Insurance

[James Morse]

When I got truck it was 240/6 mos. In Feb it went up to 330 they said because Virginia raised its minimum liability limits. OK. Now they want 460 for 6 mos. So it basically doubled in a year. I don't have any tickets or claims. I only have the '99 B3000 on there.
Geico. They have gone nuts. I got about 3 wks to switch or else pay them.
Just wondered if anyone else has run into this and what companies people use that might be cheaper because this is crazy.

 

[rumblecloud]

Just went through this and asked the very same question.
Lots of good responses, but it's mostly pick your poison.
I ended up staying with my independent carrier because they shop for the lowest rate (at least they say they do). And I've done comparisons using online tools. Unfortunately you sometimes don't or can't get the whole story without talking to an agent - too many questions on what certain terms mean.
My auto and home ended up with a company called Auto Owners - bundled to save some bucks.

Someone mentioned USAA as being good. Here's the link to that string:

Insurance question

 

[fastpakr]

Someone mentioned USAA as being good. Here's the link to that string:

Insurance question

For what it's worth, I had a brutal experience with USAA several years ago. They towed the vehicle to a yard about an hour away and did the entire estimate on the car based on a single photo I submitted with the initial claim creation process on my phone. No follow up inspection and they got a bunch of things wrong that should have been obvious just from the one photo. Then they did the comp estimates using multiple vehicles from a local salvage yard, effectively cutting the value of the car by about 2/3's. It took quite a while to sort things out. I couldn't even get someone on the phone for the first few weeks, and no useful responses until I made it clear that I was getting a lawyer involved because they weren't attempting to resolve the situation with me.

Last year I had another claim (these are my only two major claims since I've been driving). This one went immensely better and at least slightly improved my perspective on them.

 

[sgtsandman]

There is a lot of things that goes into an insurance rate. Your age, driving record, the vehicle you drive, how much you drive, sometimes your credit rating, so forth and so on.

Insurance companies are the devil. Even the “good” ones and are a necessary evil. Best you can do is shop around and see if you can get a cheaper rate.

 

[Blmpkn]

I have Hanover and full coverage on my truck with liability on my wagon for the year is like 1100.

Without the wagon it would be about 300 bucks more. Everyone seems to have a multi policy discount... grab a vin of some shitbox at the junkyard and put that on your policy to save money lol

 

[Jazzer]

I second Auto Owners. My independent agent recommended them and I went with them for home and two trucks, saving an incredible 40% over my previous coverage with Allied. Insurance companies will raise and raise your rates, counting on your complacency.

-Jazzer

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Yep, I have zero loyalty to insurance companies. Give me a better rate for the same or better coverage and I’ll switch. Try to raise my rates stupid high and I’m looking for someone else. They are all a scam for what the average person pays vs what they have to pay out

 

[1990RangerinSK]

I have Hanover and full coverage on my truck with liability on my wagon for the year is like 1100.

Without the wagon it would be about 300 bucks more. Everyone seems to have a multi policy discount... grab a vin of some shitbox at the junkyard and put that on your policy to save money lol

Fraud. And the insurance company shouldn't even let you do it w/out a bill of sale and/or title for the vehicle in the junkyard.

 

[Blmpkn]

Fraud. And the insurance company shouldn't even let you do it w/out a bill of sale and/or title for the vehicle in the junkyard.

I've never needed any proof of ownership to insure something.

 

[James Morse]

Progressive has much better web site to try all diff options. Their quote is like 310 compared to 460 for Geico, and that's with the same or better coverage. Two things to note. 1. It's hard to tell, but looks like road service is limited to $90 per, which isn't great. 2. They said discounts include one-time online sign-up, so it could go up next time and I'll maybe have to shop around again.

Over time I've come to expect that rates will rise maybe 10% a year (since the beginning of time) but 30% and 50% increases (Geico) are really outrageous.

So I'm just about for sure switching to Progressive. Also they had a banner right there that when I buy theirs they will cancel Geico for me. That's kind of nice.

Progressive has a bunch of options for comp where you can have high deductible but 0 deductible on glass, and glass is the main thing I get comp for. Here, risk of flood etc is pretty small, but you can get hail, stones thrown by trucks, etc. It's not a big cost.... I might not even get it... but at like 13 bucks or whatever, I guess in about 10 yrs you've paid for a windshield. I never get collision on an old vehicle, you know they will say the worth is about nothing, plus that's if you f it up yourself and normally I don't... and if I do I guess just eat it.

 

[fastpakr]

I've never needed any proof of ownership to insure something.

Regardless, I suspect you're crossing all kinds of legal lines there.

 

[Blmpkn]

Yeah probably lol, whenever I talk about committing fraud I'm probably joking..

DO buy some rot box for 50$ so you legally own it and just insure that.

 

[19Walt93]

You guys realize that the multi car discount will make each car cheaper but insuring 2 will still cost more than insuring one, right?
After working at a dealership with a body shop for 42 years and working closely with the body shop manager, cheap insurance is not a bargain and you will never convince me to use Progressive. Any insurance policy is wasted money- until you need to use it. If you want to save money, consider a higher deductible. And never lie to your insurance company because if/when they find out they'll cancel your policy and walk away. It's about protecting yourself from liability in the event of an accident.

 

[Blmpkn]

You guys realize that the multi car discount will make each car cheaper but insuring 2 will still cost more than insuring one, right?
After working at a dealership with a body shop for 42 years and working closely with the body shop manager, cheap insurance is not a bargain and you will never convince me to use Progressive. Any insurance policy is wasted money- until you need to use it. If you want to save money, consider a higher deductible. And never lie to your insurance company because if/when they find out they'll cancel your policy and walk away. It's about protecting yourself from liability in the event of an accident.

...if I insured only my truck I would pay like 1500 bucks a year. By adding another car to that policy I only pay around 1100 a year.. how is that more expensive?

Same thing with my wheeler policy.. it was 320$ last year for just the 4 wheeler, added a motorcycle onto it for this year, dropped to 240$

 

[fastpakr]

I'm a little confused by your numbers too. Adding a vehicle has never reduced my total cost, just like Walt pointed out.