Car insurance

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Yeah I called them. They told me the only reason it's been going up was because of a state mandated increase. All of the other fee's have remained normal. I plan on calling again soon though.

Your profile says MD, which it's possible that it's partly due to rate increases due to state regulations. Something seems wrong about 2.5 years and double the starting premium though. What you should do, is get on their website and put in all your information to their free rate quote. See what it comes back as, and use that to cmpare.

Make sure to call your agent, and if they just say "state mandated increases" then call the 800 # and ask them why. If they give you the same reason, you may want to start looking around for a new carrier because I highly doubt that is due to state regulations.

Oh and also call the state insurance administration, and see what they can tell you.

 

[polarmystery]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Yeah I called them. They told me the only reason it's been going up was because of a state mandated increase. All of the other fee's have remained normal. I plan on calling again soon though.

Your profile says MD, which it's possible that it's partly due to rate increases due to state regulations. Something seems wrong about 2.5 years and double the starting premium though. What you should do, is get on their website and put in all your information to their free rate quote. See what it comes back as, and use that to cmpare.

Make sure to call your agent, and if they just say "state mandated increases" then call the 800 # and ask them why. If they give you the same reason, you may want to start looking around for a new carrier because I highly doubt that is due to state regulations.

Oh and also call the state insurance administration, and see what they can tell you.

Agreed, but I only have lived in MD since January (hence an increase) but I have lived in TX until that point and even then it's been increasing. Thanks for the info

EDIT: I can't do the bolded item because it says I'm already a member 🙁

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Muse

Shhhhh, don't tell anybody! I'm damn young for my age. Really fit too. Kind of a fitness freak. 🙂 The girls I'm attracted to are 20-25 but I'm too shy to hit on them. It's a problem. Guess I have to work on my courage.

You just described 90% of Anandtech. 😛

Probably won't save you much on insurance, but you might consider getting rid of the Town & Country. If you have to spend anything on maintenance, it'd probably be cheaper to rent when you need to move big stuff. I looked into buying a used pickup a few years ago for the same purpose, and I concluded that I'd be better off renting the truck at Home Depot or Lowe's for $20 each time I need it.

Also, if you haven't changed the tires in a long time you may be due for a blowout.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Yeah I called them. They told me the only reason it's been going up was because of a state mandated increase. All of the other fee's have remained normal. I plan on calling again soon though.

Your profile says MD, which it's possible that it's partly due to rate increases due to state regulations. Something seems wrong about 2.5 years and double the starting premium though. What you should do, is get on their website and put in all your information to their free rate quote. See what it comes back as, and use that to cmpare.

Make sure to call your agent, and if they just say "state mandated increases" then call the 800 # and ask them why. If they give you the same reason, you may want to start looking around for a new carrier because I highly doubt that is due to state regulations.

Oh and also call the state insurance administration, and see what they can tell you.

Agreed, but I only have lived in MD since January (hence an increase) but I have lived in TX until that point and even then it's been increasing. Thanks for the info

EDIT: I can't do the bolded item because it says I'm already a member 🙁

Log out, and try it as a "new member". You won't be able to from your account, but if you log out of that and go in as a person who doesn't have insurance with them.

Or do it from a different computer.

 

[polarmystery]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Yeah I called them. They told me the only reason it's been going up was because of a state mandated increase. All of the other fee's have remained normal. I plan on calling again soon though.

Your profile says MD, which it's possible that it's partly due to rate increases due to state regulations. Something seems wrong about 2.5 years and double the starting premium though. What you should do, is get on their website and put in all your information to their free rate quote. See what it comes back as, and use that to cmpare.

Make sure to call your agent, and if they just say "state mandated increases" then call the 800 # and ask them why. If they give you the same reason, you may want to start looking around for a new carrier because I highly doubt that is due to state regulations.

Oh and also call the state insurance administration, and see what they can tell you.

