I have been with StateFarm for 3 years now after having switched several times. I think their rates are among the lowest.
Competitive insurance
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Originally Posted By: austinlunsford
If you've been with them for that long and have everything bundled, you'll be hard pressed to find something lower. Yeah, look around if you like, but I work in this field, and I talk to people every day that think they're paying too much, but in reality they have the best rates for themselves because of bundles, and time spent with that company.
Generslly agree ^^^^^
I've been with State Farm for over 20 years...and check every 2 to 3 years for a better rate. Can never find one that beats State Farm.
If you've been with them for that long and have everything bundled, you'll be hard pressed to find something lower. Yeah, look around if you like, but I work in this field, and I talk to people every day that think they're paying too much, but in reality they have the best rates for themselves because of bundles, and time spent with that company.
Generslly agree ^^^^^
I've been with State Farm for over 20 years...and check every 2 to 3 years for a better rate. Can never find one that beats State Farm.
Same thing for us. We had a broker when we first moved to Texas who sold us a homeowner and auto policy.
We had one non fault accident with the auto policy, and found their service to not be great.
Also we learned that their towing policy is "pay first" then we will reimburse you 30 days later.
We switched the auto policy to geico and saved $400 per year for 2 cars.
Geico offered a very similar homeowner policy than the broker, give or take 30 dollars per year.
We are waiting for the homeowner policy to get close to expiration, then we will renew with Geico as well, and get a multi line discount.
I had geico for 10 years in NY and never had a problem with their claims process, and we have already used their lockout service once and they did a nice job.
Geico even opened up local offices here, so I can go there and talk to an agent. That is what I would rather do anyways, they typically can find affiliations or other discounts that you would not find on your own online. So I spend 30 minutes a year with an agent to tune up the policy and keep the rates down.
We are paying $508 per six months to fully insure two cars. We are paying around $700 per year to insure our modest house in Central Texas that is worth about $190k now.
We had one non fault accident with the auto policy, and found their service to not be great.
Also we learned that their towing policy is "pay first" then we will reimburse you 30 days later.
We switched the auto policy to geico and saved $400 per year for 2 cars.
Geico offered a very similar homeowner policy than the broker, give or take 30 dollars per year.
We are waiting for the homeowner policy to get close to expiration, then we will renew with Geico as well, and get a multi line discount.
I had geico for 10 years in NY and never had a problem with their claims process, and we have already used their lockout service once and they did a nice job.
Geico even opened up local offices here, so I can go there and talk to an agent. That is what I would rather do anyways, they typically can find affiliations or other discounts that you would not find on your own online. So I spend 30 minutes a year with an agent to tune up the policy and keep the rates down.
We are paying $508 per six months to fully insure two cars. We are paying around $700 per year to insure our modest house in Central Texas that is worth about $190k now.
One of the things I was told regarding independent insurance agents/companies: You can get cheaper rates, but if they are hit with multiple catastrophic losses, they may not have the funds to cover everyone. The big boys have the big bucks and spread the losses around over the entire nation. So, if one area gets hit, they are still making money from the policies in other parts of the country. I can not say that State Farm has been bad to me. Just wondering if groups like USAA and AARP have such high subscribers that they can get better group rates (?).
I did try going to American Family many years ago because it was locally owned. They would not cover my tool van because it was a commercial vehicle and the rates were higher for my personal vehicle for less coverage.
I did try going to American Family many years ago because it was locally owned. They would not cover my tool van because it was a commercial vehicle and the rates were higher for my personal vehicle for less coverage.
700 per year for homeowners??? WWWWWWOOOWWWW....I may have to look into that. See Geico vehicles all over the place in Oklahoma City and Norman. Paying 738 per 6 months to full insure all the vehicles below. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.....some pretty good advice here.
Originally Posted By: Schmoe
700 per year for homeowners??? WWWWWWOOOWWWW....I may have to look into that. See Geico vehicles all over the place in Oklahoma City and Norman. Paying 738 per 6 months to full insure all the vehicles below. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.....some pretty good advice here.
I would presume that OK is a higher risk due to twisters than Central Texas.
Also we are in a low flood risk zone.
700 per year for homeowners??? WWWWWWOOOWWWW....I may have to look into that. See Geico vehicles all over the place in Oklahoma City and Norman. Paying 738 per 6 months to full insure all the vehicles below. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm.....some pretty good advice here.
