Hi Socal 997 owners !

I posted this a little while ago... I'm still having issues (therefore the re-post)..

Anyone else having problems with their insurance agents getting the 997 insured ? as soon as the VIN gets typed into their computer... the problem starts !

I'm with SoCal AAA ... (AAA have the best rates for Porsche, well.. they did) they can't find the 2005 997 Carrera S in thier database... When they type in my VIN number they say it just keeps coming up as a 911 Turbo !!!

So, my insurance for the year has gone from $1766 (for a 2002 996 Carrera) to a whopping $5900 for my 997 Carrera S.

Basically AAA "insist" my 997 is a Turbo ! they say any Porsche that has a VIN starting WP0AB... is a turbo ! So I have to pay 996 Turbo premiums now !

I'd like to try and stay with AAA... they do look after you if you have an accident.... but changing to another insurer may not work either !

AAA won't be the only ones having this VIN problem either ! they use a company called "Polk" who compile "symbols" (insurance ratings for vehicles).. for use by the insurance industry.... So other Insurers will be having the same problems ! If the insurer uses Polk... same problem !

Anyone else get this ? from either AAA or any "other" SoCal Insurers ?

I only know about this as a problem because I went from a "recent model 996" to the 997 ! if other people go from other cars to a 997... they may just think 997 has a high premium ! and think no more about it :-(

Thanks :-)

Ian
.

 

I checked with State Farm on Friday, and the 997(C2S) was not in their system.

 

Hi sjsharks

Thanks... this is worrying.... looks like all Porsche 997 Carrera S model owners are going to have a problem with VERY high premiums !

The problem seem to be the 4th and 5th digits of the VIN... if the 5th digit = B then the car get designated as a Turbo !

So, 997 Carrera's will be okay... 997 Carrera S owners may have a problem !

Hope someone proves me wrong... I'd like to have a nice low premium... and not the "overly inflated" one I'm getting quoted at the moment :-(

 

Just got my Safeco bill and they show my 997S as a Turbo too. There must be some service company that supplies this information to the insurance industry but I have no idea who. I have just faxed a letter to PCNA explaining this problem and asking them to track it down and correct it.

 

Hi Jim

You'll have to email me a copy of that letter... I'll send a "re-worded" copy to them too ! maybe if more than one of us makes an issue of it... they may do something about it ? ;-)

The company that provides the insurance industry with the information is called Polk ! they provide what they call "symbols" with are vehicle 'risk' codes that the insurers use to set premiums... I think it's Polk that maybe has interpreted the 2005 Porsche VIN's incorrectly

It's the 5th digit of the VIN that difines the Engine type...

In case anyone is interested... this is what I've been able to figure out so far -

All 2005 model year 997 Carrera S models have a "B" as the 5th digit in the VIN...
In previous years (996 models) this meant it was a turbo engine...
However, Porsche have now changed the way they do things for 2005 model years and the 997... Cayenne etc...

VIN Digit 5-

for 2004 (996)
"A = 3.6ltr"
"B = Turbo"

They now have in the 5th digit VIN location -
For 997 (currently 2 engine types and a 3rd in the future ?? Turbo)
"A = 3.6ltr",
"B = 3.8ltr"
and if we look forward a little.... I bet you that the 997 turbo with be a "C"

For the Cayenne (currently 3 engine types)
"A =V6"
"B = V8"
"C = Turbo"

So, A,B & C just means engine types A, B & C for that model.... the 996 had just 2 engine variants (at any one time)

 

oops !

sorry for all my spelling and typo's in that last posting

 

if ever i had another reason to hate insurence ...this would be it :@

 

Wow - $5900 ? My 2002 Turbo 's insurance premium is $1500/ yr in urban SF Bay Area . You must be under 30 or have a few points on your driving record !

 

Ian - thanks for the additional info. I tracked Polk down on the web (www.polk.com), and just submitted an email to them through their website, describing the problem at this page:

http://www.polk.com/contact/index.as...=vintelligence

 

I pay over $2000 (perfect driving record) for an M3 in long island. $1500 for a 911 is cheap.

 

Hey MKW,

Actually I'm well over 40... California good driver discount... no points on license and live in a sleepy place Nth East of LA 6miles from Malibu !

I guess AAA are just saying... "they don't want to insure 911 turbos" thats the only thing you can read from a premium of $5900 !... right ? :-)

but I guess they like straight plain old Carrera's... at $1766 yr thats fine !

Ian

 

Well I got all you guys beat, $ 840 a year for a 2nd car C2S... Finally I think I did not over pay.

 

I just received a letter from Peter Schwarzenbauer, President & CEO of PCNA, responding to the letter I FedEx'd to him on November 8th, regarding the insurance discrepancies with the 997's.

In part, his response was: "Thank you for your letter of November 8, informing us of the insurance problem being experienced by you and other owners of our Carrera 997 S model. You are the first to bring this matter to our attention and please be assured that we are taking immediate action to address and hopefully resolve it."

I had also received an email from another senior guy at PCNA who offered to write a letter to my insurance company if that would help, and saying he was working on solving the problem.

Hopefully this will help get things straightened out soon. According to Safeco, I am still driving a Turbo.

 

Hey Jim... That's great !

Hopefully, they'll have it all fixed by my next renewal date... that way I won't have to jump thru hoops to convince them it's NOT a Turbo

I'm suprised that Porsche havent heard before.. the PCNA area rep here sent me an email (via the dealer) almost 2 months back to clarify things... but a letter would have been better !

Cheers !

 

Old professional secret - if you want to get something done, write the top guy and ALWAYS send the letter by FedEx, otherwise it will probably never get to him. The last beef I had with Dell, I FedEx'd a letter to Michael Dell to his home for Saturday delivery (I have sources to get such information), and they were jumping Monday morning.