Tesla is building up in-house insurance as Model S tops list of most expensive cars to insure

Over a year ago, we published an exclusive report revealing that Tesla was working on a new car insurance program, which it started offering to its customers in Australia and Hong Kong. It has since expanded into several other markets including North America and Tesla is apparently building it up as a ‘Customer Centric Insurance Company’.

It looks like this new company couldn’t come soon enough for Tesla owners as the Model S becomes the most expensive car to insure in the US.

Using data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, 24/7 Wall St. came up with a list of the 25 most expensive vehicles to insure based on insurance claim frequency and insurance cost per vehicle.

Tesla’s Model S topped it with an annual average insurance paid of $1,789.48 and annual collision insurance paid of $1310.40.

Last year, some insurance companies announced that they would increase their rates on Tesla’s vehicles based on a report that claimed “abnormally high claim frequencies” from Tesla owners.

At the time, Tesla argued the report was misleading because they were compared to much less powerful vehicles, including a station wagon, and the data included Tesla’s performance Model S and Model X vehicles which are incredibly powerful and potentially more prone to being crashed.

But even if some companies are charging more for insuring Tesla vehicles, the automaker says that owners can still find some good prices:

Tesla guarantees that there will always be an insurance provider that will charge less for a Model S or X than any other car with a similar driver, price and vehicle category.

Tesla has also been working directly with some companies to create better insurance programs for its owners.

It’s called InsureMyTesla and it features custom insurance plans for the automaker’s electric vehicles underwritten by insurers partnering with Tesla.

We haven’t heard much about the program since it launched last year, but Tesla has now hired Alex Tsetsenekos, a former exec at Liberty Mutual, Tesla’s partner for InsureMyTesla in the US, and several other insurance companies, to lead the program in North America.

At a conference later this year, he is set to give a keynote presentation titled ‘Building a Customer Centric Insurance Company for Tesla’.

He said about this upcoming presentation:

The evolution of the customer experience is accelerating through the advent of new products, partners, and services. As an auto manufacturer, Tesla recognizes that delivering a truly digital insurance customer experience is critical to the ‘Tesla experience’ moving forward. I’m excited to share our four key areas of focus to make this happen and discuss synergies between insurance and utilities.

In Australia and Hong Kong, where the program first launched, a Tesla executive said that they were already selling the majority of their vehicles with the insurance plan.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the insurers charging high premiums for Tesla vehicles weren’t competitive and suggested that Tesla owners simply change insurers if they weren’t satisfied.

But he also said that they will be working more closely with them to make sure the rates are fair – especially with the advent of autonomous driving and active safety features in Tesla’s vehicles.