Insurance companies!

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Ok, we've broached this topic here and there before with some personal favorites.

I'm looking for a change.

I currently have home, three auto's and an umbrella policy with Farmers. All was well until I got married and merged my wifes farmers policies with my own. Since then I havent gotten a single statement, bill, or piece of coverage thats been completely correct. I havent been able to look at my policies on their web site. They make things better by automatically changing stuff that IS correct to make it wrong. At this point I have to scrutinize every piece of paper I get from them to look for the errors, and I've spent about 20 hours on the phone with the agent correcting problems over the last few months. Thats too much.

Looking for an insurance company that has reasonable prices, a good web site/automation so I can look at my policies and see options and other available coverages, allows me to autopay the bills (farmers doesnt without fees), pays their claims (although I rarely file any), and is easy to deal with. In other words, someone who is pretty internet enabled and in the 21st century rather than the 19th.

I see from consumer reports that the top contenders are:

- new jersey manufacturers (I'm thinking with a name like that i'm not going to be in their area?)
- Amica
- USAA
- Auto-owners (never heard of them)
- State Automobile (never heard of them either, maybe a regional company?)
- USAA casualty (whats their relationship to USAA?!?)
- State Farm
- Hartford Underwriters
- Geico

I think some of these guys do just cars. I'd like all my coverage with one company to avoid inter-company squabbles on claims.

Any suggestions?

 

[Nords]

- USAA
- USAA casualty (whats their relationship to USAA?!?)

Maybe Brewer knows the logic behind this, but I think the car insurer is split off from the property/liability insurer. I think state regulation/licensing make it easier for insurance companies to split everything else from the car insurance.

If you have any military service or any possible military connection (relatives or in-laws) then call USAA and see if they can make you a member. USAA's demographics are dying off quickly and they're trying to jack up my rates expand their customer base. Their car insurance service is top-notch and their rates are the lowest I've ever found.

Second place for cheap car insurance might be GEICO, but their customer service seems uneven.

Another option for military-related insurance is Armed Forces Insurance Exchange. They're pretty small and they've been raising their rates lately but they're still cheaper than USAA. Always had good customer service from them too.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

My dad was in the navy and two uncles in the marines...is that close enough and is it a pain in the butt to qualify?

Geico doesnt do home policies, do they?

I notice when I write checks to farmers the home goes to "Fire Insurance Exchange", the car to "Farmers" and the umbrella to "Farmers Truck" (which seems a little weird).

 

[brewer12345]

If you can get access to USAA's products, check with them first.  Top notch service, good rates, strong company.  But you have to be military or had close family be military.

Amica is excellent, but tends to be expensive.

Check out Hartford and State Farm.

DEFINATELY price GEICO.  Very cheap, IME, but they won't do the homeowners' policy.

I'd probably also check out Progressive, get quotes from www.insure.com  and talk to an independent local agent that deals with lots of companies.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

USAA's qualifications...
In the military
Separated from the military
Retired from the military
Married to someone actively serving in the military (Active, National Guard, Reserve, pre-commissioning)
Adult child of a current or former USAA member
A spouse or former spouse of a USAA member

Doesnt look good. I'll call them and see if "Dad used to be in the military and saw a USAA sign once" works...

 

[Cool Dood]

That's simple. You just have to get your dad to sign up with them first.

(Hey, maybe even get a referral bonus?)

 

[Nords]

My dad was in the navy and two uncles in the marines...is that close enough and is it a pain in the butt to qualify?

I think that's a ding-ding-ding for both USAA & AFI.  

I don't know how they document the qualification part but it might require providing your dad's full name/SSN/DOB so that they can check the DoD veteran's database.  OTOH they might accept your money word as gospel.  USAA.com & AFI say that you can sign right up if your dad was ever a USAA or AFI member (even if he's not currently).  Otherwise they want to talk to you at 1-800-365-USAA (8722).  AFI is 800-495-8234.  I'd try sweet-talking them on the phone because they might be happy to take your money able to make policy exceptions that they can't show on their websites.

