Car/truck insurance?

[Roert42]

AAA is not bad, I've had them back when I was traveling a lot for work and needed a bunch of liability. Never had an issue with them, even the one time someone else was driving the truck.

 

[Shran]

Oh yes... I had AAA on both my house and cars for a couple years. It was WAY cheaper than anything else... for the first year. Then they doubled my premiums, and tried to double them again the year after (blamed everyone else who had hail claims...) so I dumped them.

Frustrating to have never made a claim and then pay exorbitant premiums because some dipshit has one shingle damaged and now half the town needs a new roof.

 

[John97]

For Geico and USAA if you haven't served in the military or work for the government you will NOT get a good rate (GEICO is Government Employee Insurance Co, USAA is United Services Association of America I believe...), if that helps answer any questions on that...

GEICO gave me great rates for years and then hit me with a big increase. I called them and they couldn't give me any reasons or even want to discuss it. Once I called to cancel, then they suddenly said they could help me out. Nope, too late. Go screw. Now, they keep reaching out trying to get me back.

USAA won't even quote a policy for you if you aren't eligible to join due to your own or a family member's military service. It's not just me they quoted high. I have a relative who is a retired state trooper. On top of that, he did 20+ years in the NG with over five years active duty in Iraq/Afganistan/Kosovo. USAA knocked his socks off when he moved down here to FL from PA. For the first time in over 20 years, he doesn't have USAA for auto insurance.

Car insurance is funny in general. Some companies quote me super high like USAA, most of them quote me about the same, and then a couple undercut the rest of them. I don't go for cheap coverage. I do 500/250 with uninsured motorist, comprehensive, etc.

Even though I've quoted with USAA many times and never went with them, they keep contacting me every six months or so to give them another chance on a quote. Sometimes I humor them and go through the motions and then when they give me the numbers, I start laughing hysterically. They ask why I am laughing and I tell them what I am paying now and ask why they are so out of whack. "I'll have to get back to you." They never do.

 

[19Walt93]

I worked at a service station that belonged to AAA from 72-75. An in town tow was $15 back then, AAA paid $4. The assumption was that you'd overcharge stranded motorists for the repairs after AAA short changed you for the tow. They're crooks.
On vehicles that don't have loans, I get liability and comp. During the winter I drop the liability off the Mustang and Ranger while they sit in the garage but the comp stays on. A former tech had a 72 Chevelle with a 454 that was his pride and joy for years. He dropped all the insurance while it was stored in his friend's barn for the winter. The barn burned to the ground and he was S.O.L.

 

[sgtsandman]

I’ve had State Farm for decades and they have been pretty good and the rates haven’t been horrible.

All vehicle insurance is a scam in my opinion but it’s a government forced one unless you can meet the standards to qualify as self insured.

As far as what coverage to get, that is going to be up to you and how much you can afford to pay out of pocket for a deductible. If you only carry liability and comprehensive, you cover the other guy and yourself if you hit a deer or someone plows into your vehicle while parked. Without collision, you’ll have to either replace the vehicle or pay to fix it yourself.

The latter may be a viable option if the vehicle of concern isn’t your daily driver but could be a real problem if it is and you can’t afford to replace it right away.

Bumming rides and borrowing other people’s vehicles for the number of weeks it takes for the insurance company to pay out sucks. It sucks a lot.

Which brings up rental coverage. If you don’t have it and only have one vehicle, how are you going to get around? Pay out of pocket? Bum rides or other people’s vehicle? Food for thought.

As for me, as much as I hate it, I carry full coverage and have a spare vehicle.

 

[Chapap]

All vehicle insurance is a scam in my opinion...

I might agree there. I bet premiums would be half what they are (at least for good drivers) if govt wasn’t involved. I’m guessing similar for medical insurance, but my knee injury in high school alone would take two lifetimes to pay for.

Edit to clarify: ...two lifetimes of premiums to pay for.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

What are opinions on the various options? Comprehensive, collision, liability, property damage I believe are the big ones in FL. I don't recall specifics, but the max for the various options range from like 20k to 5M. 10k is probably plenty for any of them, but what if I really hurt someone? What if I get a blowout and plow through a Bently dealership?

Edit: forgot to give a company opinion. USAA is not quite half the price of everyone else for me. I used to shop around, but no one ever came remotely close.

Get the best you can afford is, IMHO, good advice. The accident I was in years ago that messed up my hip, I had liability and comp and state minimums. It was an absolute disaster. The ambulance ride and ER visit wiped out my medical coverage and then I was on my own. $10k is really nothing in an accident. An ambulance ride and ER visit can run around $3k. The accidents that I ended up with concussions from have medical bills totaling over $15k and counting.

I upped everything with my current policy. I don’t have the best out there, but I think I went with 250k for liability and scaled everything up accordingly. Always carry comp, usually with a $50 deductible because that handles windshields, deer impacts, etc. Full Tort option so an attorney won’t hesitate to jump in to help. Stacked because I have more than one vehicle and that can literally stack the policy for some stuff ($250k X 5 vehicles…). I accidentally had full coverage on my 92 when it got wrecked, when I had discovered that I accidentally had it, I left it on because it was my primary vehicle at the time and it really didn’t cost much.

 

[19Walt93]

It's not about getting "the best deal" and a low price. We all hope never to use insurance but when you need it that policy could save you from bankruptcy. If nothing goes wrong it was a waste of money, like Dirty Harry said, "do you feel lucky?"

 

[James Morse]

Geico... when I got truck a year ago it was 240 for 6 mos. Renewal in Feb was 330. Now they want 460. This is with no tickets, no claims, and all the 'discounts'. Looks like time to shop around, this is crazy. The increase in Feb they blamed on Virginia raising the minimum liability rates... ok... now they are saying the increase is because parts for older trucks are more expensive and hard to get (bullshit). But I don't even have collision, so if that's the claimed reason for increase that would mean I'm paying for someone else's insurance? Not done talking to them, oddly the agent said they couldn't see the new rates, which I find hard to believe if I can see them... agents should see anything I can see plus more. Geico was good for me for quite a few years now they have gone nuts. I'll be shopping around, that's for sure... have 30 days to figure it out.

 

[superj]

we had progressive but every year the cost went up. we called geico and they were alot cheaper. we have been with geico for a few years so i should call around get prices and get the costs back down

 

[Chapap]

Can I continue this thread but for boats? There seems to be additional companies. Just got an estimate from Progressive through USAA (I guess they outsource it). 300CSL (required by marina) is $300, then adding "totaled vehicle" coverage brings it to $1200. That's yearly for a 31' sailboat.

 

[rumblecloud]

Yikes.
I didn't even think about a boat. Cars, trucks, houses...a big chunk of yearly income.
I finally ended up dropping the coverage on three of mine to fire and theft. Minimal on my Ranger and full on the lease truck.
I did end up staying with Auto Owners and with my independent agent. I like that they know who I am and will do things like change the coverages around on a moments notice.---like changing the coverages around so I can drive a different vehicle for a day if I need to -- for instance when the Ranger decides not to run