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- 01/12/2024
Hotwire Via USB
Using just a how-to Social Media video, your rates get raised!
It's Like the 90's again!
Nicholas Springer
Crazy!
When I first started driving in the 90s, The CLUB was a well-known device that stopped thieves from stealing a car... well, they could hotwire it, they just couldn't steer it well enough to be of use to a chop shop. If you were in the mood to steal a car and saw the club through a car's window, the site of that brightly colored metal wand would tell you to keep walking.
A few years later, cars started coming with immobilizer chips in them - meaning that the car would not start unless the correctly chipped key was inserted into the ignition. This didn't guarantee a fool proof antitheft system, but it really did cut down on car thefts.
For some reason, KIA and Hyundai decided that immobilizers were not needed anymore and stopped using them about a decade ago. Maybe because their cars were not getting stolen or because it cost too much, I don't know.
Fast Forward to the TikTok age. Now pretty much any criminal with a smartphone can now get step by step directions on how to get into trouble.
I saw the videos... and the aftermath! Jus this month alone, our agency had a KIA and HYUNDAI stolen. And this is crazy - the Hyundai that was stolen was replaced with a rental Hyundai, that was then the victim to ANTOHER attempted theft!
The solution? Well, there are a couple right now.
- Get your car updated to the newest software. However, you still MUST lock your doors because apparently they can still be stolen!
- Get a CLUB or other device like one. This is a requirement of oms insurance companies right now. They will insure you car if and only if you have a CLUB!
- Lastly, don't get insurance. Crazy, right? Well, at least a handful of Giant insurance companies are not insuring those two makes right now, especially if that are from the 2010's.
Final thought - if you have insurance on a KIA or HYUNDAI, you might want to call you agent and talk about your options, or lack thereof!
Nick Springer, current President and CEO of Springer Insurance, joined the agency in 2000. From CSR to telemarketer, Associate Agent, Vice President and now President, Nick worked every possible job in the agency, including janitor while he was in middle school two nights a week!
After taking over for Reta, who retired in 2018, Nick and his wife Shannon have grown the agency to four locations and recently moved the Home Office to a new office condo, still in Midlothian. Over his many years, Nick has attained the designation of a Certified Authority on Workers Compensation (CAWC) and most recently the coveted Certified Insurance Counseller (CIC) designation.
Nick is now heading up the new Springer Private Client Division geared to High Net Worth clients.
