Car Insurance

[dell30rb]

Its time I start shoppin for car insurance. I have never had a wreck or ticket, and with my current company (erie insurance) my rate has actually gone up slightly, while I have stayed accdient free and my vehicle is worth much less than it used to be

For someone who has gone through the process recently, any good companies come to mind?

 

[AggieMike88]

No company recommendations, except for USAA if you qualify.

But a suggestion to keep your "full" coverage where the carrier will pay the FMV for your vehicle (less deductible) should something happen to it and it becomes a total loss.

In the auto recycling world, too often I encounter folks selling me their car who tell me that their livelihood depended on the transportation value the vehicle brought to the table, but they cannot afford to replace the vehicle they are selling me. To save money, they dropped full coverage, but Mr. Murphy was in the other vehicle who hit them, and dropped them into the financial grease.

They don't have the personal savings to replace the car with a like item (aka self-insure), and to replace it with something, they must go into debt.

Add the cost of the debt (interest) to the depreciation cost, and the monthly premium for the full coverage really looks affordable.

Having the full coverage protects the cash and income you'd "lose" by replacing the car, even if it's just the FMV. Even if the deductible plus the "gap" between FMV and the replacement vehicle cost is $500-$1500, it's still favorable over losing three times that or more by losign the FMV + purchase vehicle cost + debt cost + depreciation.


If you have the personal cash reserves to replace the vehicle the day after you lose it, then take the "full" coverage premium amount you would have paid to the carrier and pay it to yourself. If you don't, then maintaining full coverage is my recommendation.
______________________
Mike Farlow
Denton County Auto Salvage
Denton, TX

 

[weilke]

I have had good luck with Liberty Mutual (where available) and State Farm.

 

[jtheune]

I understand Erie is one of the best in terms of service and price so I'm not sure you will do better. The fact that your car has gone down in value is not a really big factor in determining your rate. The liabiltiy portion is a much bigger chunk and that is likely to have gone up not to mention the insurance companies are not making near as much in the stock market so that will raise rates as well since the stock market gains helped pay off the claims. You can shop around but don't be surprised if you can't beat your ates for the same coverage. I happen to be with Electric Insurance the insurance arm of GE and it was the best deal for me since I get a GE employee discount. You might check with them. I don't know how well they deal with claims as I don't have any experience with that with them.

 

[Speed]

No company recommendations, except for USAA if you qualify.

+1 for USAA. I've once or twice called around for competing quotes and haven't found one to beat them.

 

[dell30rb]

I understand Erie is one of the best in terms of service and price so I'm not sure you will do better. The fact that your car has gone down in value is not a really big factor in determining your rate. The liabiltiy portion is a much bigger chunk and that is likely to have gone up not to mention the insurance companies are not making near as much in the stock market so that will raise rates as well since the stock market gains helped pay off the claims. You can shop around but don't be surprised if you can't beat your ates for the same coverage. I happen to be with Electric Insurance the insurance arm of GE and it was the best deal for me since I get a GE employee discount. You might check with them. I don't know how well they deal with claims as I don't have any experience with that with them.

I talked with erie today and it seems they have been overcharging me. I called and asked the agent what my current coverage is, and the current rate. He said $560 per year. I said ok, thanks for the quote, no i would not like to renew, bye now.

He called back 15 minutes later with "sir, oh i see you now have xx number of years driving experience, you are eligible for our blah blah blah program and your premium will actually be $316 per year, not $560"

I'm glad they have a competitive rate but I'm kinda ****ed i've been overpaying for so long.

 

[denverpilot]

I was about to say "shop it, now" but you figured it out. There is no such thing as customer loyalty in insurance anymore. We shop ours at a minimum of every two years. Everyone always has a better deal every time if your credit rating is spotless. They're more worried about deadbeat payees than your insurability these days. They'd lose more money on that.