Car Insurance questions

Next fun part (not!) of new car ownership is insurance. I have 30 days coverage from the old (also out of state) policy so I have to get cracking. Insurance rates are brutal in CA. So I will take the senior driving course for the discount available. Anybody got any idea what the discount might be?

Have very good driving record, excellent credit, too old and a shady zip code. All part of the equation. So far State Farm is over the roof. Existing company, Farmers, not much better. Esurance (Allstate) didn't earn the friend's good seal of approval, though the rate was lower. Tried Costco (IDS Insurance) best rate so far, but not by a lot. Will check AARP when I do the course. I see those teaser ads about 'the things your insurance company doesn't want you know'. Anybody ever look into that?

Any suggestions? I am comparing apples with apples in terms of coverage and deductibles.

Best company/best rate recommendation from you? I don't qualify for the military company, USAA.

Thanks for your help.

Best prices we got were from a local independent agent that represented a number of companies and shopped it around for us. Not saying that that will be true there, and not all independent agents are as good as all others but its where I'd start.

https://webportal.iiabcal.org/Membership/MemberDirectorySearch.aspx?&token=

Only one I pulled up for escondido was (although there are likely more in the surrounding area):
CSG Insurance Services, Inc.
Primary Contact: Camenson, Craig O.
135 West Mission Avenue, #107
Escondido, CA 92025, United States
Phone: (760)746-0693
Fax: (760)746-0694

Geico saved me a lot of $.
Great customer service as well.

I've had State Farm for so long that anytime I've checked with another company, they tell me they can't get near what we pay. We have homeowner's, two vehicles and a trailer covered, so we get maximum discounts.

Bill Arnold said:

I've had State Farm for so long that anytime I've checked with another company, they tell me they can't get near what we pay. We have homeowner's, two vehicles and a trailer covered, so we get maximum discounts.

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Similar situation here, but with Allstate. Two cars, homeowners', life, and an umbrella policy. Actually been with them for FIFTY YEARS! I look for quotes every few years, but nobody has beaten them yet.

Senior driving course should get you 5%. Also, many insurance companies use credit based rate systems...bad credit = higher rates. I received a letter from my insurance company announcing they were implementing credit based rates and called them to ask what was up. They said people with bad credit are more likely to file claims. I said I've been with you for 45 years and have never filed a claim, if I had bad credit would my rates increase? Yup. Amazing

My expertise is from having worked for USAA for many years, as a computer geek. But I hung out with a lot of insurance folks. Maybe that is similar to "but last night I stayed in a Holiday Inn Express."

The bigger question than the premium is what the company pays for when you have a claim. When my wife totaled her one-year-old car, USAA paid almost the list price, then added payment for the half tank of gas, plus payment for the half year left on the state inspection, etc. After I left USAA, I was consulting at a different insurance company where the claims adjusters rejoiced that they had discovered that the premium finish on the car was not factory standard, and it wasn't listed for optional coverage, so they weren't going to repair it. I don't want to be insured by them.

USAA is my choice, but you have to be a member. Eligibility has been extended from officers only to enlisted.
State Farm is a great company
Allstate is not always as good for paying claims
Progressive is great at claims service; they start expensive, but their premiums tend to drop over time.
Geico had a bad history years ago, but I have not heard anything bad lately - since they got the gecko.

If you never have a claim, then the cheapest company is okay.

Try an insurance broker, they can be found in the old fashioned yellow pages.

Carol Reed said:

Next fun part (not!) of new car ownership is insurance. I have 30 days coverage from the old (also out of state) policy so I have to get cracking. Insurance rates are brutal in CA. So I will take the senior driving course for the discount available. Anybody got any idea what the discount might be?

Have very good driving record, excellent credit, too old and a shady zip code. All part of the equation. So far State Farm is over the roof. Existing company, Farmers, not much better. Esurance (Allstate) didn't earn the friend's good seal of approval, though the rate was lower. Tried Costco (IDS Insurance) best rate so far, but not by a lot. Will check AARP when I do the course. I see those teaser ads about 'the things your insurance company doesn't want you know'. Anybody ever look into that?

Any suggestions? I am comparing apples with apples in terms of coverage and deductibles.

Best company/best rate recommendation from you? I don't qualify for the military company, USAA.

Thanks for your help.

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Carol,
When I was living in California, I joined AAA and used their insurance... in the beginning I was under 25, single, driving a 1964 Corvette... the insurance was pretty reasonable given the situation.... when I turned 25, the rate dropped by about 50%. I had five claims while under their insurance, the Corvette was rear ended, fixed and my portion was under $500, the Corvette was stolen, replaced and again my portion was about $500 - plus the difference in the price of the replacement... After I married and divorced, I drove an Alfa Romeo Alfetta... picked up a rock in the radiator on Bayshore Highway (Hwy 101 San Jose to San Fran) caused the engine to over heat and scored the cylinder wall in one cylinder of the motor.... insurance replaced the cylinder sleeve and my portion was $200.... while married and driving the wife's Ford Cortina (Creepy little car) I rear ended a cop car on El Camino in San Mateo... didn't get it fixed for several months and AAA had actually closed the claim account... when I did take it to body shop, they reopened the claim, fixed the fender and my portion was under $200. Fifth claim was actually paid by my employer, I was at the SF airport in employee parking lot and a 707 jet blew a hydraulic line while parked against the blast fence between the ramp and the employee parking lot.... my second Corvette got sprayed with Skydrol... since my car was fiberglass, only marred the finish a little... a number of the other cars around me the paint was stripped off their cars.... TWA wrote a check to everyone affected to have the cars repainted... my just needed buffing out.