Tell USAA that you're shopping AFI & GEICO.  They hate that and all three make their rate structures as complicated as possible to avoid comparison.  Last time I checked (I'm about to do it again this year) USAA auto was best and AFI won for homeowner's, property, & liability.  Now that AFI has linked with Progressive to add auto coverage to the package, USAA is starting to see a threat.  They frequently add in price breaks to get the whole package, not just auto or just homeowner's.

But instead of spending all that time on the phone being tutored on coverage limits/rate breakpoints, I'm at the point where I'm about to fax my coverage requirements to both companies and invite them to fax back an offer.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I'll call 'em to see if they'll let me weasel in.

Only other companies that have coverage I want in california that are in the top half of the consumer reports list for service are:

Amica
CSAA (part of AAA)
State Farm

Any knee jerk "Yea" or "Nay" on any of those?

 

[brewer12345]

I'll call 'em to see if they'll let me weasel in.

Only other companies that have coverage I want in california that are in the top half of the consumer reports list for service are:

Amica
CSAA (part of AAA)
State Farm

Any knee jerk "Yea" or "Nay" on any of those?

Big ol yay to Amica, but they may not be the cheapest. Otherwise a top shelf company.

 

[riskadverse]

I've been very happy with State Farm (and they are very happy with me having never made a claim). I am in the process of switching my auto over to them - mainly to get a discount on an umbrella policy. They are currently in a serious campaign to get auto policies, and were competitive with Wawanesa, which noone ever has been in the past.

 

[justin]

Very bad experience at State Farm. The incompetence you described sums up my problems with State Farm. Nothing was ever correct the first time around. It may have been my incompetent agent, not the company itself. I had a great experience with them until I switch agents.

 

[Jarhead*]

USAA's qualifications...
In the military
Separated from the military
Retired from the military
Married to someone actively serving in the military (Active, National Guard, Reserve, pre-commissioning)
Adult child of a current or former USAA member
A spouse or former spouse of a USAA member

Doesnt look good.  I'll call them and see if "Dad used to be in the military and saw a USAA sign once" works...

USAA's policy used to be an active military "officer". Chances are, your dad was enlisted, and last I checked, that's an area that is not qualified for USAA.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Part of my problem is with the agent using a cheap assistant to do all the work, and part of it is with the farmers back end systems. My dad has the same problem with his agent. For example, when I added a car, she did the policy for that, but didnt add it to my umbrella. Then didnt give me the ABS discount. Then didnt send me the policy details and proof of insurance. Then the back end system reclassified my expedition from 'pleasure' use to 'commuter' (when it isnt used for commuting), which resulted in an extra $50 charge. None of which I can look at because the web site only allows the customer to 'bond' to one of their three back end systems, and my home is on one while the auto's is on another, and the umbrella is on a third.

:

 

[brewer12345]

USAA's policy used to be an active military "officer".  Chances are, your dad was enlisted, and last I checked, that's an area that is not qualified for USAA.

Not true any more. Some years back the officers voted to allow the great unwashed masses of enlisted to join the USAA.

 

[HFWR]

Have had no problems with Farmer's... HO and auto... Not an endorsement...

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

USAA's policy used to be an active military "officer". Chances are, your dad was enlisted, and last I checked, that's an area that is not qualified for USAA.

Yep, a swabbie on a destroyer in the korean war. From what I hear, not a lot of fun.

 

[VoyT]

We've done pretty well with State Farm -- the agent's been good -- though they have a problem that annoys me big time.
We have State Farm Bank rewards cards -- the rebate is a $50 certificate that can be used to make policy payments. When we pay at the agent's office, the corporate computer system can't process the certificate and the check (or credit-card) as 1 payment.
Usually, within a few days of paying, we get a notice from State Farm saying we still owe them the $50. We call the agent, we all sigh, and they assure us that the corporate side has caught up, and we're paid up.

 

[Brat]

Been with State Farm (home and auto) for many years, no problems.  Frugal DH priced GEICO this year, told him they couldn't match the rate.  We started in Portland with friend who is an agent, when we moved he incouraged us to talk to a couple (an agent's $ is impacted by the claim record of their clients).  We had a very good experiance rating.

