SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Heather Axtell had her 2020 Kia Sportage stolen from a hotel parking lot in Cleveland, Ohio in January. Police helped the Fulton, New York native track it down.
“There was glass all over the seat, all over the floor,” Axtell recalled. “There’s like mud all over the seat. I just don’t feel safe in it. My window’s still broken.”
Items she had in her locked car were also stolen. She is working with her insurance but has a $500 deductible she’ll have to pay. Because she doesn’t feel safe, she doesn’t really want to keep the car.
“Who’s going to want it? Because insurance companies are either not insuring them or dropping people or doubling their rates. So I have to think about that too,” Axtell said.
Steve Donigan is an independent insurance agent, who owns Donigan Business and Personal Insurance. He works with a number of companies. We asked about some companies deciding not to cover these cars.
“What we’ve seen is insurance companies coming to the conclusion that this market or this vehicle isn’t appropriate for our business model,” said Donigan. “Sometimes if a vehicle is too heavy, they don’t want to insure it.”
He advised car owners who are concerned to shop around, and even have an agent to do it for them.
“We know which companies have an appetite for certain types of risks,” Donigan said.
For Axtell, she’s playing the waiting game – for an estimate, and then it will be for the repair of her vehicle.
When we spoke to police about the theft of these vehicles, they recommended drivers get a steering wheel lock.