Don't know about now, but in the days I lived in Calif, the ins rates in SF were much higher than those in LA.... when I transferred north, I cut my insurance coverage back to bare state requirements and it still went up by a few dollars over what I paid in LA..... don't know how rates are in San Diego.

BTW, I qualify for USAA, but their rates are much higher than what I get from Hartford through AARP.

Like Ryan, I use an independent and used the same one until she retired recently. The folks she sold to have been good enough fo me to stay but, I do miss those calls a couple times a year when Sharon would say "hey, if I move you to XYZ you'll have the same coverage and save $20". that was service above and beyond. I'll PM you.

@ Glenn: PM replied to.

@ Chuck: AARP is on the list

@Scott: Yellow Pages? They still print those?

@Ryan: Hmmmm. Didn't turn up when I did the Google search. Will check that out also. Thanks.

Thanks, everyone.

We use a broker also but that's just my preference. We shop every few years. This time around we went with progressive. They beat USAA and everyone else.

My lessons learnt about this topic from my wife who has been a broker for her entire working career.

Vehicle insurance is short term insurance there is no lolyalty involved. So how long you been with the company has no bearing on how you will be treated at time of a claim. The marketing splurb etc may say different to tell u what u want to hear but the contract stipulates the facts of the agreement and thats all that u have to stand on.
A broker is your best bet and survive based on retaining you as a client so they have a vested interest in your deal. You dont pay for their service the insurance company does. They have access to companies that do not spend big $$ on marketing to masses.
Bundling short term insurance (home, auto, trailers etc.) gets you better rates. Its simple they have more to amortise their risk on.
Insurance of this kind is for catastrophic loss, dont get distracted by the nickle and dime features. If you claim on them you end up having to deal with deductible but also potentially increased future rates. So why have them. This brings up the issue of deductible. Higher that value the better your premium. It removes low value claim risk and costs to insurance company.

Regardless of broker comments read the details of your policy and make sure you understand the terms. This is the biggest issue Linda encounters people have not read a policy and interpret the agreement to suit their needs but at that stage its too late to learn contents of policy.
Brokers know more of what is possible than a direct discussion with a single insurance entity.They also should know local gov regs applicable.
But the caviate is still you get good and bad brokers like any profession.
I believe insurancr is a scourge of our modern society and as a industry they exert far too much influence.

Here we moving to having devices in the vehicle recording your total driving behavior and your rates will be governed by the driving record. If thats not big brother and invasion of privacy i dont know what is.

In our part of the world make of vehicle governs premium price so shopping for a vehicle should be done with insurance at same time. Example Honda Civic is high risk vehicle due to theft and accident experience due to youngsters driving them. So premium can be higher than equivalent Toyota or US brand vehicle.
After vehicle value then location down to postal code dictates premium. Country living can be an advantage in this case.



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Sounds like that new car of yours might cost you more in insurance than you thought it would, too bad.

We bought my daughter a 2001 Mazda Millenia for about $5000 Canadian, the insurance for the first year was about $2500.

Boy that sucks, but as my daughter is a new driver and has had her license only for a couple of years, at 20 years of age, that is what she has to pay. Once she hits 21, we will pay less, and less each year without a claim after that.

Here in Japan my insurance on my micro van is very cheap, but we have been insuring vehicles with the same company for two generations now, with few claims, and none that were our fault. We also choose to pick a drivers age, you have to be over 40 and under 65 to be covered on our insurance on the micro van, this saves us a fair bit of money. It also means when younger friends want to borrow the van I can say, "Sorry, you are too young to drive my van"

Rob Keeble said:

They have access to companies that do not spend big $$ on marketing to masses.

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This mirrors our experience. Our broker pointed us at a smaller (5 western states not incl ca) agency that I'd never heard of (and who only self through independent agents). When it was claim time they were also actually by far the best of the 4 ins companies we had to deal with, followed fairly closely by USAA (which is what the other driver had).

I have had Shelter for about 15 years. Rates are very competitive and service great. I have had a couple big claims for the house (hail damage) adjuster was here almost before I hung up the phone, check arrived in a couple days. Same with vehicle, similar damage, claim received over phone, I e-mailed a pic and check came quickly. Look up the history of the owner of Progressive if you are deciding to go with them.

Well me an the wife has Alstate an I can tell you it depends on the office you deal with. When the wife got in her accendent the agent came an seen her at the hospital an me, the lady stayed with the wife until all the test was done an went to see the car , she then called me an said they will have an adjuster to look at the car next morning. The adjuster was there first thing said it was totaled due to the frame was bent an asked if I need help getting anything out of the car. I couldn't get in the trunk so he got a crowbar an poped the trunk an helped me. With in 2 days they were talking about what kind of car can they help get the wife into. I told them give us a couple days an they waited for us. So I vote for Alstate because they were there for us