Car / Auto Insurance

mtxbass1

mtxbass1

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I'm currently shopping around for auto insurance. Do you guys have any recommendations for companies to go with or to avoid? All thoughts/opinions are welcome.
 
I have Geico and I've always thought the rates are pretty reasonable, I'm sure there are cheaper options though. I've never had to file a claim so I can't speak directly to that, but I know they are pretty good about lowering your rates for safe driving, etc.
 
Avoid esurance. My friend was in an accident and it took them 8 or 9 months to process everything and get him the money he was owed.
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']Are you going to bundle it with your house, life and disability insurance policies?[/QUOTE]

I'll possibly bundle it with my house. Life and disability is covered through my job.
 
[quote name='Brownjohn']Avoid esurance. My friend was in an accident and it took them 8 or 9 months to process everything and get him the money he was owed.[/QUOTE]

i have esurance, it was the cheapest around for me. never had any problems, the one claim i had was settled in a week or so. ive had em for a couple years now.
 
[quote name='RAMSTORIA']i have esurance, it was the cheapest around for me. never had any problems, the one claim i had was settled in a week or so. ive had em for a couple years now.[/QUOTE]

Hmm, maybe they've gotten better, or maybe it was because he was black, but from his experience alone, I would never recommend them.
 
i have geico- they arnt bad, but you ever get in an accidnet, your rates JUMP. i went from 92.50 a month full coverage and glass an my 04 f150 super crew, and middle class coverage on my 72 mercury marquis. i had a very minor fender bender (I.E headlight and bumper on other car, center cap on my rear tire- he parked right on my fender, in a blind spot, in employee parking when he didnt work for us-and yet it was somehow my fault) i then went up to 135.50 after having them for 10 years, nothing else on record. then when it re-newed this year it went up to 144.50-reason? they had to pay out that year so everyone's premium went up 10 bucks, even though it had nothing to do with me. nice company,eh? stuck with them due to: very, very few companies insure old cars pre-1981
 
[quote name='Shadows916']i have geico- they arnt bad, but you ever get in an accidnet, your rates JUMP. i went from 92.50 a month full coverage and glass an my 04 f150 super crew, and middle class coverage on my 72 mercury marquis. i had a very minor fender bender (I.E headlight and bumper on other car, center cap on my rear tire- he parked right on my fender, in a blind spot, in employee parking when he didnt work for us-and yet it was somehow my fault) i then went up to 135.50 after having them for 10 years, nothing else on record. then when it re-newed this year it went up to 144.50-reason? they had to pay out that year so everyone's premium went up 10 bucks, even though it had nothing to do with me. nice company,eh? stuck with them due to: very, very few companies insure old cars pre-1981[/QUOTE]

See, that's part of my reason for looking around myself. Haven't made a claim in 14 years. I got my insurance renewal and my rate had jumped up $40. Keep in mind that is with no claims/damage/etc on my part. I called to ask and they said that since the company was losing money, they had to up premiums. Mine jumped up about 8%, which is absurd.
 
I have Geico. I switched several month ago from Progressive. I ended up saving about $300 a year as a result.

Generally I hear Allstate car insurance can be on the pricey side, however they do bundles with other kinds of insurance. So combining house & car insurance with Allstate might be cheaper instead of having two different insurance companies.
 
I have State Farm for home and auto. Prices are reasonable IMO. I've not yet had any claims with either, but I had State Farm rental insurance for my apartment a couple years ago and I got robbed (and had a lot of stuff stolen) and they were very easy to work with and I got my claim filed/approved real quickly.
 
[quote name='pjb16']I have State Farm for home and auto. Prices are reasonable IMO. I've not yet had any claims with either, but I had State Farm rental insurance for my apartment a couple years ago and I got robbed (and had a lot of stuff stolen) and they were very easy to work with and I got my claim filed/approved real quickly.[/QUOTE]

That's who I'm with now. I'm finding their prices to be very high on my homeowners/car though. Up to $150 more a year on homeowners, and $220 a year on the car.
 
I've been with Statefarm forever. I shop around about once a year to see what else is out there and I've never been able to find cheaper rates. However, I do have 2 home policies, several cars and a couple life insurance policies with them so the multi-policy discount is pretty big.

I have had a few claims over the years, 1 motorcycle accident and 3 hail related claims, yet my rates never went up as a result of the claims.
 
[quote name='mtxbass1']That's who I'm with now. I'm finding their prices to be very high on my homeowners/car though. Up to $150 more a year on homeowners, and $220 a year on the car.[/QUOTE]
Maybe because of where I live and what I drive? :whistle2:s I mean I don't think it's cheap, it might be more than others, but not significantly so from what I've seen.
 
[quote name='pjb16']Maybe because of where I live and what I drive? :whistle2:s I mean I don't think it's cheap, it might be more than others, but not significantly so from what I've seen.[/QUOTE]

It has to do with a good number of things I think. What day of the week you call about, how the moon is aligned, what kind of car you drive, etc.

