Car Insurance, who do you have?

I've been insured by State Farm for the past 48 years (since I bought my first motorcycle after graduating from high school). Currently have 3 cars, a boat, a boat trailer, tent trailer, homeowner's and an umbrella policy. Oh, and a life insurance policy as well. I've had no complaints over the decades when I've had to make a claim. Now, Farm Bureau Insurance (covered the idiot who ran a stop sign and hit us broadside on our motorcycle in college) is a whole different animal. If they still exist I hope they go bankrupt.
 
I use Amica ,in mass,and State Farm in Florida. Both work well for me.
 
Grum.Man said:
My rates have always been the lowest with State Farm but at this point there are other companies that are close enough to dump SF after this joke.
Click to expand...
See how much you've saved with SF versus the others, and then see what the rate increase will do over a period of time. SF could still be the cheapest. I have them for my house, car, motorcycle, and tractor.
 
Usaa, I tried liberty mutual, but, the car replacement is a joke. I had a horrible experience with them during a claim. They have no honor.
 
When you get old, don't drive to work or school. live WAY out in the country, keep car garaged, AARP....The Hartford.
 
USAA. Only car insurance I've ever had.
 
USAA since 1977. 3 cars, 2 houses. Since they don’t write for motorcycles, I use Progressive for that. Not 100% happy but haven’t found a lot better.
 
BigBadLou said:
Wait, isn't that illegal now?
Click to expand...

Depends on the state and the circumstances. In New York, I'm told that hitting objects like truck tires that roll into your path is treated the same way as wildlife hits, and do not result in rate increases. The thinking is that they don't want the driver swerving to avoid them.

Rich
 
Grum.Man said:
So I was behind several cars exiting off the freeway the other night when several of us ran over a 90% complete truck tire. It did $2,578.00 worth of damage to my practically brand new car. So I call my insurance today who I have been with for 6 years with no claims to get the process started. Long story short my insurance will go up 350.00 every 6 months plus I have a 500.00 deductible when it comes time to renew. Needless to say this really ****es me off! So now I am insurance shopping. Most online quotes I get are in the same ballpark, I am with State Farm now. The Progressive quote is much lower than the others but I have heard some horror stories on Progressive. Who does everyone else have and do you like them?
Click to expand...

I have USAA but haven't had a claim with them. The only thing I can say is that they've been unusually proactive following disasters that affected my ZIP code, always calling (or more recently, texting) me to ask if I'd suffered any damages. After Sandy they actually had me walk around looking for damage while they had me on the phone to make sure I didn't miss anything. Their banking and investment products are also very good, and the more of them you have, the better a discount you get. So if you qualify, they're worth checking out.

Regarding car insurance specifically, my advice is always the same: Visit a bunch of your local collision shops and ask them in confidence who they like. Then limit your choices to those companies. Collision shops know better than anyone else which companies are good about handling claims.

This is somewhat regionally-variable, by the way. Some companies are better in some areas than others, largely due to the caliber of the adjusters they use in those areas. So talk to the shops where you live and work and where you're most likely to get the work done if you were to have another claim.

Around here, collision shop owners swear and spit on the ground when you ask about Progressive or Geico. The complaints are the same: Both companies nickel-and-dime them to death and try to force them to use junkyard parts, even if it caused significant delays in fixing the vehicle or if the parts in question are known to fail and really should be replaced with new parts.

But that may not be true where you live, so ask around.

Rich
 
I have State Farm for both the house and car. It wasn't bad till I bought this new car. My car insurance went from $75 to $160! o_O

You'd think it would stay the same or only go up a few dollars.
 
I've had State Farm ever since I was 16. My parents refused to put me on their policy and made me get my own. My rates were horrifically high as a teenager, but it was probably one of the best financial teaching lessons I ever got. Over time, my rates are very reasonable, and I've only ever had one chargeable accident on my record, and that was many years ago. They didn't even raise my rates after that chargeable accident either.

My rates are also pretty reasonable. I've had SUVs and sports cars with them, with top coverage, and never was shocked at the rates or felt they were unreasonable.

They've always treated me well, and as long as they do so, I'll stick with them. I had an old Jeep Grand Cherokee parked in my driveway that was hit by some idiot at night (probably high or drunk, he sped off and the neighbor's security system caught him on video but it was too dark to ID the license plate) and the repairs were far more than it was worth, so they totaled it. I ended up walking away with a check that was really more than it was worth that made a nice downpayment on a new Jeep. Considering how much in premiums they've made off me over the years, over time it's still worked out far more in State Farm's favor. But I've always had excellent customer service from them, and they've always treated me right. So I'm not going to worry about saving some in premiums with somebody else at this stage. As long as State Farm continues doing right by me, they've got my business forever.
 
Auto Club (AAA) here. Not the cheapest, but pretty competitive, and never a hassle when I’ve had to submit claims. I’ve had other insurance companies in the past that were difficult to work with, so will pay a little more for the customer service.
 
rtk11 said:
Auto Club (AAA) here. Not the cheapest, but pretty competitive, and never a hassle when I’ve had to submit claims. I’ve had other insurance companies in the past that were difficult to work with, so will pay a little more for the customer service.
Click to expand...

Same here. I have AAA and while not the cheapest, they are on it with zero hassles for the few claims that I have had over the years...some minor, some major.

I hear all of my friend's horror stories with other insurers which makes me not even bother shopping around.

You get what you pay for.
 
