Auto Insurance - Geico vs Progessive ?

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As someone who works with all of the insurance companies on a daily basis, I will never use GEICO or Progressive. Their reps constantly try to slash prices, demanding we sell to them below our cost. I have AAA based on all the body shops I deal with saying that AAA and USAA are the easiest to deal with. Even on policies where customers have paid for new OEM parts, GEICO and Progressive actively try to use junkyard or aftermarket parts.

I have been involved in accidents with drivers with Progressive and their reps will call me and say that I must admit fault before they will proceed, even on accidents where the police report states their party was 100% at fault. My recent court experience was with a driver insured by Progressive, they left him to drown while AAA gave me amazing help and I won. He was suing me BTW, and they (Progressive) screwed him over.
 
Depends on where you live.

Geico has cheap insurance when I lived in Buffalo.

I moved to Texas and it went way up.

I got a local broker who knows the local market, and he set me up with Central Insurance, they did a great job and saved me a ton of money.

Made a claim with central and they were good to work with.

We had a claim with Geico a few years back and they were dumb, they kept trying to get the claim lower.

I would recommend working with a broker, who works with a few different insurance companies, that way you get good coverage and a cheap rate.

I think my broker works with 15-20 insurance companies.

We insure the house with the same company and that saves several hundred bucks a year.
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
USAA kicks both of their butts, but you have to be in the military, a vet, or have a parent that was in the military I believe in order to become a member...


That is interesting as USAA was twice the cost of everybody else when I was shopping around for pricing last year. Never had an accident and my last ticket was 1971.
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: itguy08
Neither. Both have, in the past "donated" radar guns to various police departments. That alone turns me off to them.



If you don't speed it's irrelevant.


Show me someone who doesn't speed and I'll show you a law abiding citizen in Ferguson, MO...
The "don't speeders" are the ones I saw in New Mexico going 63 in the passing lane of an empty 75 mph road. Of course they "weren't speeding".
 
I use Geico as they've always been the cheapest by a good bit.

No claims, no fuss. I expect getting a claim paid to be a hassle and something I wouldn't go through very often. So I've been saving thousands of dollars over the past 15+ years in the meantime.
 
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
You have to periodically change insurance companies to get the best rates.


Not necessarily so.....if your a driver who has had no tickets, and only a few very minor claims....staying with the same company pays off due to loyalty discounts and other discounts. Also if you drive less than 7500 miles a year, more discounts are added.

I've been with State Farm for over 25 years, and as I check other companys (every 2 years or so), the others can't beat my State Farm rate.

BTW....Consumers Reports rates auto insurance companies, so you might check out from a library the last time they made a list.
 
I have been with Erie well over 15 years now and this week my wife decided to swipe the brick column coming into our driveway, Thus an at fault collision claim, $2,690 in damage, Agent looked up my policy and said because you have been with Erie so long you have LIFETIME ACCIDENT FORGIVENESS, no 30% premium increase next year. I have looked around many times over the years and Erie has been the lowest or close to it for me. Having an agent is of prime importance to me and obviously there are some advantages to staying with the same company for many years, at least ERIE. Also, when it comes to HO Ins one has to read how the companies define Replacement COst. Erie is different, none of this cannot exceed 120% of insured value [censored],. If it states replacement cost and they insure it they cover it regardless of the total in the end. No one reads the definitions!
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
As someone who works with all of the insurance companies on a daily basis, I will never use GEICO or Progressive. Their reps constantly try to slash prices, demanding we sell to them below our cost. I have AAA based on all the body shops I deal with saying that AAA and USAA are the easiest to deal with. Even on policies where customers have paid for new OEM parts, GEICO and Progressive actively try to use junkyard or aftermarket parts.

I have been involved in accidents with drivers with Progressive and their reps will call me and say that I must admit fault before they will proceed, even on accidents where the police report states their party was 100% at fault. My recent court experience was with a driver insured by Progressive, they left him to drown while AAA gave me amazing help and I won. He was suing me BTW, and they (Progressive) screwed him over.


My understanding is that AAA simply acts as a middleman or broker in the car insurance area. They are not the actual insurer, it is farmed out to other companies, presumably the one with the lowest rate for the particular customer. At least that's how i interpreted the fine print on the many mailings I've got from them telling me how much they can save me. That makes me a little concerned about considering them, the experience might vary a lot depending on who actually is the insurer. I like to know and choose exactly who my insurer is. Geico and Progressive, and to a lesser extent All State and State Farm, spend so much on constant advertising, they make up that money somehow and I imagine its in the claims area. I don't think I've EVER seen an ad for Erie Insurance.
 