Agreed, but I only have lived in MD since January (hence an increase) but I have lived in TX until that point and even then it's been increasing. Thanks for the info

EDIT: I can't do the bolded item because it says I'm already a member 🙁

Log out, and try it as a "new member". You won't be able to from your account, but if you log out of that and go in as a person who doesn't have insurance with them.

Or do it from a different computer.

It doesn't work. I called them and found out when I opened my account, my 6 month premium was 392, and now it's about 600. The only thing they could tell me is that TX has had a "lot" of increases and she gave me no reason as to why I should still have my insurance with them. Kind of crappy if you ask me.

 

[LS8]

I pay something like $79/month for two cars, both paid for (no liens) with full coverage + roadside assistance. I bet I could find it cheaper somewhere else but I haven't looked into it? I use Geico.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Yeah I called them. They told me the only reason it's been going up was because of a state mandated increase. All of the other fee's have remained normal. I plan on calling again soon though.

Your profile says MD, which it's possible that it's partly due to rate increases due to state regulations. Something seems wrong about 2.5 years and double the starting premium though. What you should do, is get on their website and put in all your information to their free rate quote. See what it comes back as, and use that to cmpare.

Make sure to call your agent, and if they just say "state mandated increases" then call the 800 # and ask them why. If they give you the same reason, you may want to start looking around for a new carrier because I highly doubt that is due to state regulations.

Oh and also call the state insurance administration, and see what they can tell you.

Agreed, but I only have lived in MD since January (hence an increase) but I have lived in TX until that point and even then it's been increasing. Thanks for the info

EDIT: I can't do the bolded item because it says I'm already a member 🙁

Log out, and try it as a "new member". You won't be able to from your account, but if you log out of that and go in as a person who doesn't have insurance with them.

Or do it from a different computer.

It doesn't work. I called them and found out when I opened my account, my 6 month premium was 392, and now it's about 600. The only thing they could tell me is that TX has had a "lot" of increases and she gave me no reason as to why I should still have my insurance with them. Kind of crappy if you ask me.

Wait do you live in MD (as your profile states) or TX?

TX rates have been affected (and a lot of homeowner policies have been dropped) due to a lot of big storms over the past few years.

 

[nageov3t]

I'm paying $582/yr for pretty basic coverage, not minimum but not huge, no collision/theft, etc.

my $1.5K/year with 0 points on my license insurance bill laughs at you :laugh:

/weep

 

[polarmystery]

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Originally posted by: DisgruntledVirus

Originally posted by: polarmystery

Yeah I called them. They told me the only reason it's been going up was because of a state mandated increase. All of the other fee's have remained normal. I plan on calling again soon though.

Your profile says MD, which it's possible that it's partly due to rate increases due to state regulations. Something seems wrong about 2.5 years and double the starting premium though. What you should do, is get on their website and put in all your information to their free rate quote. See what it comes back as, and use that to cmpare.

Make sure to call your agent, and if they just say "state mandated increases" then call the 800 # and ask them why. If they give you the same reason, you may want to start looking around for a new carrier because I highly doubt that is due to state regulations.

Oh and also call the state insurance administration, and see what they can tell you.

Agreed, but I only have lived in MD since January (hence an increase) but I have lived in TX until that point and even then it's been increasing. Thanks for the info

EDIT: I can't do the bolded item because it says I'm already a member 🙁

Log out, and try it as a "new member". You won't be able to from your account, but if you log out of that and go in as a person who doesn't have insurance with them.

Or do it from a different computer.

It doesn't work. I called them and found out when I opened my account, my 6 month premium was 392, and now it's about 600. The only thing they could tell me is that TX has had a "lot" of increases and she gave me no reason as to why I should still have my insurance with them. Kind of crappy if you ask me.

Wait do you live in MD (as your profile states) or TX?