So far, the leading choices are:
State Farm (keep them)
Nationwide
Geico
Progressive
 
I do not drive as I have no job. Most of my friends use Tripple A here in So Cal. they have some of the best rates.
 
I'm actually in the same situation myself. My current auto insurance expires mid July. My Dad told me I shouldn't continue to go with full coverage on my 2003 car (with over 80k miles).

Mostly, I wasn't sure if Auto Insurance auto renewed itself (if I didn't call and cancel), but found out it did. I could maybe get cheaper elsewhere, but since I have so much going on and my insurance is decent, I may not bother (I'm with Liberty).
 
[quote name='The Mana Knight']I'm actually in the same situation myself. My current auto insurance expires mid July. My Dad told me I shouldn't continue to go with full coverage on my 2003 car (with over 80k miles).

Mostly, I wasn't sure if Auto Insurance auto renewed itself (if I didn't call and cancel), but found out it did. I could maybe get cheaper elsewhere, but since I have so much going on and my insurance is decent, I may not bother (I'm with Liberty).[/QUOTE]
I don't think I'd have full coverage on a car that old with that mileage personally.
 
[quote name='pjb16']I don't think I'd have full coverage on a car that old with that mileage personally.[/QUOTE]

It depends on how much the car is worth, how much repairing an accident will cost and how much money one has laying around for catastrophes.

I'm driving a 1996 car with 230K and a 1999 car with 180K. A 2003 car with 80K isn't old and should have plenty of life left on it.
 
I have Geico. I only pay about $300 every 6 months on my 2003 Hyundai Elantra. And I'm an under 25 year old guy so this is incredibly cheap. You can get quotes online for just about all of them, Geico, Progressive, etc. This is what I did and then just play around with the different parameters/deductibles until you find a price point you are comfortable with.
 
I use All-State for car and house insurance. I don't know mow much it costs or if it is expensive because I don't pay attention to my finances.
 
[quote name='fatherofcaitlyn']It depends on how much the car is worth, how much repairing an accident will cost and how much money one has laying around for catastrophes.

I'm driving a 1996 car with 230K and a 1999 car with 180K. A 2003 car with 80K isn't old and should have plenty of life left on it.[/QUOTE]
That's why I said personally. ;)

And I agree it should have plenty of life left on it.
 
What I really can't figure out is why a policy is so much with state farm, but so much cheaper with Progressive or Geico.

I basically went to both websites, and just went apeshit on the options. Maxed everything out to the highest coverages available, as well as kept my deductibles the same. I'm still coming out $75-95 every 6 months cheaper with both. That doesn't include any multi-line discount that I'm supposedly getting at State Farm. Surely there's a reason for such a large discrepancy?
 
I have Amica which I suspect might cost a little more than other insurers but their customer service is outstanding. The few times I was involved in an accident, they handled everything quickly and seamlessly.
 
If you qualify, USAA is arguably the best. Best customer service, lowest rates, quick hassle-free claims. You have to be a member of the armed forces or have a parent who served in the armed forces. Before USAA I had Geico, and switching saved me $960 a year.
 
[quote name='lionheart4life']I have Geico. I only pay about $300 every 6 months on my 2003 Hyundai Elantra. And I'm an under 25 year old guy so this is incredibly cheap. You can get quotes online for just about all of them, Geico, Progressive, etc. This is what I did and then just play around with the different parameters/deductibles until you find a price point you are comfortable with.[/QUOTE]

Man, I'm in a fairly similar situation, but I'm paying a lot more than $300/6mo. And I mean a lot more. Seeing as how I turn 25 in a little under a month though, should I wait till then to find something new or do pricing now?
 
I use All-State for auto and home. I'm paying i think $2000 a year for two cars (05 and 06 altima) with the high coverage (300,000/300,000?) minus 5% rebate for safe driving. That's the higher tier of "if you have 100 accidents your rates won't change". They also have a increasing deductible waiver thing for every 6 months of no claims. Right now my $500 deductible would be free if i were to have a claim.
 
[quote name='btw1217']If you qualify, USAA is arguably the best. Best customer service, lowest rates, quick hassle-free claims. You have to be a member of the armed forces or have a parent who served in the armed forces. Before USAA I had Geico, and switching saved me $960 a year.[/QUOTE]


I was in the Air Force and had USAA almost the whole time. After I separated I decided to shop around since I was buying a house and State Farm beat the shit out of USAA on both homeowners and Auto insurance.
 
I'm narrowing the choices down. Currently it's between Allstate and Nationwide. Both can do much better than my current state farm coverage, however I'm not able to get a quote on homeowners insurance as easily.
 
