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auto insurance.. how to pick

J

jae

Golden Member
How do you pick which auto insurance company to go with? Thinking about moving from State Farm for a better rate. Never had an accident, last speeding ticket (7 miles over) was in 2010-2011. Seems like every company has terrible reviews, and I'm sure they vary state-to-state.

SN: This is 1,001 post!!!! lol
 
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In general, go with whoever gives you your coverage at the cheapest rate. I have Statefarm as they've generally been the cheapest for me as well as being really cool in my claims
 
All reviews for insurance companies suck. They are great at taking your money, but when it comes time to get some of that back via a claim they become your worst nightmare.

I have 3 properties and 2 cars with 4 different insurance companies right now. I had a house claim with State Farm (that I had to fight them to payout) and then when my Evo came up for renewal they doubled my rates on it.
 
There are two ways. Go dirt cheap and be unsure what will happen if you need to make a claim or have a long relationship with a company with local agents.

I'd never go bottom of the barrel on insurance. I may pay 10-15% more than I otherwise would, but I know that I won't have any issues if I need to make a claim due to past experiences (we all have our oopses when learning to drive). Those couple hundred dollars a year are worth it to me.

Then again, my home insurance is very cheap through them.
 
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I have Amica on both my home and cars. Not the cheapest but not exorbitantly more. Them and USAA consistently get the best customer reviews, I can't get USAA so Amica it is. They are the only ones who I have had that don't just raise rates for the hell of it. Had Geico and Liberty Mutual both raise rates with no claims or other changes. Liberty Mutual literally double my home owners rate. Haven't had any problems and consistent rates with Amica.
 
I have nothing but good things to say about Progressive - I've been with them for about ten years. Their pricing has been unbeatable and their service perfect.
 
For me it was a no-brainer. My Father-In-Law was an Officer in the Air Force so my wife and I qualify for USAA and that's the company we went with. Been with them for 23 years. No other insurance company comes close.
 
I call around 3-5 places every year when I find out how much the current place wants. If I find someone that can beat it by 5% or more I switch.

They will raise your rates or just drop you in a second, why should you give them any more thought as well?
 
USAA for me. I've checked around and so far no other companies can offer close to the same level of coverage for the money.
 
Change insurers every couple of years if you want cheaper rates.

Do you live in a state with a decent, proactive insurance agency? If so this lessens the likelihood of terrible customer service. Make sure you know your rights and the law. In 40+ years of dealing with insurers I've only had an adjuster try to blow smoke up my butt once-and he quickly backed off when I quoted him the relevant state statute requiring a full payout of the policy limits in a total loss (house fire).

Your credit rating is pretty important also.

Right now I use Liberty Mutual-low cost, great service so far (but only minor glass claims).
 
I just got a quote from AAA for our policies... a full $1000 more a year than I currently pay at State Farm. The guy just kind of shrugged and said have a nice day. I was really surprised as I figured they'd find a way to quote lower in order to steal the business.
 
My suggestion is change insurance companies every few years because once your with a company, their rates will increase each time (they almost all give a lower initial but soon it will be time to shop around. There a few exceptions that stay at a fair rate but it is having a really good agent and often involves companies that seldom advertise (Not your Allstate, State Farm, Farmers, type). If you qualify () groups like USAA may allow you to have good insurance at an fair rate over time. That said the 2nd poster said it well "In general, go with whoever gives you your coverage at the cheapest rate."
 
USAA is great..... unless you have a teen driver in the family. Then they try to rape you on every car in the policy. I repeatedly told them my son would never drive the other cars but the reps just kept repeating "safeguard the association". So why bother asking me which person drives which car?

I switched to progressive and it's been way cheaper and awesome when I had to do a claim.
 
I don't qualify for USAA, no military background. I'm suppose to contact a broker tomorrow to shop rates. I've been looking at Progressive and GEICO as they have the lowest rates. I've never been in an accident, and I don't expect to put more than 7500 miles/year on the car.
 