I have everything insured w/State Farm. No one can beat their price for me. I've been with them for 37 years (1978 when I graduated high school). I switched my m/c to State Farm from Progressive and they gave me 2X the coverage for 3 bucks more per year.
 
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
I have everything insured w/State Farm. No one can beat their price for me. I've been with them for 37 years (1978 when I graduated high school). I switched my m/c to State Farm from Progressive and they gave me 2X the coverage for 3 bucks more per year.


This is our company as well. We have all our fleet vehicles, all our personal vehicles, and our home as well with them. Every year I get at least one or two companies who are interested in bidding our insurances. Every year they call me back and say "I just don't know how you can get such low rates". Unbeatable pricing and good customer service, too...
 
Originally Posted By: JustinH

I would recommend working with a broker, who works with a few different insurance companies, that way you get good coverage and a cheap rate..


I agree to a point. I went through a broker for a number of years in the Buffalo area and my experience was excellent. The problem with them is, they don't necessarily scour all sources for the best rate for you, they only work with a limited number of companies. I ultimately found a better deal myself and switched.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
Originally Posted By: JustinH

I would recommend working with a broker, who works with a few different insurance companies, that way you get good coverage and a cheap rate..


I agree to a point. I went through a broker for a number of years in the Buffalo area and my experience was excellent. The problem with them is, they don't necessarily scour all sources for the best rate for you, they only work with a limited number of companies. I ultimately found a better deal myself and switched.



A broker will get you a better array of companies in a one stop setting.
If you price the captive sellers (Nationwide, State Farm, etc) then you need to deal with the singleton agencies.
 
Originally Posted By: dlayman
My understanding is that AAA simply acts as a middleman or broker in the car insurance area. They are not the actual insurer, it is farmed out to other companies, presumably the one with the lowest rate for the particular customer. At least that's how i interpreted the fine print on the many mailings I've got from them telling me how much they can save me. That makes me a little concerned about considering them, the experience might vary a lot depending on who actually is the insurer. I like to know and choose exactly who my insurer is. Geico and Progressive, and to a lesser extent All State and State Farm, spend so much on constant advertising, they make up that money somehow and I imagine its in the claims area. I don't think I've EVER seen an ad for Erie Insurance.


In CA they do the insuring directly. As fas as the ads go, AAA started commercials recently and they are very professional and direct to the point. All the GEICO and Progressive commercials are fluff ones with unnecessary expense. There are other companies like The General and Highway that seem to exist purely so someone has an insurance card.
 
Originally Posted By: Bud
Originally Posted By: grampi
USAA kicks both of their butts, but you have to be in the military, a vet, or have a parent that was in the military I believe in order to become a member...


That is interesting as USAA was twice the cost of everybody else when I was shopping around for pricing last year. Never had an accident and my last ticket was 1971.


That's strange...I have shopped around for years, with every insurance company I could find, and I've yet to find one that even comes close to USAA's rates...
 
Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: CKN
Originally Posted By: itguy08
Neither. Both have, in the past "donated" radar guns to various police departments. That alone turns me off to them.



If you don't speed it's irrelevant.


Show me someone who doesn't speed and I'll show you a law abiding citizen in Ferguson, MO...



I find the speed limits sufficient for my driving needs. Thank you.
 
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: Silverado12
I have everything insured w/State Farm. No one can beat their price for me. I've been with them for 37 years (1978 when I graduated high school). I switched my m/c to State Farm from Progressive and they gave me 2X the coverage for 3 bucks more per year.


This is our company as well. We have all our fleet vehicles, all our personal vehicles, and our home as well with them. Every year I get at least one or two companies who are interested in bidding our insurances. Every year they call me back and say "I just don't know how you can get such low rates". Unbeatable pricing and good customer service, too...

+2......I've been with State Farm for over 25 years, and no insurer can touch their cost to insure my vehicles over the years.
Now that I'm retired, I ge a special rate because I drive less than 7500 miles a year.
 
Originally Posted By: artbuc
I would but Progressive at any cost if it would make Flo go away and not come back.


Flo is about the only thing I like about Progressive...
 
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