Consumer Reports (CR) just released a fascinating article in the Sept 2015 issue all about the dirty little secrets of the auto insurance business. I have State Farm - one of the top three CR likes. We’ve been happy (or, oblivious) for 20 years but, I see I am grossly overpaying, almost 200% more than AAA quotes. And, this is all before we add a new driver (which is bringing this all to a head). Per the advice of Consumer Reports, I went to TheZebra.com where, supposedly, all insurance companies are compared. However, the results seemed too good to be true based on my accurate inputs.
My questions to the SD are: Who do you use for auto insurance? Are you happy? Is your insurance company quick to bump up your rates (whether due to an accident or ticket, or merely because of “price optimization” i.e., simply because they can.) Do you feel your auto insurance is responsive to your needs, when you need them the most?
I’m especially interested in how Amica, USAA, and AAA treats their customers. Last, if you’ve used TheZebra, do you feel it was accurate? Did you actually purchase through them? And, don’t you think they’re charging a “middle man” or finder’s fee? Fill me in!
P.S. I will share that, in the 1990s (prior to the gecko ad campaign), I found GEICO quick to raise their rates AND quick to NOT listen to my side…forgetting I am their client! In recent years, now on the other side of the fence, I still found GEICO not easy to deal with. However, feel free to tell me otherwise if you have a rebuttal.
I use State Farm; had 'em for years, have multiple types of insurance with them, haven’t bothered comparison shopping in years. They’ve been pretty responsive on claims, didn’t jack my rates too bad when I had an at-fault accident, and the local agent is always willing to work with me to figure out the best combination of coverages/discounts or to figure out what’s going on when I get a letter I don’t understand. (But then, I’m a good customer: my state requires $50K/accident minimum liability coverage; I have ten times that.)
For shits and giggles I started with The Zebra, but it looks like it doesn’t actually let you pick coverage until you enter a ton more information on each specific insurer webpage. I see numbers on there that are 40%-70% what I pay now for USAA. I’m guessing that’s for the legal minimum liability coverage with a high deductible. USAA will do similar, reducing the cost to ~65% of my current premium if I decline all optional coverage.
I recall shopping around more thoroughly last year. Sticking with the vaguely reputable insurers and (IMO) reasonable coverage that matches what I have currently, nobody could beat my current rates for auto + renter’s insurance. A few matched rates, but I’d have to save a lot of money to switch away from USAA.
So far I’m absolutely thrilled with USAA. Although I haven’t needed to deal with any major claims, they’ve been very helpful and efficient for minor claims and routine customer service. (Shame that nobody else bothers to have their phone reps learn the NATO phonetic alphabet…)
I was with 20th Century – and 21st Century – but switched to State Farm because they gave me slightly better coverage for the same amount. (Brilliant job of salesmanship! The guy ought to win an award for it!)
The only trouble I had was when my motor home was broken into. Damaged the dash and took the radio along with sleeping bags, camping supplies, and personal stuff. Because it was parked at my home they wanted me to submit a claim against my home owners insurance (AAA) for the stuff taken out of the motor home, and have the comp on the motor home cover the damage to the motor home. That is pay two deductibles. I got a estimate to repair the dash and replace the radio. After I got the check from AAA I removed the dash replaced the cover myself for a fraction of the estimate. I then got a new home owners insurance company. called my agent canceled the home owners and canceled the comp on the motor home. He wanted to know why and I told him. I only kept the car insurance because of the roadside assistance they provided.
I have had several claims over the years and not had my rates increased. My agent did tell me that they would not be raising my rates because any claims were spread out. But if I had to make another claim with in a year there would be an increase.
Their road side assistance is worth the expense.
Many times a dead battery or keys locked in car.
One time my wife’s car developed a problem many miles from home. Got the car towed from Martinez Ca to Santa Cruz no charge 98 miles.
ONe time after a accident got car towed to my home then the next day towed to a repair shop no cost.
Just last month in Sacramento My son had the cats stolen off his car in Sacramento around 4:30 PM. We had is car towed to our house in San Jose that night and the next day towed to a dealership for repairs. WE stayed in Sacramento until Saturday night. 119 miles. I get one tow over 100 miles every other year no charge.
My son’s experience with one of those cheap insurance companies. His wife was in an accident. He got only one tow, second tow would be at his expense. So he had it towed to the dealership. It took 2 days (weekend) before they could complete an estimate for repairs. Another few day for the insurance company to decide to total the car and my son to agree. He ended up with a storage bill for the time the car sat there waiting for insurance company. the storage fees were paid from the insurance settlement. The insurance company deducted about 70% of the check to pay for storage. So the cheap insurance companies can be expensive.
