So anyway, I was always told that your car insurance rates drop significantly when you turn 25.
This is a lie.
I was also told that any minor traffic violations are removed from your record after three years.
This is also a lie.
Case in point: I’m turning 25 soon (about 3 hours, as a matter of fact). A couple of weeks ago, I got my car insurance renewal form in the mail. My premium dropped a whole whopping $42. When you’re paying $700 for 6 months (or $590 if you pay it all at once), that is certainly not quite what I was expecting.
So I roll over to Geico’s website. $460 / 6 months. Not bad. So I call them to confirm the quote/sign up. They run my MVR (Motor Vehicle Report). I have a speeding ticket from June of 1999 (over 4 years ago). This speeding ticket takes my premium from $460 to $599!!! :mad:
GEICO man tries to tell me that this speeding ticket isn’t actually increasing my preimum But what can I do, I need a policy in a few hours (my old policy ends tomorrow), so I sign up. Luckily, if/when I find a new company GEICO has to refund my unused premium.
It’s not like I’m driving a sports car. I drove a Buick LeSabre for pete’s sake. My grandparents drive a Buick LeSabre. I drive to work about 3 times a year, otherwise I ride the bus. The car is stored in a secured garage. I’ve never been in an accident. I’ve never been pulled over, save the one speeding ticket that should already be off my record.
Happy birthday. Welcome to the world of companies that charge you big bucks to protect you from something you avoid like the plague anyway. Talk to the DMV about how to possibly erase your points record.
Do you have any other insurance (homeowners, renter’s, life, etc)? If so, do they offer auto insurance through that company? If they do, see if you would save by transferring your auto insurance to that company - often you will get a discount for having multiple policies through the same company (that’s why my renter’s, auto and life are all with State Farm, as much as I dislike my local agent).
Is your car financed so that you have to maintain full coverage? If it’s not, make sure you’re not overinsured - I carried far too much coverage on my 1994 Suzuki Swift for a while. The car only has a resale value of maybe $2000, and that’s if I find a buyer who really wanted to pay that much for it (HA!). So I lowered my coverage amounts - the major portion of my insurance is now geared toward liability and uninsured motorists. And, I raised my deductible. It lowers the rates.
Zenster, Geico man tried to tell me that my speeding ticket (79 in a 65, dumb thing to do, I realize) didn’t put any points against me. But apparently it counts as a ‘mark’, (which is how they lump together accident reports, ticktes, etc). How that isn’t the same thing as points, I’m still not sure.
Lsura, I have to keep full coverage on it until I get my loan paid off in about a year. I’ve already got a $500 deductable, which is about as high as I’m comfortable going ATM. I tried State Farm and American Family last night, both of them were worse then Geico/Progressive, even with my renter’s insurance bundled in. State Farm wanted almost $1300 / 6 months!!! :eek:
Anyway, I’m with Geico now, mainly because I could get signed up over the phone last night. And I’ll certainly be looking for other options this week. Something’ll turn up, I’m sure. Right now it’s mostly my own fault for waiting until the last minute.
Get thee to an independent insurance agent. Independent agents represent several companies and can check the rates of all the companies they represent. If they don’t find a rate that’s acceptable to you, try another agent. Different agents represent different sets of companies. Also call the companies with dedicated agents (State Farm, American Family, Allstate) and get quotes from them. Good luck!
When we joined AAA, we also got our insurance thru them for our house and our vehicles. It’s lots cheaper than any other option we found, including State Farm, who we used for many many years. It more than makes up for the $70/year dues, plus we have the bennies of AAA.
But what can I do, I need a policy in a few hours (my old policy ends tomorrow), so I sign up. Luckily, if/when I find a new company GEICO has to refund my unused premium.