TX rates have been affected (and a lot of homeowner policies have been dropped) due to a lot of big storms over the past few years.

moved to MD in Jan. I've lived in Texas for 14 years before January. I understand a rate change when moving, but since I've had my car it's been steadily increasing.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: Muse


Shhhhh, don't tell anybody! I'm damn young for my age. Really fit too. Kind of a fitness freak. 🙂 The girls I'm attracted to are 20-25 but I'm too shy to hit on them. It's a problem. Guess I have to work on my courage.

just maintain a stance of dominance and you will be fine

Uh, well, I'm in Berkeley. This is the epicenter of the political correctness movement. I try to treat people as equals, including women. I don't lean toward submissive women. Actually, I kind of go for strong women. Not that I am not attracted to just plain sexy beautiful women, I sure am! 😀 Attraction is attraction, I'm not that mental about it.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: mugs

Originally posted by: Muse

Shhhhh, don't tell anybody! I'm damn young for my age. Really fit too. Kind of a fitness freak. 🙂 The girls I'm attracted to are 20-25 but I'm too shy to hit on them. It's a problem. Guess I have to work on my courage.

You just described 90% of Anandtech. 😛

Probably won't save you much on insurance, but you might consider getting rid of the Town & Country. If you have to spend anything on maintenance, it'd probably be cheaper to rent when you need to move big stuff. I looked into buying a used pickup a few years ago for the same purpose, and I concluded that I'd be better off renting the truck at Home Depot or Lowe's for $20 each time I need it.

Also, if you haven't changed the tires in a long time you may be due for a blowout.

I replaced the tires on the T&C 14 months ago. They were 10 years old, but lots of tread because of low use. Anyway, although my mechanic said they looked OK to him, I replaced them.

That car is in great shape for a 1983. All original equipment, the trany seems great (automatic), never had a trany job but it's going fine. Doesn't leak a drop of oil, doesn't burn a drop either, it's amazing (same for the Mazda!). I had it smogged last week and it's way way under the limits and is actually substantially below the average for all cars! The technician told me that it compares favorably with recent model cars even in terms of emissions. It's got rust on the paint in places, but no dents. The coupe is a very fun car to drive and in comparison the T&C feels like I'm piloting it, not driving it, but I rarely drive it like I say. The only maintenance I've been shelling out for in recent years (since getting the Mazda) is the registration, smog every two years (I paid $50 last week), a little gas for ~300 miles/year. Renting would be cheaper but one thing is for certain -- it would be less convenient than what I'm doing now. The state would pay me $650 to hang it up, and I almost did that a few years ago when the car failed smog, but an $85 tuneup fixed that.

I'm not sure that my rates would fall much if at all if I got rid of the T&C, actually, based on what I remember when I worked up my policy.

 

[SandEagle]

Originally posted by: loki8481

I'm paying $582/yr for pretty basic coverage, not minimum but not huge, no collision/theft, etc.

my $1.5K/year with 0 points on my license insurance bill laughs at you :laugh:

/weep

heh. when i lived in Detroit years ago, I was paying $400/month for full coverage. that's right...$4800 / yr for a Honda Accord that was only a few years old. I was 28 at the time with 0 points too. when i moved to ohio, that rate came down to $700/yr 🙂

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: SandEagle

Originally posted by: loki8481

I'm paying $582/yr for pretty basic coverage, not minimum but not huge, no collision/theft, etc.

my $1.5K/year with 0 points on my license insurance bill laughs at you :laugh:

/weep

heh. when i lived in Detroit years ago, I was paying $400/month for full coverage. that's right...$4800 / yr for a Honda Accord that was only a few years old. I was 28 at the time with 0 points too. when i moved to ohio, that rate came down to $700/yr 🙂

Man, I guess what you see in Robocop was true!

 

[geno]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: geno
Less than $600 a year for two cars and you think it should be cheaper?? I pay twice that yearly for only one of our two vehicles, and it's the cheaper of the two 😛

OK, no harm in asking! I suppose you have more coverage...

