Another "shop your auto insurance" thread/story

[14Accent]

I've been with Progressive for the past 6-7 years, and other than a few niggles I've never really had an issue with (or a reason to rely on) them. My policy renewal just came and went on October 29th, my rate dropped by a few cents, landing at $118.13 a month for full coverage on my Volt. Keep in mind, that's for state minimum 30/60k, $2k deductible, no GAP, no glass, no roadside. Just insurance, and crappy insurance at that. Yes, I know it was stupid to drive around like that, however this policy was issued back when I was still paying my debts for DUI's, along with multiple other driving infractions rating anywhere from "eh" to "bro...". But I digress..

I've had my homeowners through State Farm basically since I bought the place, they've always treated me well and the premium couldn't be beat. However, due to said driving record issues, I never qualified for auto through them. Well, an agent from the local branch I work with called me yesterday and offer to run a quote for me. Here's what we came up with:

$100/300k across the board
$1k deductible
I left GAP and glass off, my car is worth double what I owe and I have a great indy glass guy that will handle any issues I have for cash
Add the Jeep, same coverage levels however just liability because... well it's a $400 Jeep.

Total? $175 a month. The very same $118 for the Volt and the rest for the Jeep. In addition, I get a 35% discount on my homeowners, in the amount of $852.50 this year which I'll be getting a check for since my insurance is paid out of escrow in full at the beginning of the year. This will also have the side effect of lowering my total monthly mortgage payment a few bucks.

Needless to say I'm happy as a clam right now. Now if only I can manage to take advantage of these low interest rates and refi my house ($125k owed, market value approx. $225k, currently 4.125% FHA 30 year and paying mortgage insurance still, 6 years owned) I should be able to save myself several thousand dollars a year.

 

[HangFire]

Whenever you combine your homeowners and your auto you get a big break, with State Farm, Progressive or most any company. But don't worry, they will creep the rates of both up on you over time.

 

[AutoMechanic]

We have State Farm for auto insurance and Farm Bureau for home both are good but kinda expensive but we get good coverage for both things.

 

[Ignatius]

Amica is the best insurance company I have found both for price paid and service received.

Esurance and Cincinnati Insurance have been the absolute worst.

 

[14Accent]

Whenever you combine your homeowners and your auto you get a big break, with State Farm, Progressive or most any company. But don't worry, they will creep the rates of both up on you over time.

Agree on both points. I tried to combine with Progressive years ago when I bought the place, they said they don't touch places over 100 years old. True? Not a clue. But, it wouldn't surprise me. Pretty simple risk management for an insurance company.

 

[Hall]

State Farm is hardly known for being low-priced. Why not really shop around for auto and homeowner's ?

 

[HowAboutThis]

I've been with Progressive for the past 6-7 years, and other than a few niggles I've never really had an issue with (or a reason to rely on) them. My policy renewal just came and went on October 29th, my rate dropped by a few cents, landing at $118.13 a month for full coverage on my Volt. Keep in mind, that's for state minimum 30/60k, $2k deductible, no GAP, no glass, no roadside. Just insurance, and crappy insurance at that. Yes, I know it was stupid to drive around like that, however this policy was issued back when I was still paying my debts for DUI's, along with multiple other driving infractions rating anywhere from "eh" to "bro...". But I digress..

I've had my homeowners through State Farm basically since I bought the place, they've always treated me well and the premium couldn't be beat. However, due to said driving record issues, I never qualified for auto through them. Well, an agent from the local branch I work with called me yesterday and offer to run a quote for me. Here's what we came up with:

$100/300k across the board
$1k deductible
I left GAP and glass off, my car is worth double what I owe and I have a great indy glass guy that will handle any issues I have for cash
Add the Jeep, same coverage levels however just liability because... well it's a $400 Jeep.

Total? $175 a month. The very same $118 for the Volt and the rest for the Jeep. In addition, I get a 35% discount on my homeowners, in the amount of $852.50 this year which I'll be getting a check for since my insurance is paid out of escrow in full at the beginning of the year. This will also have the side effect of lowering my total monthly mortgage payment a few bucks.

Needless to say I'm happy as a clam right now. Now if only I can manage to take advantage of these low interest rates and refi my ($125k owed, market value approx. $225k, currently 4.125% FHA 30 year and paying mortgage insurance still, 6 years owned) I should be able to save myself several thousand dollars a year.

Cripes. For two 2017s, $500 deductible, full coverage, 250k/500k, 100k property damage, $85/mth. For both. That's like half what you're paying

 

[MoneyJohn]

I have burned myself with State Farm. Whatever I used to pay to State Farm for one vehicle 6 years ago, now I pay less than that for 2 vehicles (one being the same one State Farm was insuring). Agreed, there are a lot of factors to play but my BIL pushed me to shop around when we got a new vehicle 6 years ago. Since then I shop every year (at every renewal) and nobody has been able to match Erie.

