Toronto, Ontario — Certain Hyundai and Kia models are getting the cold shoulder from two of the U.S.’s largest insurers, as a report from CNN tells that Progressive and State Farm are refusing to insure models in certain cities that are deemed “too easy to steal.”
Reports have come in claiming that Hyundai and Kia drivers in Denver, Colo. and St. Louis, Mo. have been unable to secure insurance policies for their vehicles as of late.
The pair of Korean automakers have been under fire over the past several years for what much of the industry perceives as glaring oversights in the area of anti-theft technology, particularly on 2015 to 2019 Kia and Hyundai models, which are stolen twice as often as vehicles of similar age.
Despite being found on 96 percent of vehicles sold by other automakers between 2015 and 2019, Kia and Hyundai were found to only be equipping about 26 percent of their fleet with anti-theft immobilizers.
State Farm responded to CNN’s request for comment on this decision, saying “State Farm has temporarily stopped writing new business in some states for certain model years and trim levels of Hyundai and Kia vehicles because theft losses for these vehicles have increased dramatically,”
“This is a serious problem impacting our customers and the entire auto insurance industry.”
Progressive has not yet responded to CNN’s request for comment.
Michael Barry, a spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute, told CNN that this decision on the part of State Farm and Progressive is highly unusual.
“They generally want to expand their market share depending on where they’re doing business,” he said.
To counteract this recent rash of thefts, Kia and Hyundai have begun selling anti-theft kits and steering wheel locks at dealerships.
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