Shopping Around for Insurance

[Walt34]

If you carry collision and comp, I wonder why you need uninsured motorist?

They will only pay for damage to your vehicle. They will not pay for damage to you. They will not pay compensation for time lost at work (if you still work). They will not pay for you being permanently disabled. And maybe some other things I haven't thought about.

Uninsured/Underinsured coverage pays for what "the other guy's" insurance would have paid, if he had it.

 

[Nords]

If you carry collision and comp, I wonder why you need uninsured motorist?

As Walt says, in case you and your passengers are injured and the other driver is not insured.

We started buying UM/UIM when our daughter was born. Today we've kept it because it's cheap, or at least it's cheap with USAA.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

A couple weeks ago I spoke with a USAA exec about rising insurance rates. Everything's going up nationwide across the industry this year because gas is cheap (more cars sold, more crowded roads, more miles driven) and distracted driving accident rates are rising.

And back in 2012 when I fired USAA for the ever increasing rates, they gave some other excuse. I get it; costs increase, I understand that. BUT...I got the same coverage from Amica and paid 1/2 of what USAA was charging (auto only, the homeowner's was about the same).

With that being said, Amica has also gone up (but never in the way that USAA did) so I will probably shop around.

 

[FIREmenow]

And back in 2012 when I fired USAA for the ever increasing rates, they gave some other excuse. I get it; costs increase, I understand that. BUT...I got the same coverage from Amica and paid 1/2 of what USAA was charging (auto only, the homeowner's was about the same).

With that being said, Amica has also gone up (but never in the way that USAA did) so I will probably shop around.

I've found that I have to switch companies every 4-5 years. They just assume you're not paying attention and creep rates up regardless. They all do it. The first quoted rate may also be artificially low to suck you in.

The worst one for me was N&$#wide. They dropped my umbrella policy without telling me. It was a low monthly payment, so (shame on me) I didn't notice it for 2 years.

When I asked about it, they said it was because my DW's license was suspended. What?!?! My DW has never even had a ticket!! What an believable [-]lie[/-] excuse. I can't believe that I was not covered for 2 years because of some twit or paperwork error. Not to mention no email, phone call, or notification!!!! There's a legal case in there somewhere (especially if I had tried to file a claim), but it isn't worth the time.

 

[bingybear]

As Walt says, in case you and your passengers are injured and the other driver is not insured.

We started buying UM/UIM when our daughter was born. Today we've kept it because it's cheap, or at least it's cheap with USAA.

UM covers more than you passenger. Collision covers your car damage if it is your fault. Comprehensive covers thing like "acts of God"... tree falls on your car.

If you get hit by an uninsured or under insured motorist... you can sue them for the damages to your car and yourself. Likely your passengers would have to sue the other driver too. UM insurance is what would cover you, your car and maybe your passengers if an non/under insured motorist caused an accident that you were involved in.

I carry max UM on my motorcycle because the biggest threat is some under/non insured motorist will cause an accident. It is amazing how many drivers don't see the motorcycles/bicycles legally on the road.

 

[Breedlove]

Had Snake Farm for years , I mean years . They gave me a new agent when we moved to Texas . He was worthless and the company seemed hopeless to deal with . Always raising prices . Tried Allstate for a year , used an agent right outside the neighborhood once again hopeless . Hardly spoke English. Sooooooooo I was restoring an old Triumph sports car and at that time nobody would insure . I went to an Independent guy in Houston and he sold me Travelers . They have been so good to us . We would do a Travelers commercial.

 

[meierlde]

They will only pay for damage to your vehicle. They will not pay for damage to you. They will not pay compensation for time lost at work (if you still work). They will not pay for you being permanently disabled. And maybe some other things I haven't thought about.

Uninsured/Underinsured coverage pays for what "the other guy's" insurance would have paid, if he had it.

One suggestion if you are retired check to be sure that you only have medical payments coverage not personal injury protection, as the main thing that adds is payment for lost wages, which for retirees is nil.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

Before you shop around, I recommend that you email your SF agent. Here is the email: "Dear SF Agent, I have been a customer for many years. My total annual premiums are XXX. Over the years, the premiums have increased at a rate higher than I feel is reasonable. I have had no claims, have all my coverage with you and have maintained a great credit score. I believe that the reason for coverage is to prevent a catastrophic financial situation in the case of a claim, not to reimburse me for small dings and cracks. I would like you to look at my policies with the eye towards jacking those deductibles through the roof, increasing umbrella coverage and eliminating unnecessary coverages. Since my car is old and has little value, I want to drop Comp and Collision. I want liability only."

Please note that I do not know your personal situation so I don't know if you have an old car.

You can see that I believe the purpose of coverage is for the big stuff such as a $500,000 claim, not multiple tiny claims. Underwriters do not like multiple tiny claims.

