I’m 59. I’ve never talked to an insurance agent in my life.
I’ve always simply used a website or before that an 800 number. Whoever I was communicating with they were somewhere between a commissioned salesman and a customer service worker. There has never been any reason to believe they had any interests other than their own or their employer’s at heart. They certainly didn’t have my interests primary; that’s my job to look out for.
I would expect that only a very small percentage of modern car insurance is placed through the traditional independent agent model. I also suspect this varies a bit by state. Some states may have either more robust regulations or at least a history of same that results in the independent agents having a large® role to play.
I find that astounding. I could see it more if you were 29, but it’s amazing at 59. I guess you’ve always been with the “captive” companies like State Farm, Allstate, Geico, USAA. I was with State Farm for a few years, and shopped with them recently, but I’ve been with insurance companies through independent agents most of the time - I’m now with Erie. Even with State Farm, I use a local agent to help me figure out things. Yeah, I realize they represent the insurance company, but I’d rather deal with someone local than anonymously on a website or 800 line.
Every state has different rules about which coverages attach to the driver at all times. However, as far as I am aware coverage for liability to third parties follows the driver in every state; it’s comprehensive, collision, PIP and so forth that may or may not “travel.”
It’s not in their employer’s interest that you be frustrated and confused. Nor that you are unable to find the cheapest rate that they think they can afford to offer you. The insurance company doesn’t want to loose you to the competition, after all.
Insurance companies know that many customers don’t bother to “shop” very often, and they may not proactively tell you how to restructure your insurance to get a better deal. But if you are on the phone asking what the best deal is, they know you are likely to be checking with the competition, too. If that agent/phone rep is competent, they will tell you the best rate you can get.
Agree that my case is pretty simple. Perhaps very unusually so. Once I left college I was quickly overseas w USAF and at that time USAA was pretty much the only choice available. Life insurance without a combat or aviator exclusion? Check. Car / Driver insurance that works in random third world shitholes? Check.
So they’ve been insuring my life, cars, drivers, boats, expensive personal property, liability, and real estate ever since. They even manage the placement of my current hurricane insurance through the FL state hurricane fund. They’ve not (yet) given me cause to hate them. Something bad happens, I call them, and they send me some money; easy peasy. I suspect I might save a buck or two if I switched to Brand X, but at what cost to quick, painless, & seemingly complete payouts once I need it?
Health, dental, disability, and similar insurances have always been provided by USAF, my employer, and/or labor union. I may have had choices of which specific packages to select or skip, but the employer chose all the vendors and all the rest of the details. My option was limited to “yes” or “no”.
When I owned an airplane there were only a couple of carriers that even sold that insurance, so it was easy to call them both directly. USAA didn’t. That was years ago.
I want to thank everyone for their replies. True it is that we have nothing to hide, and true it is that I have this stigma that just asking will bias the insurance company. Ultimately, I will have to just ask and have them advise me. It is what it is.
I can’t (adequately) drive a standard. Somehow my parents were able to convince their insurance of this when I was a new driver, and I wasn’t covered for the two standards they owned successively when I was young, just their automatic.
Some of this is going to differ by state or company - but
I can only insure a car registered to me or my husband on my policy. When my son got a car, I could only add it to my policy if I registered it.
For all that people think it’s cheaper to put the 18 year old’s car on the parents policy- not always. Insuring my son’s car on my policy would have been a few hundred a month more expensive than getting his own. Even though he was new driver, male and about 22. Because he had no assets to protect, and could therefore get the legally required minimum insurance. We had much higher limits, but all the cars on the policy had to have the same limits.
I had to choose a primary driver for each car, but I don’t recall there being any issue regarding two cars having the same primary driver and a third driver being an occasional driver on all the cars. I wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t true, though because the insurance company might not believe she’s not the primary driver if she gets into an accident on her way to work or school…
In a lot of states, the magic word pair is “excluded driver.” If you have a Mustang GT or other valuable car, or have two standards in the family you aren’t able to drive, etc., you tell the insurance company to mention your kid as an excluded driver. Your existing policy will already tell you how this impacts you (or doesn’t, since you shouldn’t let excluded drivers drive your car!).
I do not understand this statement. I assume you are talking about liability insurance. This isn’t just about protecting existing assets. If you get the minimum legally required, and someone successfully sues for $1 million, then you are going to have your wages garnished, and all kinds of bad things that will dog you for years. Paying for higher liability insurance is not a bad idea.
Agreed but your post indicated that the rationale for getting minimum liability insurance is that he had no assets to protect. My point is that you get liability insurance not just to protect your assets but to protect future earnings. Insurance is about paying a little that you can afford to mitigate the risk of liability that you *cannot *afford.
BTW
You need to shop for better insurance. I added *two *teenage children to my policy and it increased my policy by several hundred a year. That is the total cost–that’s not even a comparison vs. them getting their own policy. No way should adding your son to your policy cost several thousands per year more than him getting his own.
That’s where the policy limits come in. On his own policy, he can have the minimum. If I put him and his car on my policy, his car would have the same , much higher than minimum limits that my cars do. He wouldn’t have been paying thousands more for the same coverage- it would have been much better coverage.
And remember, insurance costs are partially based on location - I couldn’t insure a third car even without a new driver for a few hundred a year. It cost me a few hundred a year just to add him as a driver before he bought his own car. But that’s because I live in NYC
(Which is also the reason my son didn’t get his license until he was at least 22)