OT: Auto insurance

[HeyBub]

Today was the day to pay my next six months auto insurance premium. Five hundred and three dollars with a company who shall remain nameless (21st Century).

Just for grins, I called another insurance company at random (State Farm). I gave them the particulars for the exact same coverage contemplated with the, as it turns out, high-priced spread.

Mumble-mumble, carry the three, ah, she has it. ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY FIVE DOLLARS!

I was already sitting, but I sat down anyway. My chin dropped. I started to fidget. Three hundred and fifty-eight dollars cheaper! I gripped the 'phone harder. I crossed my fingers and lit a candle.

"Are you just estimating or is this a firm quote?" I inquired. She assured me the quote was graven in granite.

It won't be a surprise to anyone what happened next. I'm not trying to get into the merits or prices of individual companies and I'm not looking to find out what anyone else pays. The simple point is: It is often a prize to inquire elsewhere.

[gonjah]

That's funny. I dropped SF for 21st about 5 years ago. My rates are very low. It probably has a lot to do with the state you're in.

Also, if you had a traffic ticket it may not be effecting your rate anymore.

[Duesenberg]

O

Other things that factor include theft rates for your vechile, theft rates in your postal or zip code, costs to repair your particular vechile. Each company can treat the same customer's information different.

Moral of the story is you can only be loyal for so long. They aren't always loyal to you...

[clare]

Wait for your NEXT six month premium. Like phone companies, SOME insureance companies like to "set the hook" with a killer rate to get you on board. Also, if and when you have a claim, you MAY find what many others have when dealing with that company. You only get what you pay for. If you are lucky.

[Ed Pawlowski]

For six months???? That sounds more like a monthly premium than a six month deal.

My annual premium bill just came in yesterday at $948 on a 2 year old car. Quick checks with Progressive (958), Allstate, State Farm are all higher than Harleysville. And they give me a full year at a time.

[krw]

Insurance varies *widely* by state. When I was in VT, the rates were rather low ($500/yr for both cars), in Alabama, quite a bit more (>$1000 despite the older cars and dropped collision). Georgia is about half that of Alabama. Alabama has a huge uninsured motorist problem the legislature seems to want to do nothing about. I can believe that Texas is cheaper than any of the above.

[ChairMan]

Thats the truth. It's not like it use to be whan you had an independant agent that you stayed with for 30 years. I always shop my home /auto every few years and have cut it by as much as half by doing so.

[Jim Elbrecht]

That's what my independent agent does. [Shutts Agency in Schenectady, NY-- because they deserve a plug]

She's been taking care of me for 20 yrs through 3-4 different companies. House and cars. Every so often out of the blue she'll call and say 'Hey, folks have been having trouble with 'X' & I can move you to 'Y' and save you a few bucks now and headaches down the road.'

I just had a claim on my car & she was dead on concerning the service. I've got the Hartford now. You know a company has excellent service when the body shop comments on how easy to get along with your insurance company was. [and as luck would have it, I got my bill for the next year while the car was in the shop. It went down 20% for some unexplained reason]

Jim

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

-snip-

That's what I would think. I don't know how it works with insurance companies, but with Credit Cards and trash pickup I've just called the guy I've got and said- 'Hey, want to keep me as a customer?'. with one exception, they matched the price. One time a CC company said 'We can't come close, but we'll do something else for you'. I don't remember what the deal was, but I ended up staying with them.

Jim

[Frank]

I use SF and pay at nearly the rate for your 21s Century but I live in an area where rates are high and when ever I check other companies, they are higher than SF.

Many years ago I attended a seminar by our company's marketing people who told us that our best customers paid more for our products as they thought they were better. Smart customers would use 2-3 suppliers and play them off each other to get the product cheaper. There was essentially no difference in our products from competitors. Smart customers knew this and played on it to get the cheapest prices.

We had a recent incident where a trash hauler offered us about 2/3 the rate we were paying. We were going to switch to them but called our hauler and told him what we would have to pay to the other and he immediately matched it.

Competition is what makes capitalism great as it benefits all that take advantage of it.

[George]

That seems to be a common theme when such significant price reductions are involved. "Sorry sir, we used the wrong program to quote that rate"

I would think heybubs tout of getting insurance for 29% of what he/she was paying is as credible as anything else he/she writes.

[clare]

Don't know about in the states, but here in Canada MOST companies have deleted the six month option - one year or monthly payments based on one year with a finance charge tacked on.

Not a lot of competition any more either since the big companies are swallowing up the little ones - Impact just bought Jevco - we'll soon be down to a "big 3" situation.

[George]

Same here. I tried numerous other online insurance companies and the result was always the same or higher. We have no risky drivers, no tickets and live in a decently rated area.

One day I was talking to a friend and he said his son was working for an independent agent. I redacted the price information from our current policies and emailed them to him. He called back and informed me he couldn't write the policy exactly the same so one area of coverage would be higher. His quote was 18% lower than what we were paying. We haven't had an increase in the three years we have had the new insurance.

[George]

It was written by "heybub" so there is a 1% chance it may be factual.

Erie also writes for one year periods.

And to bring up government efficiency. In PA we must carry a proof of insurance card. The company sends one every six months even though we have a annual policy. I asked the agent and he said it is a state requirement. That makes no sense because any law enforcement person can check the states database to determine if you have insurance because all insurers must notify the state of your insurance and change of status.

[HeyBub]

No traffic citations in over 30 years, the vehicle is a 14-year old S-10, and I put less than 3,000 miles a year on it. Truck has a burglar alarm, door locks, and windows that roll all the way up to the top. No headache rack.

It would be difficult to find a vehicle or driver with less risk.

[HeyBub]

Thank you. I strive to be clear, cogent, and convincing. "From my lips to God's ear" is my motto.

Your recognition is appreciated.

[Ralph Mowery]

It all depends on the coverage as to the cost. I had an old truck that was worth about $ 500. All I needed on it was liability. That was around $ 120 for 6 months. Other two cars brought the total up to around $ 500 to $ 600 as they had collision added to them.

[Attila.Iskander]

Everyone should price out car and house insurance every 2-5 years You would be surprised at the differences

[ChairMan]

you need to keep him then, mine seem to get lazy after a few years. They seem more concerned in getting new clients rather than take care of the ones they have. My last one was told exactly that when I left and my new one was told too. They get renewal notices about my policies just like I do and if I have to call him/her to shop it, then they are not doing their job. Sounds like yours is doing their job well and thats a big plus

[Ed Pawlowski]

Exactly. A few years ago, my insurance went up a few bucks, but I did not complain and paid the bill. The following years, I got a huge increase and figured I'd shop around. Meantime, my agent called and said "don't pay that bill". She got me a new policy with another company at a much lower rate.

Oh, the two big companies that advertise low prices heavily on TV were higher that what I pay even with this years rate. 15 minutes was 15 minutes wasted.