In my situation, I keep the UM/underinsured motorist as low as possible. My situation is different than BingyBear. I do not know yours.

Please note that this overall strategy does not work if yo want insurance to cover every little ding, scrape and storm damage.

 

[EastWest Gal]

My dad had State Farm. When I started driving, and moved out on my own, DH and I didn't shop around--we were young and naive. The agent we worked with was a friend of my dad's and treated us well.

When we moved across country, we looked up a local agent and made an in person appointment. This area of PA has lots of small town ambience and it shows in the services. We have been very happy with our insurance--homeowners, auto, umbrella. Periodically we make an appointment and go over all the policies in detail and update as our needs changed. We watch has he punches policy options into the computer and comes up with different premiums for the various tweaks. We have had to make a couple of claims on the house and on our cars, and have not seen our rates go up. The service has been prompt in every respect.

When you're with the same company for over 30 years and know the agent and the others in the office well, there is a comfort level that is not worth messing with for a few $.

 

[COcheesehead]

Being loyal to insurance companies is a fool's game. We bid it every year. The last two years the current company, Auto Owners Insurance (yes weird name for a company that covers more than autos) still came out on top with the cheapest for our package of auto, home and umbrella. Our rates have not gone up at all, maybe even down slightly over the last 4 years. I like to think the yearly review has something to do with that.

 

[Montecfo]

UM covers more than you passenger. Collision covers your car damage if it is your fault. Comprehensive covers thing like "acts of God"... tree falls on your car.

If you get hit by an uninsured or under insured motorist... you can sue them for the damages to your car and yourself. Likely your passengers would have to sue the other driver too. UM insurance is what would cover you, your car and maybe your passengers if an non/under insured motorist caused an accident that you were involved in.

I know these answers can vary from state to state, but collision DOES generally cover property damage to your car caused by an uninsured motorist. You would be out your collision deductible. Your medical insurance covers your injuries. What it appears would be uncovered is passenger medical.

It seems the coverage that is clearly duplicative is the Uninsured motorist property damage.

https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/insurance/get-car-insurance-with-uninsured-motorist-coverage/

 

[Walt34]

It is amazing how many drivers don't see the motorcycles/bicycles legally on the road.

As David Hough wrote in Proficient Motorcycling "People pull out in front of freight trains. What makes you think they're going to see a motorcycle?"

 

[Nords]

And back in 2012 when I fired USAA for the ever increasing rates, they gave some other excuse. I get it; costs increase, I understand that. BUT...I got the same coverage from Amica and paid 1/2 of what USAA was charging (auto only, the homeowner's was about the same).

With that being said, Amica has also gone up (but never in the way that USAA did) so I will probably shop around.

Yesterday I spent an hour on the phone with USAA, and next week I'm going to spend some time on the phone with Armed Forces Insurance, but it looks as though we'll be moving all of our insurance to USAA.

AFI has had our home insurance (and rental property insurance, and umbrella liability insurance) for over 30 years because they've been cheaper. There was also a regrettable decade-long period where USAA would only insure first-time buyers on Oahu and not current homeowners (hurricane concentration risk). When USAA restarted their Oahu hurricane insurance business a few years ago, they were multiples more expensive than AFI.

But now that USAA has more deductibles and apparently a different risk model, they're cheaper than AFI. We can also consolidate all of our insurance payments with USAA and make them monthly.

I'll give AFI the chance to do a rate comparison, and I'll dig into the details with USAA's quote before we make our final decision, but this is the first time in my memory that USAA has beat their competition on property insurance.

 

[powerplay]

Earlier this week I decided it was time to shop my auto and homeowners insurance. Recently I purchased a new vehicle and my ins. company wanted quite a bit more to insure it than my old Camry. The updated insurance included a $15 fee and also increased the rate on my old pickup. So after the Camry drove off to it's new home Saturday evening I decided it was time to shop. After reading a number of threads here and elsewhere I also decided to add umbrella policy.

AAA gave me some very favorable quotes on the phone. I went to their office and sat down and talked to the insurance agent. We went through lots of computer screens to put together the policies to cover my 2 vehicles, home, and the umbrella policy. Interesting enough by putting in my policy # for home he was able to access all the info from the policy. I decided to move everything to AAA (they evidently can quote for 6 different companies) as their rates were most favorable.

The new rates are about 40% less than what I was paying before. I increased the deductible on the new car, increased liability to levels required for umbrella policy, and added a $1 million umbrella policy. I feel like such a chump for staying with the former company for so many years and paying them so much money.

When canceling my insurance the rep from the former company was very professional and said she was happy for me and hoped I would consider them again in a few years if things change. She mentioned that several people in her office had also found insurance with other companies for less $$. She really gets an A+ in my book!

So time will tell if AAA rates increase rapidly or not. I'm hoping not. Maybe I got in at a time when their losses are justifying the much lower rates.