Tesla Cybertruck owners filled up internet forums after the truck was released last November with complaints about how hard it is to get affordable insurance on the vehicle.
Owners bemoaned being dropped by insurers and paying sky-high rates for coverage.
Now, some people are saying that their Cybertrucks are having trouble getting insurance from Geico, America’s third-largest auto insurer.
The story went viral on X over the weekend, but Geico denied in a statement to the Daily Dot that it was true.
Can you get Geico insurance for a Cybertruck?
“GEICO has coverage available nationwide for the Tesla Cybertruck,” the company said in a statement to the Daily Dot.
The viral claim about Geico was sourced to a Reddit thread on r/Cyberstuck, which shares stories about mishaps involving the truck. There, a user shared a screenshot of a tweet by a poster who claimed to have gotten an email from a Geico insurance underwriter.
That email said that the 2024 Tesla Cybertruck doesn’t meet the company’s underwriting guidelines and that the company can’t keep covering it.
But a phone number for the underwriter is disconnected and nobody with his name seems to have an online presence connected to Geico.
However, Geico told the Daily Dot that some customers who have private passenger automobile (PPA) insurance might have gotten the news that their PPA insurance wasn’t being renewed because of the truck’s “gross weight and potential challenges with parts availability for repair shops.”
Geico clarified that the policies for the vehicle are available through its commercial insurance division and that it will be reaching out to customers who may have received the notices.
On the forum, other owners shared similar troubles with getting their trucks insured by Geico, though some noted they weren’t having any problems.
“This used to be an issue in NY, now it seems to be happening in other states too,” wrote 2blentendre. “First Geico will provide you with insurance for the Cybertruck, then cancel in 2 weeks. In states without Tesla insurance, like NY, this causes a serious issue in that other car insurances either A) refuse to insure the Cybertruck or B) charge an EXORBITANT monthly fee … Some people, especially in NY seem to be immune to this issue, while others are getting dropped from Geico policy for having a Cybertruck.”
Geico isn’t the only company owners say they’re having insurance troubles with. Bearded Tesla Guy, a YouTuber with over 80,000 subscribers, shared a story back in May after his auto insurance company sent him a letter informing him they wouldn’t auto-renew his truck’s policy.
“Cybertruck on the policy? I read someone recently said their insurance company told them they will no longer cover Cybertruck,” asked @boywhocriedfsd.
“Yes it’s on the policy,” Bearded Tesla replied, who clarified that his insurance had been through Progressive.
Cybertruck Owner forum posters also reported problems with getting affordable insurance on the new trucks, including rate hikes on other Tesla cars while renewing their contracts.
“Progressive gave me a good rate for the 1st 6 months on my model Y. Then they doubled it on renewal,” posted Beyond on the Cybertruck Owners Club forum in June. “No accidents or claims ever. No tickets in decades. Low mileage. Turns out they lowball an ‘introductory’ rate and then tighten the screws.”
Progressive didn’t immediately respond to questions about its Tesla insurance policies.
A Reuters investigation last November looked into Tesla’s in-house auto-insurance service, which many owners turned to in the face of unaffordable policies from other companies on the vehicles, which require specialized maintenance and repair services that only Tesla mechanics can offer.
That insurance service launched in 2019 and promised to deliver “same-day” accident repairs, but some drivers reported months-long waits and tens of thousands of dollars in uncompensated reimbursements, as well as a lack of prompt communication from the company.
An In Practise interview with a former Tesla Insurance executive from the end of May revealed some of the particularities of insuring Teslas, as well as the company’s own insurance business.
According to that interview, Teslas have a much higher accident frequency in the first six months of operation, 50% higher than the average vehicle.
“When people get into a Tesla, they don’t realize they’re essentially driving a Ferrari. They can accelerate quickly. And then they realize, “Oh, I can accelerate quickly, but my brakes are like what I have on my Honda Accord; they’re not high performance,’” the former Tesla executive told In Practise.
In addition to those adaptations, 40% of Tesla vehicles that crash are completely totaled, the executive said.
All of that adds up to a 150% loss ratio for Tesla’s insurance—meaning that the repairs it’s paying for cost significantly more than the premiums it’s bringing in.
That might be one explanation for why other auto insurers are balking at providing coverage, or why they’re commanding higher premiums. That being said, the news that Geico has dropped Cybertrucks entirely isn’t true.
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