Whenever you combine your homeowners and your auto you get a big break

Can anyone explain the rationale behind this? I have rental insurance, costs $160 for a year but if I drop that, my auto insurance increases by almost $300/ year. Even my agent could not explain it to me. She was like, we just input the numbers, rest is all calculated on their end.

 

[Delta]

State Farm is hardly known for being low-priced. Why not really shop around for auto and homeowner's ?

While more expensive than some others, if you have a claim it is a painless process. I've had State Farm since I've been able to drive and also had homeowners insurance through them when we had the old house. We've had to make a couple claims over the years (1 homeowners and 2 auto) and all 3 times the process was very simple. Rates never went up. Even got my grandmother on State Farm and even being with them less than a year she had a hail damage claim that was effortless and got to pick any shop without hassle. Sorry but the "cheaper" companies are not this easy to get along with.

 

[tbm5690]

For many years it was cheaper for me to not bundle anything...company 1 homeowners, company 2 for the 2 cars, and company 3 for the motorcycle. Had Amica for homeowners for a few years, but recently they were going to do a large rate hike so I'm now bundled with Geico on the house and cars...bike is still separate. Geico's bundle is a crappy 3% savings on the auto policy, but they are both still the cheapest for me anyways so it doesn't matter.

To the OP: for sure ditch the crappy FHA loan to get rid of the PMI...

 

[Silver]

I feel creepy participating in a thread about Satan, but I just went TO Progressive and cut $800/yr off my insurance bill, same everything, after having to add my newly licensed child. Before that, I had eSurance which saved me $900/yr versus Geico, who I went to to save a lot (can't remember amount) over... Progressive. They jack up your rate with any change they can, and if no change well they'll just jack it up for no reason. You have to switch or they'll squeeze every penny they can from you. They literally work hard at ripping off their customers while catering to new ones.

These people... I mean wow... it really makes you realize just how horrible humans can be.

Funny - I had a State Farm guy call me up. Was condescending and wanted to sell me about 4 different products with the auto portion being way high. He was probably some sort of district award winner with trophies in his office he received at big company parties held in hotel banquet rooms. Horns the size of a bull... big pitchfork in his trunk, long tail...

 

[tyman]

Yep, we've been with SF for over 25 years, we have just about every discount known to man. A few months ago, for S&G's, I quoted a few places like Geico, Prog, Liberty Mutual, USAA, etc. The next cheapest was USAA at double what I'm paying now through SF.

 

[Hall]

While more expensive than some others, if you have a claim it is a painless process. I've had State Farm since I've been able to drive and also had homeowners insurance through them when we had the old house. We've had to make a couple claims over the years (1 homeowners and 2 auto) and all 3 times

They don't typically raise rates, they just drop you. My parents had SF for everything when we were growing up and being a teenager, I got some traffic citations. They removed me from my parent's policy and I had to get my own insurance. They still reach out to me to "come back".

As for claims, I know (3) people personally (not hearsay) that have been dropped for too many claims. None of these people or the claims were frivolous either. In fact, with one of them, they called their agent about two issues - 1) someone backed a moving truck into their house and damaged some siding and downspout (actually minor damage) and 2) water supply line leaked in their (finished) basement. In both cases, they were only inquiring to see if it was worth going through their insurance policy. They did not pursue these and just fixed it and paid for it themselves. Later, they had a claim (I can't recall what it was for now) that they did pursue and SF paid out. Afterwards, they rec'd a letter saying they were dropping coverage due to "too many claims". To you and I, they filed (1) claim. To SF, they filed (3). He is friends with their agent and she told him it happens all the time (and nowadays, agents can't vouch for the client, etc, etc). It's all data-driven now and non-appealable.

 

[Wolf359]

I would never drop glass coverage. It's a PIA when you don't have it. Plus for me, glass gets broken ever 2-3 years so it's worth it not to have a deductible, just take it to the glass shop and they fix it right away.

 

[14Accent]

I would never drop glass coverage. It's a PIA when you don't have it. Plus for me, glass gets broken ever 2-3 years so it's worth it not to have a deductible, just take it to the glass shop and they fix it right away.

That's funny, I've only had to replace a windshield once in 16 years of driving. Glass is one of the last things on my mind when it comes to my car. Oddly enough, the only other glass breakage I've had in my life was on the same car, only that was a break in.

The annoying thing about that windshield: it was my 1996 Bonneville with the HUD. It required a special coating on a 6x6 inch portion of the lower windshield to help the HUD reflect. I specifically told the insurance company about this, yet when the guy showed up I stopped him before he touched the car and made him verify the part. Nope, it was wrong. The insurance company wasn't happy when they found out how much the correct piece of glass cost. From what the installer told me, that special windshield was only available from GM.

 

[01rangerxl]

I was using Traveler's for years, and didn't shop around as much as I should have, but considered it acceptable. I didn't have a dedicated agent, just basically did everything online. I bought a house this summer, and when I went to the Traveler's website to start a quote on a bundle with homeowners, it was not very helpful or useful at all. I ended up going to State Farm next, and they direct you to an agent, who was actually very helpful and quick to respond. The quote she came back with for the house and two vehicles was less than JUST the vehicles with Traveler's. Kind of blew my mind, but sealed the deal for me. My agent is always very responsive and so far I am very happy with State Farm.