I would presume that OK is a higher risk due to twisters than Central Texas.
Also we are in a low flood risk zone.
Originally Posted By: otis24
One of the things I was told regarding independent insurance agents/companies: You can get cheaper rates, but if they are hit with multiple catastrophic losses, they may not have the funds to cover everyone. The big boys have the big bucks and spread the losses around over the entire nation. So, if one area gets hit, they are still making money from the policies in other parts of the country. I can not say that State Farm has been bad to me. Just wondering if groups like USAA and AARP have such high subscribers that they can get better group rates (?).
I did try going to American Family many years ago because it was locally owned. They would not cover my tool van because it was a commercial vehicle and the rates were higher for my personal vehicle for less coverage.
That sounds like something you were told by a State Farm or another captive agent. (I used to have one that talked like that, that was part of the reason I changed companies.)
There are many solid regional insurance companies that don't write a lot of high risk areas (like Florida,) and thus don't have the exposure. As a result, they usually have more favorable rates.
There are many companies that monitor the financial stability of insurance companies, such as A.M. Best.
http://www.ambest.com/home/default.aspx
You want either an A+ or an A++ rating.
Failing to look at smaller companies means that you are doing yourself a potential disservice financially (and potentially from a customer service perspective.) I went from State Farm to Erie Insurance about 23 years ago, and not only have saved thousands of dollars, but from a customer service perspective, went from a Yugo to a Lexus. We have had claims and went through my wife being sued as the result of a car accident. During the seven years of the lawsuit, my car insurance premiums ACTUALLY WENT DOWN, while at the same time, had legal representation that far exceeded my expectations. Therefore, I can legitimately say that they are that good.
I can't speak for your area, but there are probably similar companies that meet that footprint.
One of the things I was told regarding independent insurance agents/companies: You can get cheaper rates, but if they are hit with multiple catastrophic losses, they may not have the funds to cover everyone. The big boys have the big bucks and spread the losses around over the entire nation. So, if one area gets hit, they are still making money from the policies in other parts of the country. I can not say that State Farm has been bad to me. Just wondering if groups like USAA and AARP have such high subscribers that they can get better group rates (?).
I did try going to American Family many years ago because it was locally owned. They would not cover my tool van because it was a commercial vehicle and the rates were higher for my personal vehicle for less coverage.
That sounds like something you were told by a State Farm or another captive agent. (I used to have one that talked like that, that was part of the reason I changed companies.)
There are many solid regional insurance companies that don't write a lot of high risk areas (like Florida,) and thus don't have the exposure. As a result, they usually have more favorable rates.
There are many companies that monitor the financial stability of insurance companies, such as A.M. Best.
http://www.ambest.com/home/default.aspx
You want either an A+ or an A++ rating.
Failing to look at smaller companies means that you are doing yourself a potential disservice financially (and potentially from a customer service perspective.) I went from State Farm to Erie Insurance about 23 years ago, and not only have saved thousands of dollars, but from a customer service perspective, went from a Yugo to a Lexus. We have had claims and went through my wife being sued as the result of a car accident. During the seven years of the lawsuit, my car insurance premiums ACTUALLY WENT DOWN, while at the same time, had legal representation that far exceeded my expectations. Therefore, I can legitimately say that they are that good.
I can't speak for your area, but there are probably similar companies that meet that footprint.
So much depends on where you live, your own experience, age, etc, too many variable. One has to shop around. There are advantages to staying with one company if the rates are close. I have been with Erie for over 15 years, have lifetime accident forgiveness at no cost, and when I shop around it is still the least expensive for me. Some are lower on auto but higher on HO and liability so it all depends. Switching every year does not build any agent loyalty and you need a agent when the disaster hits the fan and the company is hard nosed and you need an agent to support you. Like most things in life, not always about the cheapest price more about the value. Also, replacement cost definitions vary by company, understand what their definition of replacement cost it. They do differ.
You definitely can save. The best part of sticking with insurer is accident forgiveness and discount for loyal customers.
Progressive gives me a massive discount. I have used them since 2000ish only because they had working and decent website then and I did not ever set foot into an insurance office.
Progressive gives me a massive discount. I have used them since 2000ish only because they had working and decent website then and I did not ever set foot into an insurance office.
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