By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNN BusinessProgressive and State Farm, two of America’s largest auto insurers, are refusing to write policies in certain cities for some older Hyundai and Kia models that have been deemed too easy to steal, according to the companies. “This is a serious problem impacting our customers and the entire auto insurance industry.”Progressive is also cutting back on insuring these cars in some markets, spokesman Jeff Sibel said in an emailed statement. “During the past year we’ve seen theft rates for certain Hyundai and Kia vehicles more than triple and in some markets these vehicles are almost 20 times more likely to be stolen than other vehicles,” he wrote. Hyundai and Kia operate as separate companies in the United States, but Hyundai Motor Group owns a large stake in Kia and various Hyundai and Kia models share much of their engineering. Hyundai said it is providing free steering wheel locks to some police departments around the country to give local residents who have easily stolen Hyundai models.

Source: CNN January 27, 2023 20:13 UTC