Car Insurance Companies and Rates

[Jim_in_Delaware]

We have had USAA for our vehicles and home for 20+ years and have been happy with the coverage. They were great to deal with after my daughter's car was totaled after a hit-and-run accident two weeks ago. Anyone with military experience or is the child of a member with coverage is eligible.

Having a teen driver is what really drives up insurance premiums.

We have $500 deductible across the board, as this is a comfortable risk level for us.

Jim

 

[Southernerd]

I was sued by a scammer as a result of a fender bender and I didn’t have to deal with anything at all with State Farm. They just notified me that it was coming and then I never did anything else. It’s just the game lawyers play.

They're not horrible 100% of the time but I've been suing insurance companies for 12 years and there is a clear pattern with State Farm and Allstate not making a good faith efforts to settle legit claims pre-suit. Its a pretty well known issue in the business that isn't specific to any particular state. The consequence of their game playing is that their customers end up getting sued when any other insurer would have settled. If I've got a case that would be valued at $20-30k with any other insurer, SF will offer like $1500 take it or leave knowing I can't take it. State Farm basically forces us to file suit. Since the legislatures across this country don't want juries to know that there is insurance available, we have to sue the customer to get to the insurance company. Ultimately, the customer isn't at any real financial risk but it can be stressful and aggravating to participate in a lawsuit that never should have happened. $0.02.

 

[jthackman]

i'm in texas..
usaa is great, but def not cheapest.
long time with allstate, then long time with farmers, now a long time with geico.
been happiest with geico...they make everything easy, and i haven't been able to beat their rates.
5 cars, 1 camper with them
boat is with chubb, can't beat their rates

 

[RobbieO]

So now that we've bought our dd a new car, we are in the market for new insuruance. We currently have State Farm.

Currently we have: 2014 Audi Q7 and 2014 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited and pay $232/month. We added the 2022 Kia Forte GT and they want $309/month for that car, so a total of $541/month

We've gotten a quote for all three cars for monthly:

1. AAA - for $286
2. Travelers - for $357
3. National General $360
4. Progressive - for $383
5. Nationwide - $385

Anyone have any experience with AAA car insurance??? The next thing we need to look at is our deductibles...we are currently at $250 across the board....perhaps we should move that up to $500 or $1000?

I've had State Farm my whole life....but at that price....this is insane.

I’ve had Geico for many years. I have my Ram 2500, Ford Explorer, Honda Accord, and my boat all insured with Geico. Their customer service is outstanding. I shop around once in awhile comparing rates, and always stay with them. They lowered my premium during Covid and hasn’t gone up much. I’m retired so I claim on the Honda as more than 12k miles a year. The boat insurance is $63 a month for full replacement cost. I pay $250 a month for everything.

 

[Bruce]

I switched from two vehicles on Allstate to three on Nationwide Smart Miles last year. Went from $190 a month to $150 a month. Smart Miles charges increase 2 to 3 cents per mile for every mile driven. We do not have a teenaged driver on the plan yet.

So far I am really happy to be paying less for more vehicles.

 

[adrianp89]

I switched from two vehicles on Allstate to three on Nationwide Smart Miles last year. Went from $190 a month to $150 a month. Smart Miles charges increase 2 to 3 cents per mile for every mile driven. We do not have a teenaged driver on the plan yet.

So far I am really happy to be paying less for more vehicles.

I really like progressive but I may look into this. Most of our driving is to the boat ramp and back lol.

 

[seanmclean]

Timely thread, haven't reviewed my coverages in a long time so just requoted everything. Been with Geico for 7 years with two cars and a house on it (with high coverage limits). As compared to Geico, all with similar or greater coverages:

Allstate - 15% savings
State Farm - Auto was 40% higher then geico, did not even proceed with the home quote
Nationwide - refused to quote homeowners online
Liberty Mutual - refused to quote homeowners online
Travelers - 10% higher
Progressive - 4% savings
Farmers - Auto was 100% higher than geico. Homeowners would need to be free to even consider, lol.


Damn near everyone wants to track me using a phone or a device in my car. Hard pass. The 15% savings for Allstate are less than a grand a year, and they have been pretty good to us through two claims (one our fault, another not) - not even sure its worth the hassle to switch.