I have State Farm. I have them for my home too so I get a discount for that. I also let them plug in a “little black box” for a while and got myself a “Safe Driver Discount.” I also put like 7k miles per year on my car so I get a discount for low mileage.
Working with my former agent was fine - he was my dad’s agent and I got my car insurance through him, then my house. And then he retired and the new guy is just fine, we’ve met a few times to go over my policies to make sure I have everything I need and nothing I don’t.
I pay ~$480/year for one car with low miles per year. My dad pays half that with one car with low miles…but I think he’s got a big big deductible, as well as the house and a second car.
I hit my friend’s car in my driveway once. That is my single claim with them. They took good care of my friend and her car and my insurance didn’t go up at all.
I have State Farm, and they’ve been good. My only beef with them is that when I get a new car, I lose my accident-free discount. You have to be accident-free for three consecutive years before the discount kicks in, and getting a new car restarts the clock. I’ve argued with them numerous times about this and gotten nowhere.
Their argument is “This is a new policy; you need to be accident-free for three years on THIS car.” The fact that I was accident-free on the previous car doesn’t count. This strikes me as bizarre; I’m the same person I was before, so why does getting a new car change anything? They say that this is pretty much SOP throughout the insurance business, but I still don’t understand it. I’ve been a State Farm customer for 40 years, but they still need another three years to figure out if I’m a safe driver.
I have USAA and I’ve loved them. They’ll well known for their customer service. Plus, I like the fact that I have nearly everything financial through them. I can call up, change my deductible, get transferred to another department to check on my life insurance and IRA. It’s convenient.
I used to work as a liability adjuster. One thing to remember with insurance is you get what you pay for. Some people like the hands on touch of an agent. Some people don’t care and want the cheapest online. The main thing is to keep yourself from getting sued. That’s the main purpose of car insurance and that’s why you have to have liability. Comp/collision, rental, all of that is to make your life easier should there be an accident. But liability is there to protect your assets.
The duty to defend is greater than the duty to indemnify.
I use State Farm as well, the same agent that my parents and grandparents used - not agency, agent. The guy has got to be close to retiring! I insure 4 vehicles and my house through them. I haven’t comparison shopped in several years because of the level of service I get from this agent. He and his staff are great to work with, always look out for ways to cut my costs and are quick to settle claims. If I’m paying a little extra for that, so be it.
After not having a car (or insurance) for several years, I bought a car and I started with GEICO. After 6 months, my renewal rate jumped 10%, and Progressive quoted me 10% lower than my previous rate with GEICO for the same coverage, so I switched. After 6 months, the same thing happened, but with the companies reversed. I switched back and forth this way every 6 months for 5 years, and my rates kept going down every time I switched until they stabilized at about $450, give or take twenty bucks or so.
Last year I got married and we combined our policies; together we pay significantly less than we were with individual policies (about $650/6 months, for 2 cars and 2 drivers).
I have been with Erie through a local agent for 20 years, always get good service and good rates. I am currently paying $60 total per month for a 2008 Mazdaspeed3 and 1995 F-150.
I have my house insurance with them too so I get a multi-policy discount.
My state lets you get what is called an “operator policy” that insures me as the driver. I pay less than a dollar a day and have 15 cars and a handful of motorcycles.
However, I think insurance is legalized extortion.
We have had Amica for something like 12 years now. The few times we’ve had to make a claim, they were a pleasure to deal with and actually settled the claim for more than I expected.
After only a year or two of being a customer, we had to total a car in an accident that was 1000% our fault. Amica was a pleasure to work with, and the next year our premium went … down.
I was with Met Life for a few years, but dropped them because every year they would jack up the rates by about 50%, I would call my agent, he would play the hero and get my rate back to what it was previously.
I tried switching to state farm because they offered me good online quote. But then when I went to pay for the whole year, they suddenly said “oh, that rate was for the automatic draft from your bank account option, it will cost you more if you want to pay it all at once”.
So I went with USAA but have yet to deal with a renewel.
I have State Farm, who’ve I had for years. I had them in Louisiana, and kept them in NJ, since at the time companies weren’t writing policies for new customers, so I had little choice. I kept them when I moved to California. Also have home and umbrella coverage with them. They’ve been great. Plus their preferred body shop is walking distance from my house.
I should check out AAA, but getting everything in one place is good. And I kept my accident free discount when I got a new car.
I have State Farm, and have for years. I also carry my homeowners and life insurance with them, so get discounts there.
I’ve had one claime with them, this summer when an oak tree fell on my car and totalled it. they paid it fast and gave me no issues. when I replace the car soon, I’ll stay with them.