Shopping for car insurance just got a little harder for owners and shoppers for certain cars.
If you’ve got your eye on a used Kia, Hyundai, Dodge Charger, Challenger, or Durango, you may want to reconsider your options.
According to a leaked, internal e-mail shared on a Facebook group from an undisclosed insurance company, National General Insurance (An Allstate Company) is no longer offering all the car insurance options it normally offers for certain cars.
For 2011-2021 KIAs and Hyundais and 2017+ Dodge Chargers, Challengers, and Durangos National General is offering liability car insurance only.
National General says this is, “in response to a hack shared on social media that has led to a significant increase in thefts.”
Check out a copy of their e-mail below.
Due to increased risk of theft of specific Hyundai, Kia, and Dodge vehicles, National General will only offer liability coverage beginning Dec 15, 2022, on the following models.
The e-mail then lists the aforementioned years, makes, and models.
It appears this restriction isn’t sent in stone as, before the end, National Coverage says,
““…We will promptly notify you of any changes to this restriction.”
Kias and Hyundais have unfortunately been in the news as of late for a rash of thefts perpetuated by, as their e-mail states, social media.
Since these newer Kias and Hyundais don’t come with immobilizers (to save on cost) car thieves realized you can easily break the ignition column and, either using a screwdriver or, as the hack made popular, the end of a USB, you could turn the ignition switch, starting the car.
Dodge vehicles gained a similar reputation except how thieves stole those cars seems to be a little more complicated. Car thieves targeting Dodges typically use signal boosters to amplify the key signal enough to start the car and drive it away. Alternatively, many Dodge vehicles thieves smash the window(s), engage the transmission emergency release, and push it away/onto a waiting flatbed.
These simple yet nefarious hacks picked up in popularity on social media, mainly TikTok.
And, as National Coverage is demonstrating, rather than deal with the eventual headache of returning their customers with said vehicles to whole, a lengthy and costly process, they’re simply not offering certain types of coverage, mainly comprehensive.
Regardless of if you own the cars above or are shopping for car insurance for those cars it would behoove you to take extra precautions to thwart thieves.
At the very least, make sure your car is actually locked when parked.
For KIAS and Hyundais, consider buying a steering wheel lock and/or, better yet, installing a hidden kill switch.
For Dodge vehicles you can do the same things. You might also get in the habit of placing your key fob in a Faraday bag/pouch specially made to thwart signal boosters.
As for shopping for car insurance, there are still plenty of options depending on where you live, just one less choice to choose from for the time being.
