Need new car insurance, feedback on companies?

[speeder]

I'm sorry because I know that this has been covered before, but I'm too lazy to search and I want the latest info. I am looking for a new company to insure 2 vehicles + a possible MC.

TIA as always!

[Porsche-O-Phile]

We've used Mercury since 1999 (except for my motorcycle, for which I use Progressive). They're pretty good overall.

[id10t]

Happy long time state farm customer...

[kaisen]

Originally posted by speeder
I am looking for a new company to insure 2 vehicles + a possible MC.

You're possibly trying to insure MC Hammer?

[nostatic]

cheap to insure unless you touch him

[Mr_Wizard]

I have had USAA for about 10 years now. I did actually shop around earlier this year but Geico, Progressive & State Farm were more expensive by about 20 %

[azasadny]

We've been with Allstate for about a year and just made a claim (uninsured driver ran a red light and smashed our Mazda CX-7) and they are very good. No problems with the claim and very reasonable premiums... good local agent.

[legion]

Avoid Safe Auto and other high-risk insurers at all costs. They will try to cancel the policy before paying a claim.

[rcecale]

We've been with Progressive for about 7 years now. We've had a few claims, and they have ALWAYS taken good care of us.

Wife's vette was backed into, we took it to the Progressive Claims office and they let us choose our own "high end" repair shop. We hadn't been gone from the office more than 5 minutes when the manager called and asked us to come back. He wanted to point us in the direction of an ever "higher-end" repair shop. He told us we could stay with the shop we requested, or swing by and have a look at the other place, and let him know what we wanted to do...our choice.

when we saw nothing but vettes, benz's bimmers, etc, we decided to go there...Very pleased with the work they did!

Progressive has been very good to us!

Randy

[Howard Agency]

Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
We've used Mercury since 1999 (except for my motorcycle, for which I use Progressive). They're pretty good overall.

That's the right combo for SoCal. Mercury doesn't write motorcycles and Prog's auto rates suck here. You have a good agent .

[speeder]

So far State Farm has Progressive beat like a drum, still need to check AAA. Thanks for all the replies.

[RallyJon]

How does State Farm beat Progressive in CA? Does CA prevent credit score rating or something?

State Farm is generally 20-30% higher than Progressive's best rates around here.

[Howard Agency]

Each state has its own rules and regs, so what works in one place... And companies target areas within each state where they have had good experience. So ya just have to shop.

Progressive and Geico really don't like CA, and it shows in their rating structures. AAA is an odd duck, a different organization in each state (CA has 2, 1 south, 1 north) that are loosely affiliated for road service. Think of it as more of a 'Best Western' rather than a 'Hilton', no common ownership or management.

Jon, CA does not allow credit score as a parameter in rating car insurance.


Shamelessly copied from our web site

How does an insurance company determine my auto premium?

They track their losses by driver, car, and location. All combine to produce your rate. You are profiled by age, years of driving experience, tickets and accidents, and how much you drive. Cars are by value, cost of repair, and frequency/severity of losses. The most controversial portion of the rating system is by territory. Politicians make press with this, call it redlining, but the fact remains that densly populated areas have more traffic and therefore, more claims.

Hey, that's not fair, I've never had an accident!

Go to the head of the class. That's the flaw in any averaging system (know anyone with 1.7 kids?) But the laws of large numbers take over: a hundred people who are 40, with no tickets, drive Camry's, and live in the country have lower claim costs than the hundred who are 20, have two tickets, drive Corvettes, and live in the city.


Coverages

DO

Buy liability limits at least equal your net worth as in "I'll sue you for every dime," etc.
Medical is inexpensive enough to be worthwhile.
Even with our compulsory insurance laws, uninsured motorist is critical.

DON'T
Insure an asset worth less than your monthly income.
Use your insurance dollars to protect you from a catastrophe, not a nuisance.
Avoid small deductibles.
Collision on an older car.
'Extra' coverages, such as towing and rental.
DO go for the discounts:

Insure all your cars with one company.
The multi car discount can be 25% or more, and you avoid limitations on coverage for non owned and newly acquired cars.
A 3.0 or better average can save teens hundreds per year.
Some companies give a discount for the number of years you have carried continuous insurance (even if with another insuror)
Some offer credits to certain professional groups, such as educators or engineers.
Buy Homeowner's coverage from the same company.

Prepare to shop

With all your facts organized (feel free to use our quote sheet; guilty if you don't send one to us) call around and get quotes in writing.

There are three ways to obtain car insurance:

Direct Writer - You call an 800 number and deal with a company employee (21st Century© or GEICO©)
Captive Agent - An agent who represents only one company: (State Farm©, Farmers©, Allstate©)
Independent Agent/Broker - An agent who represents a number of companies (that's us!).
When to shop:

Remember the formula: rate = driver x car x location. When one or more of these change, get on the phone.

Company 'A' had a great rate for your Minivan, but is out of sight on the new Turbo Belchfire you couldn't resist.
Company 'B' is ok with the Belchfire, but you get a ticket; now they want more than your car payment each month.
Company 'C' now has the best deal, at least until Junior gets his license, so it's back to 'A'.
Then you get that big promotion, but have to move into the City where 'A' has lousy rates........
Just about every company has a good rate for the adult with an older car, clear record, and low coverages. The more your situation differs, the more you can benefit by shopping.

Make one stop: The Howard Agency.

Fax, e-mail, or call.
No charge or obligation, just complete the quote sheet.
Our system currently rates 150+ companies. We'll find the one that offers YOU the best combination of price and coverage.