Auto Insurance discussion

TangoWhiskey

TangoWhiskey

Touchdown! Greaser!
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3Green
I decided to spend some time shopping around my auto insurance today, and was surprised at what I found. We insure two vehicles, a 2000 Volvo and a 2000 Ford Expedition, with Allstate (bundled deal with homeowners insurance, get a "discount" for having both coverages with one company). We insure two drivers (me and my wife), no tickets or accidents.

No complaints whatsoever about Allstate--they've been great, and we've had our coverage with them for almost 10 years. Any shopping around was simply to see what other companies are charging. I called Liberty Mutual, who offers a discount through my employer, MetLife (whose systems are down and will call me back later), and Geico (the lizard-ad people).

Here's what we found. I'm interested in YOUR comments, and will explain why in a moment.

ALLSTATE: $1081.00 / 6 months, 25K/50K coverage (bodily injury)
LIBERTY MUTUAL: $773.50 / 6 months
MET LIFE: $??? (will update when I get their quote)
GEICO: $572.30 / 6 months

WOW! Geico is almost HALF what Allstate charges me! That's the apples/apples comparison. Both Liberty Mutual and Geico said that with today's litigious environment, I should consider $100K/$300K coverage at a minimum. That gives me six times the coverage I have now per occurence without a huge rate increase:

LIBERTY MUTUAL: $806.50 / 6 months
GEICO: $616.50 / 6 months

Still, Geico is nearly half! I told a friend about this, and she said she heard from a friend of hers that was very unhappy with Geico... that they raised her rate significantly AFTER she transferred the insurance (something about comprehensive coverage changing). My quote from Geico says that it does include comprehensive....

...however, my gut also tells me "if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

SO! Anybody hear use Geico? Not looking to start another "get a company in trouble" thread... just want to know who you use and if you're happy with them? If you use Geico now, is your rate still what you were originally quoted? No bait-and-switch was done? How about claims experience?

Thanks for your feedback!
 
I don't use GEICO, but when I checked with them they would not insure drivers under 23 so I couldn't use them. But that was their "reason" why they were so much cheaper than the others.

Mark B
 
I switched from Nationwide to Geico about 2 years ago and saved 40% on my insurance at that time. After I had Geico for a year, they even dropped my rates more!

I have not had to file a single claim with Geico, so I can't tell you anything about their custoemr service in that regard, but so far everything has been fine.
 
Just don't tell Geico the comparison was so easy a caveman could do it.
 
I've had great service from Geico. Have had a couple of claims over the years - and they've handled them promptly. You get a discount after five accident/ticket free years with them.
 
RotaryWingBob said:
I don't know if your state has something similar. but here's a link to pennsylvania's complaint data (the data may actually be national, I forget)...

http://www.insurance.state.pa.us/dsf/gfsearch.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for the replies so far. I found some other sites like that, but I have to admit to being "leery" of either complaint sites or a company's own referrals and testimonials on their home page.

It's easy to get people to complain on a feedback page, and you're naturally going to get more "upset" comments than "happy" comments, and on a company's site they are only going to post the "happy" comments. That's why I asked here... I trust y'all and felt I'd get a better sampling of reality.
 
I switched this year FROM Geico to Esurance. I saved $420/6mo (98 Chevy PU, 95 Impala SS, 04 Quest) Almost enough to pay for my AC insurance
 
I got Geico while I was in the military and they did me well, even after I got out. Only accident I had, they took care of all the calls and everything after I told them the situation. Only called me back to get the info for the witness I had. Pretty painless.

Switched to Progressive because they offered me a lower rate, then Geico offered an even lower, but I stuck with Progressive for a bit until I had an accident and they made me do all the leg work basically saying don't call back unless there's a problem we need to deal with. So recently I switched to State Farm. They keep giving me discounts on whatever I can get and I also get a local agent to deal with.

So to summarize:

Geico: Good, but you have to kinda force them to stay competitive. Not many discounts.

Progressive: Can offer lower rates, but will probably make you handle your claims completely.

State Farm: No accidents so I don't know how well it's handled, but better rates than Progressive and Geico, and I've got someone local I can deal with.

Oh, and one other thing... My 6 mo full coverage is about 600$. Safe Auto said I'd have to pay 1600/mo for the same coverage. Allstate said something around 600/mo. No clue where the heck they pulled those numbers from.
 
markb5900 said:
I don't use GEICO, but when I checked with them they would not insure drivers under 23 so I couldn't use them. But that was their "reason" why they were so much cheaper than the others.

Mark B
Click to expand...

They insured me fine when I was 19. Of course, I was in the military at the time, so I guess that might've been a factor... but they didn't drop me when I got out that same year, nor after an accident. :dunno:
 
If they operate in your state, give the folks at Erie Insurance a call. You'll thank me later.

Troy Whistman said:
I decided to spend some time shopping around my auto insurance today, and was surprised at what I found. We insure two vehicles, a 2000 Volvo and a 2000 Ford Expedition, with Allstate (bundled deal with homeowners insurance, get a "discount" for having both coverages with one company). We insure two drivers (me and my wife), no tickets or accidents.

No complaints whatsoever about Allstate--they've been great, and we've had our coverage with them for almost 10 years. Any shopping around was simply to see what other companies are charging. I called Liberty Mutual, who offers a discount through my employer, MetLife (whose systems are down and will call me back later), and Geico (the lizard-ad people).