The agency we now have is OK, but not nearly as good as the guy we left in Portland.

For a couple reasons I would not go with Farmers.  MANY years ago, in NYC, I knew an Allstate attorney.  He would mimic the house with his hands and then flip it over, finger up.

 

[mccl]

I changed my auto and homeowners to American Express  three years ago  (they have since changed the name to Ameriprise in some sort of spinoff from Amex.)  You might want to check them out. They had the lowest rate of anyone I checked at the time.  Their price was so low I wondered if I would see big increases at renewal time.  I have had three annual renewals with basically no increase in premium.  They do increase my homeowners amount of coverage a little each year (and thus the premium) to keep up with inflation so the house is fully covered.  That increase hasn't amounted to much (homes around here- Indiana - have not inflated much in value). 

I haven't had a claim so I don't know how well they pay off at claim time.

Oh, and they give me an additional discount on homeowners when I retired.  I guess they figure I will be home more often so there's less chance of a burglary, or being home I might catch a fire before it gets out of control.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

I had major problems with Amex's credit card and investment division. So probably a no-go there.

Checked with a couple of companies. So far they're all looking for substantially higher premiums for identical or similar coverages. One agent told me she'd call me back "in just a couple of minutes" and didnt call back for a couple of hours. <gong>

 

[Nords]

Some years back the officers voted to allow the great unwashed masses of enlisted to join the USAA.

Yup. It's all the downsizing dying WWII veterans demographics.

The enlisted were probably more likely to pay their bills on time, too.

Navy Federal Credit Union used to only allow officers to join. Except for their Yokosuka branch, where enlisted could join and then be eligible for all NFCU's services. This created a slightly confusing situation when they transferred to other duty stations and continued to use NFCU for their money needs, especially if their enlisted shipmates had never been to Yoko.

Eventually someone pointed out this stupidity flawed logic to NFCU-- probably in public at an annual meeting-- and the policy was changed.

 

[Jarhead*]

Yup.  It's all the downsizing dying WWII veterans demographics.

The enlisted were probably more likely to pay their bills on time, too.

Navy Federal Credit Union used to only allow officers to join.  Except for their Yokosuka branch, where enlisted could join and then be eligible for all NFCU's services.  This created a slightly confusing situation when they transferred to other duty stations and continued to use NFCU for their money needs, especially if their enlisted shipmates had never been to Yoko. 

Eventually someone pointed out this stupidity flawed logic to NFCU-- probably in public at an annual meeting-- and the policy was changed.

Nords: Slightly off topic, but what the hell.

When I was in the "Crotch", there was no need to have a place to deposit money.

We got paid in cash every two weeks. Lined up at the pay table, and were handed our stash, and a common comment was "Don't spend it all in one place."

If you didn't smoke, or run into a real bad streak playing poker, you had a "fair chance" to make it to the next payday. Saving, you gotta be kidding.

All in all though, still consider it one of the best investments I ever made. (Competitive wise).

 

[mickeyd]

USAA casualty (whats their relationship to USAA?!?)

As previously stated, USAA is for military folks and their families. When a child of a military member( or divorcee) leaves home they can also keep their USAA membership however, they are quietly slipped over to USAA casualty or USAA County Mutual where they are charged higher rates than the other USAA members. The only way that they can become "regular USAA" members is to join the military themselves.

 

[SteveR]

We changed late last year to AAA for cars. It saved us about $700/year on three cars and an umbrella policy to address all the liability. The house was put into another company through my independent agent but I can't remember the name off the top of my head right now. I shop around about every 2 years because we have so many policies we can usually get a better rate when we move them all at once. It also helps to "motivate" our agent to be more creative in looking for the best deal. So far so good.

We looked at AARP and found their rates competitive (Hartford for cars and house) but they did not have ATV or snowmobile coverage or Umbrella so we went with AAA (I am a member). We got a good deal...maybe not the best but I don't have all day to chase around after quotes........yet.