No, no harm at all, I'm just poking fun! I actually have minimal coverage on our 14 year old Subaru with 200,000+ miles on it, and full coverage on our 10 year old Audi...insurance rates around here stink! 😉

 

[OCGuy]

Because you are in CA, I would check out Wawaneesa.

They only insure good drivers, so their rates are very low. The catch is you must pre-pay 6 months. I wish I qualified 🙁

http://www.wawanesageneral.com/california/index.asp

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Ocguy31
Because you are in CA, I would check out Wawaneesa.

They only insure good drivers, so their rates are very low. The catch is you must pre-pay 6 months. I wish I qualified 🙁

http://www.wawanesageneral.com/california/index.asp

Thanks, guess I'll check, but I just got off the phone with USAA and they signed me up. For the exact same coverages I had with Mercury they are saving me ~$150/year. I'll be paying $443.76/year instead of $590.80. I'm glad I started this thread. Next I'll call Mercury and cancel and get a check back for the next 2.5 weeks, which is when my current policy is up. I've set it up (for the time being) to do everything online, no mail and will do autopay on my checking account monthly. Used to have to respond to a bill every 6 months from Mercury.

The rep signed me up for a credit card through AMEX that nets me 5% rebate on dining, groceries and gas (I think) for the first year. After that it's probably not as good as my Costco Amex, which is minimum 1%, but for a year it's money back in the pocket.

 

[episodic]

I pay 31$ a month for a truck and a car. . .


YMMV as I've never had a moving violation - ever. ..

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: episodic
I pay 31$ a month for a truck and a car. . .


YMMV as I've never had a moving violation - ever. ..

Congrats, well at least I stopped getting them! For a while I was truly living dangerously.

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

Originally posted by: Muse
The girls I'm attracted to are 20-25 but I'm too shy to hit on them. It's a problem. Guess I have to work on my courage.

Or get rid of the roller skates 😛

I saved quite a bit of money by switching to Ameriprise (Costco) over Progressive and even Geico.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal

Originally posted by: Muse
The girls I'm attracted to are 20-25 but I'm too shy to hit on them. It's a problem. Guess I have to work on my courage.

Or get rid of the roller skates 😛

I saved quite a bit of money by switching to Ameriprise (Costco) over Progressive and even Geico.

I sometimes fantasize about how I'll pick up babes with the skates, but it hasn't happened yet. I'll offer to teach her or if she skates already, go skating with her. Several babes have commented to me about them, or at least smiled at me. I know a couple who skate, but they aren't on my _list_. At least one is married. I think I may try to hook up with her to skate anyway. She's pretty much a babe and probably a damn good skater (she plays ice hockey). I won't make a move on her though.

I applied online for an insurance quote from Wawanesa, but they haven't emailed me a quote yet. Meantime I'm with USAA. Not sure I could do better.

 

[Muse]

So, I was happy as a clam when I jumped to USAA from Mercury last March for my car insurance shortly after posting this thread. I set up auto-pay against my checking account and it was steadily $36.98/month for the exact same coverages I had through Mercury. I was saving $138/year over my Mercury policy. Then I look at my checking account transaction history a few days ago and see that USAA has almost doubled my premium to $68.80/month! :Q I've gotten no tickets, gotten in no accidents, made no claims, nothing. I'm still driving my two cars less than 1000 miles/year combined (I keep records when I gas up my cars, so this isn't guess work). My record for all of these is still spotless over the last 7 years (all they look at), and for many many years before that.

I call USAA and talk to a few different people, and nobody can adequately explain why they'd jack up my premiums all of a sudden. Someone said that California had passed some laws that changed things. I get a guy who seems very sympathetic and he says he's going to look into the issue and if necesary enlist the help of a colleague who's in a position to figure out exactly why my premiums had gone up. I get a call today from a supervisor who is very sympathetic, says he'd be making the same calls, but says that their rating structure has completely changed and they've determined that for my situation the complex algorithms they use come up with my rating. I say this is "unconscionable!" How could their actuaries have gotten things so wrong that another look at the situation rates me twice the risk I was before. I said I am going to have to look into getting coverage with a different company in this circumstance. He looked at my policy in detail and noted that I only had liability, and that he would definitely not recommend decreasing my liability coverages. He seemed to be trying to find a way to slacken my payments but wasn't finding anything. I said I had a matter to attend to (true) and could he call me back later, and he gives me his personal number and says I can call him at my convenience. This, a few minutes ago.

