GEICO quoted me HALF of what USAA quoted?

[marvdmartian]

When I switched to Farmers, it was because they were quoting half of what Geico wanted. Literally HALF.

I also had my renter's policy through Farmers, until I bought my house (3 years ago), and then switched to them for homeowner's.

I had to switch from Farmer's for homeowner's insurance, this year, after they jacked it up to 150% of what it had been, with no real reason (no claims, etc), and went with USAA.....which turned out to be ~$200/year cheaper than Farmers had been, all along.

I've stuck with Farmers with my auto insurance, just because it's a local guy, and a friend, and I felt a bit of loyalty toward them. But USAA quoted me virtually the same price, and that was without a discount for having my home & auto coverage through them, so it's likely that, come August, I'll be switching my auto coverage to USAA.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

Geico seems to make their money off of surcharges when you get into an accident or get caught speeding. I got caught twice speeding in an 18 month period while I lived in New York, and those bastards doubled my insurance premium. I switched to Progressive, and it got cut in half to a reasonable amount.

That said, my wife also saved 40% switching from Geico to Progressive when we got married, and she had a clean driving record. Go figure.

My insurance rates have never changed because of a speeding ticket (surprise). The last time the ticket was 19 over the posted limit (absurdly low, IMO) resulting in no change in policy cost and the fine was $117, effectively incentizing me to continue speeding.

 

[AustinInDallas]

Well I'm going to call today to speak with a CSR and see if adding a renters insurance policy/cc/bank account/etc will drop the rate.
Because geico at HALF is kinda a big deal

Also one more question that might seem obvious, but I just want to make sure:
The quote I'm getting is the cost for me and my wife correct? I typed in both our names/ DL numbers and cars VIN numbers. It would make more since to me in the GEICO price was for each of us and the USAA was total. But when I do the final quote print out for GEICO it shows both covered

 

[SunnyD]

Funny, because every year so far that I've been with GEICO, my insurance rates have dropped. I've been with them for a long time now.

This.

Now mind you, you get what you pay for. When it comes to claims service, you're usually dealing with someone in a call center over the phone unless you're in a bigger city and they happen to have an office there. And they really don't go "out of their way" to help you, the customer. But still, their rates have been fairly cheap - for me, cheaper than everybody else for the same coverage for the past 10 years or so.

 

[AustinInDallas]

This.

Now mind you, you get what you pay for. When it comes to claims service, you're usually dealing with someone in a call center over the phone unless you're in a bigger city and they happen to have an office there. And they really don't go "out of their way" to help you, the customer. But still, their rates have been fairly cheap - for me, cheaper than everybody else for the same coverage for the past 10 years or so.

So is 800 worth usaa awesome customer service to me? I haven't had a claim since it hailed like 5 years ago

 

[AdamK47]

USAA constantly gets great service ratings for home/auto insurance, home mortgages, and other loans. All my cars and my home are insured through them. Financed the cars through them. Also did my mortgage through them. Never had any problems and the rates have also been comparatively excellent.

I always view the big name insurance companies like Geico, Progressive, and Farmers as shysters backed by huge marketing. You have to question how these companies get all the money to put their name everywhere.

 

[mztykal]

Switched to Geico from State Farm. Had State Farm for 6 years no accidents or claims. Geico for the same coverage was almost half what I was paying.

 

[chin311]

I switched from Progressive to GEICO myself back in May.

Saving about $1000 a year over what Progressive was trying to up my premiums.

Progressive wanted $2600.
Geico wanted $14~~.~~ for MORE coverage than I was getting from Progressive.

I was with Progressive for over 6 years and they gradually starting raping me more and more and I haven't had one claim in 4 years ++

 

[sactoking]

I've said it in other insurance threads and I'll say it here as well: auto insurance is not customized to you so individual anecdotal experiences of rates and whatnot are pretty much worthless to anyone and everyone else.

 

[Doppel]

Been with Geico for years now. I pay about $600 every 6 months for two new cars with good coverage.

 

[tboo]

My sister has USAA as well as me. I know when she moved from the Midwest to Philly, her rates skyrocketed for her Accord coupe. She shopped around & Geico offered a better deal but she stayed with USAA. USAA offered a better rate when she lived in the Midwest though.

 

[SunnyD]

So is 800 worth usaa awesome customer service to me? I haven't had a claim since it hailed like 5 years ago

Depends. I've had ONE accident claim in 20 years of driving, and that was last year when someone hit my wife. It was painless, but impersonal.

Other than that, 2 glass claims were handled over the phone no problems and I've used their roadside assistance a couple times no problems.

It depends on what it's worth to you I guess. If I got into accidents every year, I'd probably want better service.