So, my 6-month auto insurance bill came and it went up by over $30, putting it very close to $500 for 6 months. The car is 6 years old and I’ve had one accident (fairly minor but my fault and I paid to fix my own damages) about 3 years ago.
So for grins I went on-line to Geico and Progressive (guess after all these years those commercials finally took hold) and using the same coverages and deductibles I have currently, Geico came in at just over $300 and Progressive a bit more at $400–but both are much better than my current deal (Alabama Farmers-ALFA).
So I am seriously considering changing up the coverage, but I’ve always been the “have a local agent, stay with the old-school companies (Allstate, Nationwide, etc.)” type of guy, so I am a little leery on changing this on-line…but those rates do sound good.
So (and I promise, this is the last paragraph to begin with 'So"), I presume among my fellow Dopers, others have faced the same issue. I’d really like your feedback, and if you went with Progressive/Geico, what has your experience been?
Much thanks in advance for the help (see, it didn’t start with ‘so’, did it?).
We use Progressive and have for years. I had one small claim and we both had large claims after a hurricane destroyed both vehicles in 2005. We have been happy with the service and though the premiums have risen over the years not more than expected.
We’ve been with GEICO for years, currently paying about $450/mo for 2 vehicles, full coverage, $1K deductibles. If we’d get our butts in gear, we could save more by taking an on-line safe-driving course. One of these days…
Only had one claim - when I hit a deer about 6 our 7 years back, and all went just fine.
Geico consistently beats other quotes by quite a bit for me. I’ve had them for probably 20 years now, and rarely ever used them for claims, but when I did, they were right there and not a problem to deal with.
The only problem I’ve had with them was convincing them that one of the cars I have is driven less than 4000 miles a year (their lowest limit - and a big savings). They keep making me certify the mileage on the car. It’s basically a fair weather toy, and averages about 2000 miles a year. They just didn’t want to believe that to begin with. (39 months old, 6100 miles now)
I’ve had great experiences with Geico. Couldn’t be happier.
I’ve only had to use them once - to make a claim that was the other drivers fault - also with Geico.
They had a rental car delivered to my house, didn’t try to get me to settle and give away my rights (which happened with another insurance company when I was younger).
I’m not very good at having to deal with paperwork and that type of stuff - they made everything easy and I almost had to nothing at all.
On two occasions I used their off road assistance cause I left the lights on in my car and the battery died. I used it twice in close succession and thought maybe they’d complain.
They did not and I think one time the guy with there in less than 30 minutes. The other time it was maybe closer to 45-60 minutes. Neither time was I in a super hurry.
A couple times I had billing issues do to me forgetting to swap out credit cards or whatever for rebilling. They were always super quick and easy to fix.
For many years I switched back and forth between the two because after the initial six months my premium would go up 5-10%, and the other would offer me a rate 5-10% lower than that, so I switched, and after another six months vice versa so I would switch back, and so on.
As far as service goes, I had similarly agreeable experiences with both. Everyone I ever spoke to on the phone was friendly and knowledgeable, their websites are nearly identical, and I never had a problem dealing with either company in any way whatsoever.
Geico was great for us until they decided we made too many claims, only one of which was our fault, and used their free roadside service too many times for their liking. Been with Travelers (via AAA) ever since.
Haven’t had a vehicle to insure for about a decade but we still have Travelers homeowners.
I’m a huge fan of GEICO! I’ve had a few auto mishaps (both my own fault and other drivers) and their service is quick, precise, and very competent. I’ve been with GEICO for about 15 years.
GEICO also offers a lot of discounts. I get a homeowner’s, AARP, college degree, local government employee, and multi-car family discounts.
My worst experiences in the past have been with local-agent-representing-Suck-Farmers-insurance. I think they have higher rates to cover agent’s fee/office space/Keurig cups, etc, and I got really screwed in the nethers whenever they had to pay a claim; the rates invariably got jacked up. I haven’t experienced increased premiums with GEICO.
I’ve had Geico for 14 years. I’ve never had a claim myself, but my sons had one each when they were still on my policy. They handled everything seamlessly and were very patient with my sons, who were both still young at the time of their accidents.
My premium went up $75 for this 6-month period, bringing me to $375/6 mths for my high-deductible, full-coverage, policy. That annoyed me, so I checked around and it appears that I couldn’t do any better with any other nationally known company, so I’m staying put.
Have been using progressive for 6 years now and am totally happy. My suggestion would be to find a local broker though rather than going through progressive direct. I think there is value in having an agent, and you don’t get one if you go direct. It doesn’t cost any different and you also get access to companies that are broker only. Don’t go with a captive company like State Farm or Allstate though. Better to let someone else shop companies for you.
I have a friend who worked for Progressive for many years (well, being in Cleveland, one has many friends that works at Progressive) and she does not have Progressive insurance. She was never compelled to switch from State Farm.
Two. One was 3 weeks after I switched to them. A guy turned left into me and they paid me quickly and helped me through the whole process and my rates never went up.
Progressive for about 10 years on three vehicles; one small claim with no issues. My rates have been pretty steady on the car and on the bikes they have actually come down some. One thing I hear is that (on the bikes) I won’t get anything for extras I’ve added unless I document the living shit out of them in advance but that’s common for almost anyone anymore.
I had progressive first for about 4 years but they kept quickly raising my premiums each time despite no claims. I switched to Geico for a much better rate expecting them to do the same over time but my rate hasn’t gone up nearly as fast in these 4 years.
If the only thing you insure for is mandatory liability, go for the cheapest you can get. Nothing you collect in a settlement will ever benefit you, so you don’t care if they ever pay off fairly and quickly or not.
OTOH, if you cover your own car, collision or comprehensive, or any other riders, then you are likely to get pretty much what you pay for in terms of help or service from your agent, and its great to have a local guy you know personally. Probably worth a couple of hundred a year.
I had Progressive for a while, but when I moved into a new apartment, they wanted me to add a previous tenant (since they had never changed their address on their drivers license), and didn’t believe me that they didn’t live there. I never met the woman, and since Ohio is pretty lax about the address on your drivers license, they rarely get changed until you need a new one. I went with Nationwide after that.
Since reading this thread, I checked out Geico, and it’s about $70 a month cheaper. I’ll be switching in a few weeks. I have no accidents or tickets in over ten years.
I’ve had Geico for about five or six years. I haven’t had any claims with them, but I like the affordable coverage. I have an older car, no collision coverage. I have $60,000 liability and medical coverage for about $35 a month, so $210 for six months. Just enough to keep me legal. I was paying about $560 for six months from Farmers for less coverage. They do have local agents if you like to deal with an agent personally.
Ms. Cups had Geico when we were in an accident a couple years ago. I was driving her car and we were in a one-car accident and they didn’t care one bit that it was me driving and they fixed the car up and everything. Her premiums didn’t even go up.
Then once I moved to Florida I was forced to change insurance, so I looked at Geico and by switching I saved something like 170 bucks a month.