Due to significant increases in theft, major insurance companies such as State Farm and Progressive are refusing coverage to many Hyundai and Kia owners.
A TikTok video demonstrates how to hack into many South Korean-made vehicles and drive off using a USB charging cable and a screwdriver. This led to a dramatic increase in thefts, which rose from 273 to 3958 in St. Louis — an increase of 1,450%.
Current Hyundai and Kia owners are experiencing huge increases in renewal premiums.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Progressive automatically denies online quotes for Kia and Hyundai owners living in St. Louis. This is due to the vehicle’s make, model, and theft rate. The same message is displayed for drivers in other areas of the country, where theft rates are high, according to Jeff Sibel, spokesperson for Progressive.
Progressive automatically denies online quotes for Kia and Hyundai owners living in St. Louis. This is due to the vehicle’s make, model, and theft rate. The same message is displayed for drivers in other areas of the country, where theft rates are high, according to Jeff Sibel, spokesperson for Progressive.
“I have been in the industry for over 15 years. It’s difficult to name a precedent for it,” Michael Barry, spokesperson for Insurance Information Institute, an organization that teaches consumer education, said.
Some cities are now suing manufacturers for making it too easy to steal their cars. Yes, really.
Seattle is not focusing on increasing police presence in high theft areas or getting prosecutors to give maximum sentences to thieves. Instead, Seattle is suing Kia Hyundai and Kia for failing to make their products theft-proof.
The Drive:
This week, the City of Seattle sued automakers Kia & Hyundai. They were accused of failing to install immobilizers in their vehicles and disregarding public safety. According to the lawsuit, those cars became easy targets for thieves and burdened law enforcement officials. It also cost the city unspecified amounts of money. Although Seattle’s lawsuit against automakers is not the first, other cities’ attorneys general has indicated they would consider suing them. However, it is the largest.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Washington, outlines similar claims that other cities have reported. In the lawsuit, Seattle’s city attorneys allege that Kia and Hyundai knowingly refused to install immobilizers on their cars sold in the U.S. between 2011 and 2021 to boost profits. In 2015, 96% of vehicles sold by other manufacturers were equipped with immobilizers, but only 26% of Hyundai and Kia vehicles were equipped with anti-theft technology. Hyundai and Kia’s vehicles were sold in other markets during that time period with the immobilizers because they were mandatory, but not in the U.S.
The “public safety problem” is that Kia & Hyundai made it easy for children to steal cars and then die in pursuits by police officers. Anyone should not sympathize with someone who is killed while committing an offense other than lefties who are looking to make a quick buck.
This is the main point. The information regarding the absence of immobilizers was not classified as national security. In 2014, I was thinking about buying a Kia. The deficiency was something I had heard about back in 2014. It didn’t influence my decision to not buy one. The suit assumes that an individual wouldn’t purchase a vehicle solely due to the absence of an immobilizer.
This is a difficult sell for a jury.