Here's what we found. I'm interested in YOUR comments, and will explain why in a moment.

ALLSTATE: $1081.00 / 6 months, 25K/50K coverage (bodily injury)
LIBERTY MUTUAL: $773.50 / 6 months
MET LIFE: $??? (will update when I get their quote)
GEICO: $572.30 / 6 months

WOW! Geico is almost HALF what Allstate charges me! That's the apples/apples comparison. Both Liberty Mutual and Geico said that with today's litigious environment, I should consider $100K/$300K coverage at a minimum. That gives me six times the coverage I have now per occurence without a huge rate increase:

LIBERTY MUTUAL: $806.50 / 6 months
GEICO: $616.50 / 6 months

Still, Geico is nearly half! I told a friend about this, and she said she heard from a friend of hers that was very unhappy with Geico... that they raised her rate significantly AFTER she transferred the insurance (something about comprehensive coverage changing). My quote from Geico says that it does include comprehensive....

...however, my gut also tells me "if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is."

SO! Anybody hear use Geico? Not looking to start another "get a company in trouble" thread... just want to know who you use and if you're happy with them? If you use Geico now, is your rate still what you were originally quoted? No bait-and-switch was done? How about claims experience?

Thanks for your feedback!
Click to expand...
 
You DO get what you pay for. Allstate, State Farm etc have superior customer service.

However, I don't think that is worth the extra $ they charge. So I switched to Geico.

I've not had a collision or a moving violation in over 15 years. I've had some glass claims (happens when you live in the rural west) and some comprehensive claims over the years. Geico was $250/6 months less than the next cheapest. Allstate wanted a fortune up here.

BTW, for those of you that don't know, GEICO stands for Government Employees Insurance Company. That is how they started their business, and despite their agressive public marketing, that is still who they specialize in. Military and Federal Employees get a pretty good discount with them (not sure about other gov't employees.) And, as is mentioned in another thread, they cover domestic rental vehicles no questions asked.

I've had (yet another) glass claim, and by coincidence a damage claim on a rental car a few months ago (hit and run in a parking lot), and I was very happy with their service.
 
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I'm with USAA, have always believed they were just a better deal, and their claims handling and customer service have always been amazing. But this thread makes me resolve: check it out.
 
Free Flying Money

Saving that kind of money ends up becoming "free flying money". I got another quote, from AIG, for $85.43/month (currently paying $178/month!).

Putting in a more efficient HVAC system, along with better weatherization of the house, to save on my electric bill (will take a while to recoup, but will drop my bill almost in half).

Would be interested to hear other "find free flying money" tips...
 
SCCutler said:
I'm with USAA, have always believed they were just a better deal, and their claims handling and customer service have always been amazing. But this thread makes me resolve: check it out.
Click to expand...

Spike, we had both auto and home with USAA and switched to Allstate because it was cheaper (when we bought the house six years ago). Now, I'm finding out that there are other options even LESS expensive.

Check out the AM Best ratings for the companies for a good feel for their ability to pay claims, customer service, etc. Good independent review.

I found www.insweb.com to be an easy way to get multiple quotes at once for both home and auto.
 
SCCutler said:
I'm with USAA, have always believed they were just a better deal, and their claims handling and customer service have always been amazing. But this thread makes me resolve: check it out.
Click to expand...
I have been with USAA since marrying a Navy brat 13 years ago and was very happy until last summer, when my wife had a minor accident. The adjuster was blind or incompetent or both, and dealing with the company was almost as bad as trying to deal with Blue Cross. The car still is not "whole", and it never will be.

If you want to know the gory details, here they are. Cathy hit a construction barrel on the highway. The yellow light/battery box hit the windshield, the barrel went past the driver side of the car and the base of the barrel (and sandbags etc) went under the car. They replaced the windshield, but "didn't notice" the scratches up the hood and on the roof from the light rolling up the car. They didn't find anything wrong under the car, despite the mutilated air dam that was still dragging on the pavement and a wheel alignment that was waaaaaaay off. They ignored the messed up rim. It's now the spare in the trunk. Oh, and the BMW dealer took no responsibility for the damage caused to the interior of the car by the people doing the repairs. We're out about 2K as a result of this accident, which the way I do math is 4 times our deductible, AND some of the repairs that were done (after 4 times in the shop) remain unsatisfactory. Now, a good part of the problem is the dealer's body shop, to be sure, but USAA has been stonewalling, denying, avoiding and otherwise been a PITA to deal with.
 
Geico did NOT save me up to 15% on car insurance. Progressive was quite a bit lower.

I have no personal claims experience with them. However, my best friend was hit by a drunk driver and while he said they were slower than he expected, he did get his money.

OBTW: $644/6mo for 2001 Volvo S60, I forget the exact limits but it was "Recommended" level, minus rental car if mine gets put out of commission for a while. (I have a second car if I really need it.)
 
I've been insured with State Farm since getting my first motorcycle when I graduated from high school in 1970. They've replaced a number of windshields over the years (0 deductible comprehensive isn't insurance, it's an investment that WILL pay off) and have dealt with other insurance companies a few times for us when the other company's insured did damage to us. Excellent service in all cases. They've also got our homeowner's insurance, boat insurance and some of my life insurance business. Would I switch? No. Been a satisfied customer for 37 years and I don't see a reason to change. It's interesting talking to the folks at the body shops about their experience with insurance companies paying claims. They love State Farm and despise certain others for how they pay promptly (or not).
 
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