The ONLY thing I haven't liked so far is that you can't just add and remove vehicles from the policy via the website. You can start the process and provide some information, but your agent has to review everything and actually make the change for you. With Traveler's I could add/remove vehicles on the fly with the website, but what I was paying was not worth having that convenience. Otherwise, State Farm has been great.

Prior to Traveler's and State Farm, I had used Esurance and Geico, and hated both. I also had GMAC for a while through an independent agent, and that was actually really good, again in large part due to having an actual agent, but when I moved to another state I had to change because my agent wasn't licensed there. That was when I briefly used Esurance, who initially offered a good rate, but promptly started increasing it significantly every 6 months for no apparent reason.

 

[Nick1994]

I've got an independent insurance agent who can quote a lot of companies. Cheapest for me is Progressive. The Genesis is pretty expensive to insure and the Jeep and Camry are really cheap. I save $591 a year by paying it all in full, just paid $2,453 for the year.

 

[Wolf359]

That's funny, I've only had to replace a windshield once in 16 years of driving. Glass is one of the last things on my mind when it comes to my car. Oddly enough, the only other glass breakage I've had in my life was on the same car, only that was a break in.

The annoying thing about that windshield: it was my 1996 Bonneville with the HUD. It required a special coating on a 6x6 inch portion of the lower windshield to help the HUD reflect. I specifically told the insurance company about this, yet when the guy showed up I stopped him before he touched the car and made him verify the part. Nope, it was wrong. The insurance company wasn't happy when they found out how much the correct piece of glass cost. From what the installer told me, that special windshield was only available from GM.

My windshield always go every 5-8 years. Most from rock chips on the highway. At least with the new glass, it's extra clear, over the years the windshield gets pitted. On top of that, someone smashes the side window glass every couple of years, then you're finding bits of glass in the car for years afterwards. I had glass break on me years ago when I didn't bother with glass coverage. I eventually found some used glass and a shop who would do it cheaply but it wasn't worth the hassle considering the minor extra annual cost so I've always gotten glass coverage since.

 

[Gladtojoin88]

I've been with Progressive for the past 6-7 years, and other than a few niggles I've never really had an issue with (or a reason to rely on) them. My policy renewal just came and went on October 29th, my rate dropped by a few cents, landing at $118.13 a month for full coverage on my Volt. Keep in mind, that's for state minimum 30/60k, $2k deductible, no GAP, no glass, no roadside. Just insurance, and crappy insurance at that. Yes, I know it was stupid to drive around like that, however this policy was issued back when I was still paying my debts for DUI's, along with multiple other driving infractions rating anywhere from "eh" to "bro...". But I digress..

I've had my homeowners through State Farm basically since I bought the place, they've always treated me well and the premium couldn't be beat. However, due to said driving record issues, I never qualified for auto through them. Well, an agent from the local branch I work with called me yesterday and offer to run a quote for me. Here's what we came up with:

$100/300k across the board
$1k deductible
I left GAP and glass off, my car is worth double what I owe and I have a great indy glass guy that will handle any issues I have for cash
Add the Jeep, same coverage levels however just liability because... well it's a $400 Jeep.

Total? $175 a month. The very same $118 for the Volt and the rest for the Jeep. In addition, I get a 35% discount on my homeowners, in the amount of $852.50 this year which I'll be getting a check for since my insurance is paid out of escrow in full at the beginning of the year. This will also have the side effect of lowering my total monthly mortgage payment a few bucks.

Needless to say I'm happy as a clam right now. Now if only I can manage to take advantage of these low interest rates and refi my house ($125k owed, market value approx. $225k, currently 4.125% FHA 30 year and paying mortgage insurance still, 6 years owned) I should be able to save myself several thousand dollars a year.

Our PMI dropped at 5 years 78 percent . It took 4 calls and an email.

 

[eljefino]

I keep flip flopping between geico and progressive. Good driver. It gets "stagnant" when they start calling me a "platinum member" or whatever and rates start creeping up.

Have geico for the here & now. They ask me 20 entrapping questions though about miles driven per year, if I drive between midnight at 5 am. As a matter of fact I do, I leave for work at 0445. Progressive would take me back in a heartbeat-- they keep checking my credit rating.

If it's been years and you're "happy", it's the best time to shop around.

My house is, OTOH, undesirable, with its wood stove. My pit bull (see avatar) passed away and they didn't like that idea either. Amica kept over-valuing the house so every. year. I had to call them and give them the run down of all the building materials. Floor is 30% tile, 50% hardwood, 20% laminate. Roof is 60% metal, 40% shingle. On and on for 20 minutes. "This is being recorded." Finally dumped them. Also could never get a good combo rate for house and cars.