I hear good things about Amica. I stuck with AAA though since all of my friends who work for body shops say they'll be the best regarding using oem parts for repairs, etc.
 
Kelvrick said:
I hear good things about Amica. I stuck with AAA though since all of my friends who work for body shops say they'll be the best regarding using oem parts for repairs, etc.
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Yea my coworker's husband works for a body shop and he says the same thing.
 
monkeydelmagico said:
USAA is great..... unless you have a teen driver in the family. Then they try to rape you on every car in the policy. I repeatedly told them my son would never drive the other cars but the reps just kept repeating "safeguard the association". So why bother asking me which person drives which car?

I switched to progressive and it's been way cheaper and awesome when I had to do a claim.
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In all fairness USAA was correct in your situation. It doesn't matter whether you say kid is not allowed to drive car X-if kid is a member of the household and drives car X then the insurer is on the hook-for liability coverage at a minimum, collision may depend on your particular state's laws.

They ask who is primary driver on each car for underwriting/rate setting purposes. This can bite you when you have three vehicles, dad is primary drive of car A, mom car B and car C is something like an old junker pickup that dad uses occasionally for things like dump runs. Many times the insurer will assign kid as primary driver of car C.

<--feels somewhat dirty justifying insurance company's actions
 
FWIW I'd try and find out if company uses CCC valuescope on total losses. If they do, they will fuck you over hard core if you ever have a total loss. Despite USAA's other good points they use it, and it sucks if you have a total loss.
 
I have Geico and haven't had any issues with them and the rates have been generally reasonable for me (at the very least they haven't raised my rates every 6 mos). No accidents or other claims apart from glass to deal with them on though.
 
Midwayman said:
FWIW I'd try and find out if company uses CCC valuescope on total losses. If they do, they will fuck you over hard core if you ever have a total loss. Despite USAA's other good points they use it, and it sucks if you have a total loss.
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I'm with USAA and have had two cars totaled in the last 9 years. I got a decent amount both times.
 
Demo24 said:
I have Geico and haven't had any issues with them and the rates have been generally reasonable for me (at the very least they haven't raised my rates every 6 mos). No accidents or other claims apart from glass to deal with them on though.
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Yeah, its looking like it will either be Geico, esurance, or Travelers. I also looked at the Pay-per-Miles company MetroMile, but I'm a bit nervous about that route.
 
try wawanesa. its even cheaper tahn mercury for the same coverage.

i mean in the end if the coverage terms are the same and its a large enough firm, just get whatever is cheapest especially if you dont have any accidents/ tickets
 
hans007 said:
try wawanesa. its even cheaper tahn mercury for the same coverage.

i mean in the end if the coverage terms are the same and its a large enough firm, just get whatever is cheapest especially if you dont have any accidents/ tickets
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Never heard of them. I'll have to look them up.
 
jae said:
Never heard of them. I'll have to look them up.
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they are pretty popular with the slickdeals crowd

i switched from mercury and it was a little cheaper (and mercury is already cheap).

basically i've heard they will drop you if you cause an at fault accident on the next term or your rates will go up massively and their phone hold times etc are kind of long

but well, if you dont have accidents or need to actually use them you are going to get the same coverage.
 
Decide what is important, price or service. I went on price for years. I finally paid attention to customer experiences as well as industry reviews and podcasts. I am a huge listener to Clark Howard as well. I have been with Geico and then Libery Mutual. Geico continued to raise my rates for no reason. I had no complaints with Liberty Mutual car wise but they jacked up my home insurance for no reason as well.

I began researching companies and Amica and USAA continually have the best ratings. I don't qualify for USAA. To cover my bases I called the usual suspects and got quotes. I then called Amica. They were the lowest cost the best reputations. Win win. Rates haven't went up and customer service for changes is outstanding. Can't recommend then enough.
 
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