how do you rate your insurance company?

[audi2bmw1]

im with progressive auto right now and its around 1700 per year for me (22 with one ticket) 500 dect and hella good medical coverage and uninsured motorist, car rental and roadside etc etc...ive never had to use them for a claim(hope not ever) but want to get an idea of what you guys think of them and if u have any stories about claims etc etc...i was thinking about switching to travelers insurance since they are a little cheaper thanks guys

[jeremyc74]

I'm with Geico. $850/yr. 34 with one 3 point infraction that may or may not still show up.

Progressive wanted almost twice as much to insure me.

[Heinzftw]

AAA.
150/300/150
Pay about 2.5k a year with good student discount 20% off, and their safe drivers program 20% off. Without it I would pay $4000.00 a year. This is for insuring a 1996 Honda Accord, 2008 Accord, 2006 GMC Colorado. Cool right?
18 Years old, been driving legally for 2+ years. No Record!!

[swiftss13]

USAA comparable to what Geico quoted me but with better customer service

[imported_mega]

allstate, pretty good, getting claims handled with the right deductible amount for safe driving discounts or not at fault claims are a pain

[tbird]

I did a lot of insurance research recently in purchasing both my wife's Mini, and my 135. Here's what I can summarize.

I first did the usual round of phone calls to various companies (AllState, Progressive, Geico, etc). I then went to Insurance.com, typed in the info, and went for rates. I had been with Metropolitan for years, and with every one of the companies, Metropolitan beat them by a wide margin. They are good with claims, almost no hassle at all. When I was hit by a kid (in my Focus thank God), Metropolitan handled the kid's insurance company (working in conjunction with my lawyer as well) and made sure they paid.

But, in the end, if you can qualify for USAA, then do it. While Metropolitan blew the other companies out of the water, USAA blew Metropolitan out by $1200. USAA happens to love the Mini, VERY low rates for Mini, and I do carry safe amounts, not the crazy 10/30 minimum. God help you if you have that little.

So,
If you can get USAA, do it.
If you can't, call Metropolitan

Good luck.

[imported_mega]

usaa gave me a terrible quote, almost double allstate

[jkp1187]

Originally Posted by swiftss13

USAA comparable to what Geico quoted me but with better customer service

USAA FTW! Excellent customer service and incredibly competitive rates.

[alaska]

USAA, The best service and competitive prices.

[neteagle]

Liberty Mutual. Great rates, great customer service.

[nautilus]

AAA - the 128i and an '07 Mini come to $120 / month, I'm 33 and she's 30, me with a $5k claim under my belt and a speeding ticket from '07 (nothing too fast).

Great company as far as I'm concerned, may not be all paperless / online like Gieco (I was with them before) but you can't knock their service or prices

[tbird]

Sorry to hear that you got a bad quote from USAA, Mega. Insurance companies also rate per state, as well as a million other various bits, to determine what they will give for a quote. Maybe they don't like Georgia or such, who knows.

I do know that AllState nails the heck out of people down here in Florida. Both home and car insurance are high rates, and there are lawsuits against AllState for their home insurance division down here.

I guess just too many variables in the equation. Each of us just has to do our homework to see which insurance company is best for our area/cars/situations.

If not USAA, I still highly recommend Metropolitan. I had them for almost 6 years, they were great.

[Nixon]

These comparisons are somewhat pointless, because your car, credit rating, record, age, zip code, etc... means so much.

But I have Esurance, and they were the lowest price for me by a large margin. For me it was because they didn't even count any of the minor traffic infractions I have on my record against me. I've pleaded a number of speeding tickets down to defective vehicle or other minor charges, and for Esurance, it's like I have a completely clean record.

[EDIT: The only problem with Esurance is that their stupid TV ads make me embarassed to admit I use them....]

[singular]

I've used State Farm for most of my cars and all of my houses. They're not the cheapest, but...

Over the years I've had a couple of minor accidents and one major one (totaled the car) along with some vandalism to one car. I was satisfied with our settlement for all of these.

I've also had some payouts on the house side. The most recent was when our washing machine pumped water all over our house causing extensive damage. I will never buy a Kitchen Aid again. State Farm put us up in a very nice hotel for 3 weeks and then in a comfortable apartment for 6 months while our house was renovated on their dime. They paid for everything - no hassles. Our insurance adjuster rocks.

IMHO....

Cost of insurance is tricky. The real cost is not just what you pay today, but also what they will actually cover (not the same as what the agent says they will cover). Based on experiences of some of my friends and neighbors that cheaped out - there are a lot of insurance companies that will avoid payout and will write a policy complicated enough that you will never collect. These tend to be the cheapest policies. Some insurance companies have a really bad reputation for not paying out. Some of these are mentioned in this thread.

So you can buy the cheapest policy that satisfies the legal requirements of your state/country but will not actually replace/repair your 1er and pay hospital bills for you or loved ones and leave you vulnerable to financial ruin - or you can pay a little more and choose a company that will actually cover you.

You might want to check Consumer Reports or some of your friends that have actually filed claims before choosing what company to go with.

Again - IMHO.