence of certain safety features
Policy deductible
Policy limitations of liability
Presence of an excess liability policy
Depreciated value vs. Agreed market value total loss coverage

I probably left some out...but go ahead and try to compare among yourselves!

Samieee

There are way too many factors that affect rates. Insurance companies do not reveal most of these factors and equations so we can only speculate

bzliteyear

it must be the state you're in?
every time i've added a car, my rate goes up.
i've asked them WHY it goes up when i can only drive one car at a time, and the risk is really no greater...but the argument didn't fly.
i'd like to figure out a better system, but my umbrella is w/ AAA so it's tough to go around them for just one car.
PL

Spec_Davis

I live in New Jersey the highest Car Insurance rates ever!