Auto insurance cost differences, seeking answers.

[Holyoak]

I have been with USAA since 1988, and my past experience has demonstrated they have been uncompetitive in home insurance, car loans, home loans, brokerage costs, interest rates, etc, and I think it is time to scope out some other potential auto insurance provider. 

For you folks who shopped around, using identical terms/coverages/situation to compare companies, who did you end up with, and how much variance was there from one another?  Of course good service when needed is important, and I'd like to hear how your claims were handed with whatever provider you had, general competency, generally do you like your provider, etc.

Thank you very much.

[beltim]

The last auto policy I got was about 40% cheaper with USAA than the next closest, for a policy with very high coverage limits.

[retired?]

Hey, fellow USAA customers.  For the past several years, I would comparison shop about once a year for both prop and auto insurance.  USAA was not always the lowest, but the diff was minimal and not worth switching since I love their quality of customer service.

But, this past year's increase in the prop insurance got me to be a little more aggressive in my search.  I ended up switching both to Allstate (so would get multiple policy discount as with USAA).  The auto was very close, but Allstate slightly less.  Make sure you give them good miles per year if it is low.  But, the prop was a good deal lower.  I feel that the desire to protect their reputation causes USAA to recommend over-insuring.  We bought at 385 last year and they recommended something like 410 (I know it is my choice, but......).  With Allstate, I lowered my coverage to not included land, but even if I had gone to the same with USAA, Allstate would have been lower.  USAA called to see why I cancelled and we went over the numbers.  Allstate was savvy enough to point out something I've always known - why have medical coverage for auto if you already have healthcare coverage?  They seemed more straightforward with keeping your costs down.

Prior to the housing bubble, when people were not as savvy and aggressive in obtaining loans, USAA was not that competitive for mortgage rates.  Since then (I spoke to them about this) they upped their systems and are now pretty competitive.  A broker can always find you a better rate, but they compete fine with Wells Fargo, etc.

But, you are right with investments, brokerage, interest rates.  Their best features are the discounts they can get.  Mover's Advantage for buying/selling a home (a kickback from commission), car buying service, etc.

[blub]

I recently got auto insurance through Costco (the insurance company is called Ameriprise). The quote I got from Farmer's for the same coverage was $400/six months and I am paying $200/six months (no accidents, no tickets, old/non-flashy car). That discount more than pays for the $110/year Costco (second-tier) membership.

[geekette]

We went from Nationwide (had been with them for years) to Amica for the house and two cars.  Went from about $233/month to $138/month.

From what I hear, checking around every couple years is a good idea.  They claim to give you a discount for sticking around, but I think you get a better one for switching.

[jday]

I got 4 quotes for a new car insurance policy. Geico beat them all by half price. The other 3 all literally offered almost exactly the same price. Crazy!

[dandarc]

You do have to shop it - we recently switched from Geico to Progressive to save ~$150 / six months.  Look at all the terms too - the difference between paid in full and monthly for Geico was not that large - maybe $20 total over the six months, but for Progressive it was huge - would have been close to the same as Geico if we did not pay in full.

When I worked at a large insurance company, we got a pretty hefty employee discount on insurance.  But I was young and stupid and got a couple speeding tickets - after that it was much cheaper to get insurance with another insurer.  Every company has their own rate-model - you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't shop for insurance every once in a while.

[Jellyfish]

I have USAA for home and auto.  I just compared to State Farm and the rates were basically identical.  Based on Retired? I will check out Allstate and see what they are like.  I am leery of changing to another company based on price alone and would be interested in hearing about those with Geico and Progressive...have you had a large claim and how was that handled? Good customer service?

[Frankies Girl]

I'll be shopping around at the end of the year, but have been with GEICO for what seems like forever and so far no one has beaten their rates for our situation/area (have gotten a bit lazy about checking and now do it every other year). They have excellent customer service from my personal experience. I've had two incidences (once hit by dumb teenager out of state, once hit by drunk driver but neither major damage or injury) and they handled everything just great. I have their roadside assistance (dead battery/flats/lockout/towing, etc) as well, and they are always fast dealing with that stuff.
 
I have my house insured through them as well (Travelers in my region) and we got some damage from a hurricane a while back - they had someone at my house within 2 days, and the agent cut us a check right then and they didn't raise our rates. I had friends waiting weeks for someone to come out, as the whole area got hit pretty bad, so that was very impressive to me.

You can call them at any time - day or night or holidays - and get a live human being based in the USA who always seems happy to talk to you. So I'll definitely be weighing the customer service aspect since they set the bar really high.

[retired?]

As an aside, I skip the roadside since I have AAA, the middle tier plan which includes 100 miles towing (as opposed to 3, which can really screw you RE who does the work).  Cost was $120 for both drivers.  And, then we get the AAA hotel discounts, etc.

In a year, I will go back to compare against USAA (I'd been with them so long, I was probably labeled as a lifer and perhaps no need to provide more competitive rates), and also Geico.  I didn't get to them since Allstate was advertising they'd reset their rates for the entire state of TX.  Previously, they weren't any better.