I just switched to USAA auto/home insurance (no investments with them though). They are one of the top rated Insurers - even though they only insure military past/present. I switched, due to the fact that A*RP jacked the rates up on our remaining car by 33%, when we sold our other car. A*RP had also raised our rates last year by aro. 10% on the cars/home policies (we've had no claims in over five years). USAA not only got us back to where we were on the multi car scenario, but beat the original A*RP rate with an upfront one-time $50.00 off for new customers. They also did beat A*RP's homeowner rate. FYI - Al*state was right there, but coverages were slightly better with USAA.
As for claims - suffered higher auto rates when one of our cars was hit in the parking lot of our temporary apartment in Texas, when we first moved there. Was parked in the private parking lot overnight, and the guy parked next to us damaged it when backing out to leave the next morning. Was not a resident, but incident was witnessed by another tenant who informed me. The police told me they had actually pulled the guy over and searched the vehicle when he parked next to our car that night. Needless to say - nothing ever came of it, and the police never gave me the info as to who it was that hit me. Would have been a worthless pursuit (if you know what I mean)...
Filed a claim - fixed the car. No rate increase or drop, but when we relocated again our insurance rate went up accordingly. When getting insurance quotes - that claim was held against us for getting the best competitive insurance rate (for three years). Only claim we've made where our insurance company had to pay in a long time (a longtime ago this also happened to us with a truck driver hit and run scenario, but was in Michigan, a no-fault state).
Why the story? for relating that I have been there, done that also, and to illustrate that insurers are not really "your friend". Their employees are instructed in how to handle all inquiries, and recorded calls are for their protection. All actions initiated would be documented for legal reasons - even if you end up filing no claim on the inquiry. They protect themselves from fraud with the clue reports - its real purpose, and (probably) use it to assess rates and whether or not to insure you or a property. It's good business practice and helps to keep rates competitive by avoiding losses and/or charging for high risk accordingly (all except exploiting clue reports for assessing your rates, but there is some movement by several states out there regulating this abuse). Seems like it should be illegal to rate fix or deny insurance based on just claims. Really comes across as a scare tactic to me. After all, claims are only paid for accidents. I don't, and never have worked for an insurance company.
As for claims - suffered higher auto rates when one of our cars was hit in the parking lot of our temporary apartment in Texas, when we first moved there. Was parked in the private parking lot overnight, and the guy parked next to us damaged it when backing out to leave the next morning. Was not a resident, but incident was witnessed by another tenant who informed me. The police told me they had actually pulled the guy over and searched the vehicle when he parked next to our car that night. Needless to say - nothing ever came of it, and the police never gave me the info as to who it was that hit me. Would have been a worthless pursuit (if you know what I mean)...
Filed a claim - fixed the car. No rate increase or drop, but when we relocated again our insurance rate went up accordingly. When getting insurance quotes - that claim was held against us for getting the best competitive insurance rate (for three years). Only claim we've made where our insurance company had to pay in a long time (a longtime ago this also happened to us with a truck driver hit and run scenario, but was in Michigan, a no-fault state).
Why the story? for relating that I have been there, done that also, and to illustrate that insurers are not really "your friend". Their employees are instructed in how to handle all inquiries, and recorded calls are for their protection. All actions initiated would be documented for legal reasons - even if you end up filing no claim on the inquiry. They protect themselves from fraud with the clue reports - its real purpose, and (probably) use it to assess rates and whether or not to insure you or a property. It's good business practice and helps to keep rates competitive by avoiding losses and/or charging for high risk accordingly (all except exploiting clue reports for assessing your rates, but there is some movement by several states out there regulating this abuse). Seems like it should be illegal to rate fix or deny insurance based on just claims. Really comes across as a scare tactic to me. After all, claims are only paid for accidents. I don't, and never have worked for an insurance company.
