2023-05-11 21:14:59
Widespread theft of older and vulnerable Hyundai and Kia models that are not equipped with a crucial anti-theft device might end up costing the US insurance industry up to $600 million.
Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, American Family and 65 other auto insurers, comprising just a fraction of the nation’s insurers, estimate that only their share of the payment to owners who have been hit by the wave of crime fueled by the social networks might exceed $300 million. .
The insurers, which filed suit in the US District Court in Orange County, California, in March, say they have already paid out $190 million.
They are demanding that Hyundai Motor America, Hyundai Motor Co., Kia America and Kia Corp. reimburse funds paid to owners for the replacement or repair of damaged or stolen vehicles.
The lawsuit says that repairing broken windows and broken steering columns as a result of an attempt to break into a vehicle and turn on its ignition often costs the insurer more than $3,000.
He also said that vehicles taken on rides and used to damage public property or commit other crimes can incur damages of more than $10,000.
And if the vehicle is not recovered, it becomes a total loss and can cost up to $20,000.
“Hyundai believes that this litigation is unnecessary,” the automaker said in a statement. “A subset of Hyundai vehicles on the road in the US today, primarily entry-level or entry-level models, are not equipped with ignition buttons or immobilization anti-theft devices.
It is important to clarify that an engine immobilizer is an anti-theft device and these vehicles are fully compliant with federal anti-theft requirements.”
But the lawsuit illustrates just how troublesome the hot-wire issue is becoming for Hyundai and Kia. What started last year as a mocking TikTok video showing how easy it is to steal one of the vehicles has turned into a nationwide legal headache with consumers, municipalities and now insurance agencies suing automakers. .
Alex Gerwer, a resident of Long Beach, California, told Automotive News that his daughter’s 2019 Hyundai Tucson was stolen outside their home in the early morning hours of April.
After the police deemed the vehicle unrecoverable, his insurance company, Geico, offered a payment of $23,000. Gerwer said in an email that the amount does not “replace the car with any similar model.”
It also noted that it does not reimburse the remaining two years of the $1,300 warranty that was purchased with the vehicle.
Despite legal action once morest Hyundai and Kia by the insurance companies, Gerwer said any awards will not go where they should: “to the victims of Hyundai’s gross negligence.”
No one, he said, “will get the car they wanted and got ripped off.”
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