 

[Julian]

So my end result was interesting.....I am staying with State Farm for now. The lower quotes done online all went UP dramatically once they plugged me into the system! Basically a bait and switch game. Biggest change is that my daughter has her "full" license for less than one year - so that is costly.

I did go through my coverage with State Farm and increase our deductibles across the house and cars. That saved us $605/year (went from $250 on the cars to $500, and from $1000 on the house to $2500). Also switched my car from "work driving" to their general household category - which saved us money (as I don't drive to work anymore).

Now we just need to get our daughter past the one year mark without an accident claim and the amount on her will drop like $600-1000/year.

 

[jthackman]

yes....kids are no bueno for premiums
can any insurance guys verify? i read somewhere that they can no longer use credit scores in rate setting. said that high credit score individuals would see rates go up, and low scorers would go down....haven't found any proof tho

 

[seanmclean]

yes....kids are no bueno for premiums
can any insurance guys verify? i read somewhere that they can no longer use credit scores in rate setting. said that high credit score individuals would see rates go up, and low scorers would go down....haven't found any proof tho

I heard the same thing. Curiously, only one company asked me for my SSN today, typically before they would all ask, and if I declined they would just give me an estimate, pending a credit check.

 

[johhnyboat]

They do take credit scores into account, but from what I know accidents are the biggest reason for higher rates. My wife owns an insurance agency and is affiliated with multiple insurance companies if you want to get a free comparative analysis. Bundling cars and boat saves the most.

 

[scokill]

There are so many variables when it comes to insurance and it's difficult for folks to compare rates and say something is to high or too low. My brother in law and I have Farmers and live a street away from each other, same value house, credit, etc etc. We were going over our insurance for homeowners and his was significantly cheaper. I sent his policy to my agent and asked why mine was so high. I had 1% deductible for wind/hail, brother in law has 2%, I have 24 months loss of use he has 12, I had more personal property coverage, and his roof is 20 years old and on a scheduled payout for loss, not replacement. There are others.

 

[Julian]

There are so many variables when it comes to insurance and it's difficult for folks to compare rates and say something is to high or too low. My brother in law and I have Farmers and live a street away from each other, same value house, credit, etc etc. We were going over our insurance for homeowners and his was significantly cheaper. I sent his policy to my agent and asked why mine was so high. I had 1% deductible for wind/hail, brother in law has 2%, I have 24 months loss of use he has 12, I had more personal property coverage, and his roof is 20 years old and on a scheduled payout for loss, not replacement. There are others.

It was interesting that once all these companies put in our detailed info....the quotes leveled off close to each other.

 

[2kwik4u]

I would get quotes from Erie Insurance and NJM. A coworker has Erie and said they have good rates and are easier to work with. I don’t know NJM, but they are on my short list of alternatives. I currently have Amica. Excellent customer service, when I call the main office. Rates seem to go up a lot every year, but are still competitive.

I think you should consider higher deductibles. Unless you are making a claim every year it would cost you less to raise them and put an equal amount of cash in the bank, and don’t touch it.

@Julian

I have Erie for everything. They've been exceptionally easy to deal with on claims, rates have been fairly stable. I have my agents cell number in my phone, she always answers questions and makes changes promptly.

'17 Q7, '18 Rogue -> $212/mo with $500 deductibles, rental car coverages, and liability numbers maximized
'17 AR190 ->$525/yr for $35k agreed value coverage with $5k "personal belongings" ryder.
'15 Home -> No idea, this is in escrow and built into my monthly payment
$2M Liability Umbrella -> Something like $1.4k/yr or so if I remember right. Lowers the payments on everything else by more than the cost of the policy.

I'll add in that I ALSO keep AAA Platinum (or whatever they call the highest level) for roadside assistance at ~$500-ish a year, as well as BoatTowUS at the highest level for like $400/yr. I consider those more insurance than service costs, I use them very infrequently, and only in emergencies.

 

[johhnyboat]

I will tell you that if you have had insurance with the same company for more then 10 years you are paying too much.

 

[Julian]

I will tell you that if you have had insurance with the same company for more then 10 years you are paying too much.

Just went through this, and we are paying $150 more a year than a couple of other companies....the rest are within $50.