I was with geico a few years ago but switched to progressive who was far lower for r the same coverage. Haven’t had to use them so can’t comment on their service. I hate insurance companies.
 
USAA is very responsive on claims. Never a problem. Had an auto claim about two years ago (*#&$$% grade crossing had a foot deep pot hole along the rail). We also have had home insurance claims. My wife called in the claim for a burst pipe and she was still on the phone giving details to the USAA rep when my cell rang and it was the mitigation company already dispatched from USAA.

About the only thing I don't use USAA for because they have gone absolutely crappy on is the aviation insurance. (They switched to USAIG for an underwriter for most of their stuff and they won't write Navions anymore and their agency sucks royally for other carriers).
 
You are in NC? I left Nationwide due to really high rates and went to Erie. They HAD great rates but they have gone up a bunch. Switched to Auto-Owners and could not be happier. Great rates, stable company, excellent claims service, and rated one of the top carriers recently in national rankings. My Erie agent told me he's been losing biz due to rates and Auto-owners is a darn good company. Coming from my Erie agent. Hmm....give them a try.
 
USAA, home and auto, and they have excellent claims handling.

I should shop it, though.
 
Scrabo said:
Don’t you have to ex military to join ?
Click to expand...

This is summarized from USAA's site, but the page is login-protected for some reason:

Active duty U.S. military service members and members of some Reserve / National Guard units.
Service academy Cadets and Midshipmen or current ROTC members.
Military retirees and honorably-discharged veterans.
Spouses, children, and stepchildren of current and former USAA members.
Former spouses of USAA members who have not remarried.​

A representative once told me over the phone that any child legally residing with and being raised by a member would also be eligible, such as a foster child, ward, godchild, grandchild, or the child of a deceased friend or relative left in a member's care and custody.

Siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins or other relatives of members are not eligible unless they are legally in the member's care and custody.

Rich
 
Last edited:
SCCutler said:
USAA, home and auto, and they have excellent claims handling.

I should shop it, though.
Click to expand...

My policy just came up for renewal. It went up quite a bit in the PIP and down in most other categories, resulting in a slight overall increase. But I let all the other usual companies (that is, the ones I'd actually consider using) do their quotes, and USAA was still much lower than the rest -- in some cases by nearly half.

Also, not one of the other companies would match USAA's coverage limits. I have all the "people" protections maxed out. The Hartford via AARP came closest in price (about $15.00 / month more), but for only one-quarter of the coverage limits I have with USAA. All the other quotes I received came with much higher premiums and much lower coverage limits, so renewing with USAA was a no-brainer, which has been the case since I became a member.

Rich
 
SCCutler said:
USAA, home and auto, and they have excellent claims handling.

I should shop it, though.
Click to expand...
For me, customer service is worth something. Shopping it is not a bad idea, but to me a stellar customer service/claims handling reputation is worth something on the premium side.
 
I'll put this disclaimer at the forefront. I work for an insurance company.

Find a company you like and do your best to stay with them. Don't change companies every six months to save $5. Every company adjusts rates on a semi-regular basis, but not at the same time. So State Farm may be cheaper today and Progressive the highest....two months from now SF may have a rate increase that puts their rates higher than Progressive. There are reasons you don't want to switch constantly. One, there is SOME loyalty when it comes to reputable companies. You have a couple of at-fault accidents and you've been with us for 20 years I'm not looking at it twice. You've been with us 4 months and yes, you'll get a letter from me asking you to find another insurance company. Even with an accident surcharge, your existing company is much likely to be less expensive than going to a new company with multiple at-fault accidents. And good luck finding a company who wants to insure you with a terrible track record.

Off topic, but the most important thing I can tell you, is use an agent and have him/her go through your coverages in-depth. Have them explain what the coverages do, and make sure that you have limits you're comfortable with.

* Liability - I wouldn't drive my car to the mailbox with state minimum limits. Not one state is even close to having adequate minimum limits. Personally, I have $1M single limit (i.e. up to $1m total to be paid for all damage to property and bodily injury to others ). Since the bulk of claims are small, it's the first layer of liability limits that costs the most. It costs very little to increase your limits substantially.

* Uninsured/underinsured motorist - pays your medical expenses and lost wages when you're injured by someone with no insurance or not enough insurance. This is very inexpensive - and I promise you that every person on this forum would carry these coverages if they knew how many people have NO insurance...and of those who do, how many are carrying minimum limits.

* Collision - pays for collision damage to your car. This typically pays because of an at-fault accident, but it will also pay for your car if you're hit by a driver with no insurance. I carry a $2K deductible on my truck because I haven't had an at-fault accident in 35 years. I carry a $500 ded (the lowest available) for my wife and daughter's vehicles because they're fortunate to go 2 years w/o causing an accident.
 
State Farm for 40 years, and I've never made a claim. Just liability & uninsured motorist on every car I've owned....keeps the rates down.
 
Still with USAA. They have treated me well since 1985. My only claim with them was last Spring when my wife hit a pole in a parking lot. That went fine, rates haven’t changed either.
 
I've become increasingly frustrated with this claims process. They told me to go get an estimate where ever I like. After doing that they told me I had to either take the car to one of their preferred shops or have someone come look at it. Why would you tell me to go get an estimate without telling me this first? So I had an appointment with an inspector yesterday to which they canceled because they were "reasigned". The new guy calls last night while I was flying saying he will be at my house at 1 pm. I call them back and tell them I have a job and will not be at home at 1pm that they will have to come to my work. After this is all said and done I will be leaving SF for sure!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top