 

[ViviTheMage]

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal

Originally posted by: Muse
The girls I'm attracted to are 20-25 but I'm too shy to hit on them. It's a problem. Guess I have to work on my courage.

Or get rid of the roller skates 😛

I saved quite a bit of money by switching to Ameriprise (Costco) over Progressive and even Geico.

I sometimes fantasize about how I'll pick up babes with the skates, but it hasn't happened yet. I'll offer to teach her or if she skates already, go skating with her. Several babes have commented to me about them, or at least smiled at me. I know a couple who skate, but they aren't on my _list_. At least one is married. I think I may try to hook up with her to skate anyway. She's pretty much a babe and probably a damn good skater (she plays ice hockey). I won't make a move on her though.

I applied online for an insurance quote from Wawanesa, but they haven't emailed me a quote yet. Meantime I'm with USAA. Not sure I could do better.

For some reason, imagining a 65 year old on skates, doesn't sound like the 20 year old babes will be flocking towards you, haha.

I pay 240$ per month, for 2 cars, 06's, full coverage. As well as our condo insurance. Seems about right to me, I don't have any tickets/violations, i'm 22. Wish I was paying less though.

 

[Red Squirrel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkf95onRgcc]I think somebody is watching you[/url].

15 minutes could save you 15%.

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: ViviTheMage

Originally posted by: Muse

Originally posted by: Cdubneeddeal

Originally posted by: Muse
The girls I'm attracted to are 20-25 but I'm too shy to hit on them. It's a problem. Guess I have to work on my courage.

Or get rid of the roller skates 😛

I saved quite a bit of money by switching to Ameriprise (Costco) over Progressive and even Geico.

I sometimes fantasize about how I'll pick up babes with the skates, but it hasn't happened yet. I'll offer to teach her or if she skates already, go skating with her. Several babes have commented to me about them, or at least smiled at me. I know a couple who skate, but they aren't on my _list_. At least one is married. I think I may try to hook up with her to skate anyway. She's pretty much a babe and probably a damn good skater (she plays ice hockey). I won't make a move on her though.

I applied online for an insurance quote from Wawanesa, but they haven't emailed me a quote yet. Meantime I'm with USAA. Not sure I could do better.

I slapped it on the back bumper of my most used car, the '97 Mazda.

For some reason, imagining a 65 year old on skates, doesn't sound like the 20 year old babes will be flocking towards you, haha.

I pay 240$ per month, for 2 cars, 06's, full coverage. As well as our condo insurance. Seems about right to me, I don't have any tickets/violations, i'm 22. Wish I was paying less though.

Yeah, 66 since August, and you're right, they're not flocking towards me and I'm not happy about it. 🙂 They're not flocking to me, but I am getting some great looks occasionally! Who knows?

My house insurance is around $600/year and it's just fire insurance, basically. I figured it out, I'm basically paying around $35/hour for car insurance looking at the actual hours I'm driving the car. Expensive habit. Since I started this thread I've made a custom bumper sticker that says I'd rather be skating.

I haven't started looking for a different auto insurance carrier, but figure I'll probably be with a different company within a week. I'll check out my old carrier Mercury, Geico, Costco, maybe a few others. Recommendations welcome. I suppose I'll get the same coverages. I don't know how much I should be considering the reputation of the carrier in terms of how easy they are to work with in the event of an accident/claim since I haven't had an accident for over 40 years. Besides, since it's basically liability it would be the other driver's headache, not my own, evidently.