Car insurance through AAA?

September 26, 2006 6:16 AM

Anyone here have car and/or home owner's insurance through AAA?

We're buying a (used) car this week and it's a good opportunity to take a second look at our car insurance. My wife recently joined AAA (in Indiana) and, thanks to the discount the membership provides, the quote from them is quite a bit lower than from any of the others we've received, even from our current insurer whom we've been with for over 15 years. They also threw in a quote on our home owner's insurance, as did everyone else.

Question...anyone here insure their vehicles through AAA? If so, have you had to deal with them on a claim and how was that experience? Additionally, if anyone has their home owner's through them, I'd be interested in hearing how that is working out.

These days, all insurance seems to be pretty comparable in coverage. The true test comes when you actually have to file a claim. With so many small insurers popping up all over the place, it seems nigh-on impossible to get any accurate information on them, in a timely manner. Consider this post a version of "ask your neighbors".

FWIW, the actual companies AAA is quoting from are:
Auto: Horizon Auto Select
Home: ACA Insurance

Thanks!

posted by Thorzdad to work & money (10 comments total)

I did have my car insurance through them, but after I got in a tiny fender-bender after sliding on black ice, they dropped me without telling me, and I found out a month or two later that I had been driving uninsured... just be careful.
posted by orangemiles at 6:31 AM on September 26, 2006

I've had AAA car/motorcycle insurance for years, and just got home insurance through AAA in a new state (Oregon). After my only claim (somebody scraped the car door on a garage post), they jacked up my rates enough to cover the payout in 3-4 years (i.e. the rate went up significantly). OTOH, that's what I expect insurance to do: take your premiums, and if they ever pay a claim, get the money back from you as quickly as possible by raising your rates. If you expect something different, you're probably going to be disappointed, but it doesn't matter which company you use in that case.
posted by spacewrench at 6:43 AM on September 26, 2006

I have my car and renter's through AAA, but I think it's more that AAA faciliated things than they actually had anything to do with the insurance. My car is through Progressive through AAA and I just get mail from them, not from AAA. My renter's is through, I don't know, some local place which likes to drop me every few months when it claims my direct deposit didn't go through. AAA didn't know anything about that when I asked why it kept randomly dropping me.
posted by cobaltnine at 6:48 AM on September 26, 2006

I had a mixed experience with AAA insurance. I was the victim of a fender bender hit-and-run, and they took my claim for the "uninsured motorist." I made the mistake of being paid directly rather than taking it to an autobody shop and have them deal with it, which meant that they sent me about 1/3 the price of fixing the damages. I also moved during the time the claim was being processed, and it took about 6 months and ~8-10 hours of phone calls with them to send the check to the right address. In the end, I finally got somebody who cared at AAA and they had the check sent to THEIR office, then forwarded it on to me. That was the only way I could receive the check.

On the other hand, after the first year with them and no claims filed, they lowered my rates about 25%.

I've had a number of odd requests for them over the years (stuff that they don't normally do -- stuff like sending the claim check to their office and forwarding it to me) that, once I find the right person, they're happy to do. I doubt that's unique to AAA: with any bureaucracy, you just have to find somebody who gives a crap about your problem.

In general, I guess I'd give them a 5/10.
posted by one_bean at 7:02 AM on September 26, 2006

I also have insurance through AAA, it's with Traveler's though. I don't have too much experience to compare it to with claims. I've only had to, thankfully, deal with this once. I don't know if it was different because both the driver at fault and I had Traveler's, but it went well. I can't imagine that it being through AAA would have much of an impact more than who the actual insurer is.

I do like the discount though, when I first switched it was a big difference. Also, since I got renter's insurnace through them as well, it was even more of a discount and the numbers seemed to work out such that the renters insurance costs me virtually nothing.
posted by unsigned at 7:20 AM on September 26, 2006

In some regions (California, for instance), there is an actual AAA insurance agency which directly provides insurance. In other areas (such as Georgia), AAA acts as a reseller for other companies (specifically Travelers).

It sounds like in your case, you'll really be getting your insurance from Horizon & ACA, so you'll probably need to find out about them more specifically than AAA.
posted by designbot at 7:41 AM on September 26, 2006

We have both car and house insurance with AAA, or rather, with CSAA (California ...) and both are good. Claims have been handled no-hassle, fairly and quickly. (As designbot notes, this is an actual insurance provider here in California, not a reseller.)
posted by anadem at 8:01 AM on September 26, 2006

Here in Seattle (Washington State), AAA has a variety of insurance providers. Last year I was with Progressive through AAA. I was the recipient of a fender bender and Progressive sent a person out to do an estimate on the bodywork. His estimate was about $500-700 under the 2 independent estimates I got, and thus was under the deductible so they wouldn't have paid anything under my uninsured motorist coverage. Instead I got cash from the person who hit me (the uninsured motorist), in the amount of the lower of my independent estimates. I called AAA to see if I could get my premium lowered and they gave me a better quote through one of the other companies they broker, American Commerce Insurance Company. So I switched to that and I pay slightly less than I did with Progressive. As far as I know, there is no specific AAA insurance in Washington.
posted by matildaben at 8:54 AM on September 26, 2006

I have car insurance through Southern California AAA, and I've been happy. I have made one claim I think, and it wasn't a problem. The auto body place they sent me to was great.

And, they don't send you send a cancellation threat the moment your payment is late.
posted by clh at 10:00 AM on September 26, 2006

Thanks all!
posted by Thorzdad at 2:41 PM on September 26, 2006