[quote name='Shadows916']...reason? they had to pay out that year so everyone's premium went up 10 bucks, even though it had nothing to do with me. nice company,eh?[/QUOTE]

That's every insurance company. If they don't raise rates when their claims jump, and a huge disaster comes (katrina for instance), they go insolvent. I would worry more about the company that doesn't adjust rating across the board from time to time, because they're the ones who end up having to get bailed out.
 
[quote name='Malik112099']I was in the Air Force and had USAA almost the whole time. After I separated I decided to shop around since I was buying a house and State Farm beat the shit out of USAA on both homeowners and Auto insurance.[/QUOTE]

Ditto for me as well. I've had State Farm for several years. I was shocked at how much USAA was when I got back the quote.
 
[quote name='mtxbass1']What I really can't figure out is why a policy is so much with state farm, but so much cheaper with Progressive or Geico.

I basically went to both websites, and just went apeshit on the options. Maxed everything out to the highest coverages available, as well as kept my deductibles the same. I'm still coming out $75-95 every 6 months cheaper with both. That doesn't include any multi-line discount that I'm supposedly getting at State Farm. Surely there's a reason for such a large discrepancy?[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure what area of the country you are in, but it may be that State Farm has decided to limit the number of policies they renew in the area (in order to mitigate their overall risk). By pricing themselves out of the market, the number of policies will naturally decrease. In you are in Florida forget about it.
 
geico took care of everything for me, just never told me what was going on- so when my new bill came in to renew, i was just a tad pissed.
 
[quote name='The Gifuto']I'm not sure what area of the country you are in, but it may be that State Farm has decided to limit the number of policies they renew in the area (in order to mitigate their overall risk). By pricing themselves out of the market, the number of policies will naturally decrease. In you are in Florida forget about it.[/QUOTE]

I'm in GA.

Right now, nationwide is probably going to get my money. They're offering the maximum amount of everything for $102 less than state farm every 6 months. I called my local state farm agent to see if they could do anything on the price and they couldn't.
 
Well, after doing a LOT of research, I've narrowed it down to Allstate or Nationwide. Going with Allstate will save me about $240 a year. Nationwide would save about $170. Either way I'm making a change. Every penny counts nowadays.
 
Its funny most the people here seem to jump on the mainstream well advertised carriers... yet when in all reality there are better carriers.

I personally say Auto Owners. #1 for claims service for years, nationwide. Check JD Power, Auto Body Collision poles, etc.

Also this all depends on where you are. Insurance is not the same across the country, city , state, etc. Then take into account variables etc like your personal history, driving record, car, etc.

The best bet is to call a local independant agent or agency. One that can shop around for you. Let them get you the best rate they can, and then if you feel ambitious check a few places yourself.

The rates we give for Progressive are the same you get calling direct. Yet you have an agent and agency that can fight for you in the chance of a claim, etc you are not happy with. When your direct you can get screwed.

Also home is going to give you a discount, and sometimes even picking up a small life policy say $10,000 will actually reduce your house and car payment, more than it costs. Believe that.


What state are you in?

Good luck.
 
[quote name='Snake2715']

What state are you in?

Good luck.[/QUOTE]

GA.

That's one thing that has persuaded me over to Allstate. The local agent that I'm in contact with actually cared enough to go over a lot of different types of coverage, limits, etc. I'm looking to wrap this up this week and right now, he's winning.
 
[quote name='Malik112099']I was in the Air Force and had USAA almost the whole time. After I separated I decided to shop around since I was buying a house and State Farm beat the shit out of USAA on both homeowners and Auto insurance.[/QUOTE]

Totally different experience for me. USAA beat State Farm by over $1000 a year for me. Just goes to show there isn't an exact science when it comes to insurance.
 
I've had State Farm forever. They dropped my dad when he got a DWI. I should've quit in protest.

I think I have a "cadillac" plan - I pay like $500 every 6 months, but I have a newer car - 2009 Focus. I'm in MN, btw.

Can't combine it with house or life insurance. I don't own a home and am not married.
 
[quote name='The Mana Knight']I'm actually in the same situation myself. My current auto insurance expires mid July. My Dad told me I shouldn't continue to go with full coverage on my 2003 car (with over 80k miles).

[/QUOTE]

I’d suggest you drop the Collision coverage and keep the comprehensive for another 2-3 years. My home and car insurance is with The Hartford and I find them quite good. My insurance agent advised me to drop collision once my car is older than 7 years and comprehensive after 10 years as the claims after paying deductibles are simply not worth it.
 
[quote name='2DMention']I've had State Farm forever. They dropped my dad when he got a DWI. I should've quit in protest.

I think I have a "cadillac" plan - I pay like $500 every 6 months, but I have a newer car - 2009 Focus. I'm in MN, btw.

Can't combine it with house or life insurance. I don't own a home and am not married.[/QUOTE]

If you don't own a home, what about renter's insurance? Many companies will still give you a discount on your auto if you get renter's insurance from them. Renter's insurance is something many renters overlook.
 
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