Not at Urban Insurance.

We have consulted with many of the Insurance companies where we write auto Insurance, and we are happy to report, that as of today, none of them have issued any plans to increase the cost of insurance on any of the GM cars. Two of the companies did state that they were aware of several large insurance companies that we “Considering” a rate increase on GM cars, but to the best of their knowledge, none had done so yet.

In trying to assess the likelihood of insurance companies raising rates on GM cars, there are two examples to look at for clues, The end of Oldsmobile and the demise of Yugo. While each nameplate has vanished, the effects were very different. This was true for resale value as well as insurance costs.

The Yugo was brought into America in 1985 as a cheep, fuel efficient car. 141,511 Yugos were sold in the US from 1985 to 1991. 1991 saw not just the end of the Yugo imported into the US. But thend of the country of Yugoslavia . After years of conflict on June 25, 1991,  Croatia and Slovenia declared independence effectively dismantling the country.  In very quick order auto insurance company’s either placed large surcharges Yugos, or refused to insure them. The problem was parts. The shortage of parts caused the resale value of the cars to plummet with such a low value owners found them selves “Upside-down on payments, every accident had disproportionately high parts cost resulting in even small accident being declared a total loss.

Oldsmobile by contrast had a 107-year history during which it produced 35.2 million cars. The same year the Yugo was introduced into the US. Oldsmobile hit  an all-time high of 1,066,122 car sold that year. Oldsmobile owners also had the ability to get their cars fixed at any other GM dealership in part because so many of the parts, and even paint colors were shared with other GM cars. Stating The complexity of the GM bankruptcy, the “American Insurance Association” says it is hard to predict insurance rates for GM products. They have stated that a shortage of replacement parts could push up insurance prices since parts are one of the largest costs of their repair costs. “Consumers may be better off if their insurer allows the use of non-manufacturer parts for repair work after a crash. A number already do, although sometimes just for older vehicles”.

Urban Insurance will keep you informed on any upcoming changes in the industry, and fight to provide you with the lowest cost on your car insurance.