Kia
- State Farm and Progressive are temporarily not writing new policies for some Hyundai and Kia cars, per reports.
- A key issue makes the cars easy to steal, leading to a skyrocketing amount of thefts in some cities.
- The insurance companies said the risk of these models being stolen makes them challenging to insure.
State Farm and Progressive think some Kia and Hyundai car models are too risky to insure, and are temporarily not writing insurance policies for them in some cities.
The two insurance companies are not offering policies for some Kia and Hyundai models that have been victim to a skyrocketing number of car thefts, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in Missouri and Denver7 news channel in Colorado reported, citing conversations with local car owners and insurance agents. The cars are being targeted by thieves who are taking advantage of a key issue that makes them easy to steal.
Since 2018, car thefts in Colorado rose by 160%, with Kia and Hyundai cars making up most of the thefts, Denver7 reported. Stolen car claims were almost twice as high for Kia and Hyundai models from 2015 to 2019, according to a report from the Highway Loss Data Institute.
Some of the car models use traditional keys and don't have electronic immobilizers in them, meaning people can start the car without a key present.
During the pandemic, a trend on TikTok and YouTube went viral teaching people how to hijack some Kia and Hyundai models with a screwdriver and USB charging cord. In some Kia and Hyundai models from 2015, only 26% had immobilizers, while 96% of cars from other manufacturers had them, according to the HLDI.
Progressive spokesman Jeff Sibel told CNN that the company has seen "theft rates for certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles more than triple" in the past year, "and in some markets these vehicles are almost 20 times more likely to be stolen than other vehicles."
"Given that we price our policies based on the level of risk they represent, this explosive increase in thefts in many cases makes these vehicles extremely challenging for us to insure," Sibel told CNN. "In response, in some geographic areas we have increased our rates and limited our sale of new insurance policies on some of these models."
State Farm said in a statement to Insider that it "has temporarily stopped accepting new customer applications in some states for certain model years and trim levels of Hyundai and Kia vehicles because theft losses for these vehicles have increased dramatically."
"We take seriously our responsibility to manage risk and the impact of excess claim costs on all our customers," State Farm said. "In this case, it became necessary to take action to protect our policyholders and our business."
Progressive did not immediately responded to Insider's request for comment.
Spokespeople for Hyundai and Kia told Insider the manufacturers regret the insurers' decision and the impact it will have on owners and lessees of certain car models. Both companies said they anticipate the decision will be temporary.
Both manufacturers said engine immobilizers are now standard on all vehicles, with Hyundai specifying vehicles produced as of November 2021 have the immobilizers, and both companies saying the technology has always been standard equipment on all vehicles with push-button ignitions.
Both Kia and Hyundai said they are issuing a software update, for free, to customers with affected cars. In addition, both manufacturers are offering free steering wheel locks to some law enforcement agencies around the country to distribute to affected customers. Hyundai's spokesperson said car owners can also bring their car to a local Hyundai dealer to buy and install a customized security kit.
This story has been updated to include a statement from State Farm.