I Need Car Insurance

July 5, 2005 2:28 AM

So I finally have to pay for my own car insurance. Any ideas on good places to start looking, tips, things to consider, etc. In case you need it: my chief concern is price, I will be insuring me, my wife and our two cars and, between the two of us, we have had three accidents in the past five years and zero traffic violations.
posted by JPowers to Work & Money (14 answers total)

I'd look at American Express. When I signed up with them about 3 years ago their rates were easily the best among 4 or 5 insurers I compared. I'm still with them.
posted by shoos at 2:55 AM on July 5, 2005

The only tip I would give is, based on my experiences in the UK, don't be afraid play companies off one another. If you have a better quote from a competitor, I found companies will often beat their original "best price". Applies to all types of insurance and many other things, but I especially car insurance.
posted by jontyjago at 3:30 AM on July 5, 2005

I don't know if this will help you or not, but I get a discount on my car insurance because I also have renter's insurance from the same company. If you have home or renter's insurance, maybe you could ask them about discounts on car insurance?
posted by geeky at 6:16 AM on July 5, 2005

Erie insurance does only the package deals that geeky spoke of, but even the entire package for me was pretty reasonable and they were reliable when I had an accident, including coming to my house while I was out of the country to do the estimate.

Someone told me that they used to be run by Tom Ridge, which actually made me feel better. If he screwed up as Secretary of Homeland Security, he was the one who was going to have to pay out my claim.
posted by Pollomacho at 6:35 AM on July 5, 2005

I just switched from Geico to Progressive. 2 years ago, Geico was the better price, and now (I had an accident in the meantime) Progressive is almost $200 cheaper (for 6 months).

You might also want to get "minimum coverage" (like Safe Auto) until those accidents drop off your record (it's three years in PA, might not be the same in other states) and then switch back up to regular coverage.

A friend of mine gets his renters insurance and car insurance from the same Allstate broker and is really happy with their rates, but the Allstate quote I got was almost 2x what Progressive would charge me.

Car insurance is such a ripoff!!! Best of luck to you.
posted by elisabeth r at 6:45 AM on July 5, 2005

Just get all the quotes you can. Make them earn your business. I would either: Go with one of the big guns (State Farm, Allstate, etc.) or go to an insurance broker that sells for several companies and will do the shopping for you. Or both.
posted by Doohickie at 6:46 AM on July 5, 2005

i also moved over to Erie based on a friend's recommendation. the price is right, and i have a really nice agent, which is a bonus. i also get a 15% discount on homeowners insurance.
posted by poppo at 7:52 AM on July 5, 2005

For me, nobody has ever been able to beat State Farm. I've spent GEICO's 15-minutes-or-less and their price was higher. Progressive was WAY higher.

I had an accident that cost State Farm $2000 and they lowered my rates. Once they actually paid me a dividend because their investments had been doing better than expected.

State Farm is a mutual insurance company, which means policyholders are the owners. Which means when they have a banner year, they may well pay a dividend. It's much like a credit union in that way; the idea really appeals to me.
posted by kindall at 8:20 AM on July 5, 2005

If you or anyone in your family served in the military, you are entitled to coverage from USAA. I cannot say enough good things about USAA. For years, like everyone, I hated my car insurance companies with a passion. I actually *love* USAA. The rates are extremely low -- I paid (no longer own a car) something like 30 percent less than the going rate in my city. The service was over-the-top extraordinary, and the people highly competent and nice. Rave rave rave great company.
posted by realcountrymusic at 8:41 AM on July 5, 2005

Lowest rates may not be best. I was insured with the cheapest insurer I could find locally and when I got T-boned it took a lawyer to get the insurance company to pay. "Reputable" is also important when it comes to insurance companies. Don't go with a fly-by-nighter, even if their rates are great.
posted by wsg at 9:17 AM on July 5, 2005

AAA
State Farm Insurance
USAA

Make sure you don't choose just by the lowest rate. When the shit hits the fan, you want a company that will HELP you, not make your life more difficult.
posted by suchatreat at 9:36 AM on July 5, 2005

I called progressive and they did their rate comparison and told me the the cheapest was allstate. I called allstate and actually got a lower rate than progressive said. I ended up switching from usaa, who I was unhappy with, to allstate. State farm was alot higher than any of those. The moral of the story? Call all the big companies. Progressive might be a good starting point to get some ballpark ideas.

My brother just got a new car and allstate was much higher than progressive. So just because someone got a good rate from a company doesn't mean you will. Which is why you need to call alot them.
posted by 6550 at 11:57 AM on July 5, 2005

There are comments in the thread about "San Francisco Bay area insurance", that you should look at, since (as I commented there) you should (a) go with a national company, and (b) the quality of national companies doesn't vary that much from state to state.
posted by WestCoaster at 3:08 PM on July 5, 2005

kindall: I've had the same experience with State Farm. My son had his license a month, totaled a car, and our insurance went down. No kiddin'. We've been with them for over 20 years, although we have shopped around several times. And we've had our share of claims and tickets.
posted by Doohickie at 8:11 PM on July 5, 2005