Auto Insurance

[BoxerDudz811]

I was wondering if anyone out there knows of a good, reasonable, car insurace company. I have 1 at fault accident, 1 not at fault, and 1 ticket. Because I am so young and on my own policy I am now paying $369 per month with Progressive. I have pretty much called all of the bigger companies and Progressive is still the cheapest but I know there are some smaller lesser known companies that usually provide cheaper coverage. I just feel that I am being sooo overcharged! I know that I do not have the best driving record but it just seems so unfair! If anyone knows anything that could help me in out it would be greatly appriciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[abcdefamily]

OH MY GOSH!! And I thought our insurance was high!!
Try looking for 'Insure America'... they may be in your area. We used them for a couple years when we lived in Chicago because insurance was SO high there. Actually, I use them again now because insurance here is very high too.

Good luck!
Carolyn

 

[Cami]

Progressive is considered a "high-risk" insurer. When you call other comapnies for quotes and they ask if you are presently insured (which you are) and respond yes, they will usually ask who you are with. When you reply "progressive", you are going to automatically be deemed high risk and therefore receive quotes at a higher rate.

Better to stick with Progressive. At least now you are considered "insurable", time with the same company will eventually pay off. Insurance companies frown on customers that switch often. Perhaps raising your deductible, dropping certain coverages (due to age of car), or even changing cars (some are more expensive to insure than others), will help to lessen the costs. Your agent will be the best at helping you to determine how to make your policy benefit you best.

That does seem like a highly expensive rate per month. Even where you live has an effect on rates. What type of car are you driving? Getting married (if you aren't already), does lesson rates also. Not to imply that you should get married for lesser rates....LOL. Turning 25 will also lower your rates, (don't know your age).

I worked for State Farm years ago, in Ohio at the time they were generally the least expensive but you had to have a good record to get that lower rate. You might call Erie Insurance, if you haven't already.

Good-Luck.

 

[BXR BUS]

Insurance companies get you coming and going.
What I was told is that a lot of insurance companies also look at your credit and if you have not so great credit you are also considered high risk even though your driving record is perfect, research shows (done by Allstate) that people with not so great/bad credit file the most claims.
In my younger life I had a sportscar...RED on top of it, never had any accidents but ended up getting a lot of tickets, I enrolled in a state certified driving school and after completing that the certificate went into my file and so therefore I was able to get a lot of "breaks" for that on my policy.
I know that the insurance industry has changed a lot since then but that may also be something you could ask an agent if something like that would help lower your rate.
What you can do too is call around to a few places and get some quotes and tell them you have a perfect record and see how much it would be.....this might be a good way for you to see the price difference, you may find that it wont be much of a difference even if you have a perfect record, as there is so many other things they consider, type of car, where you live, how far you commute to work etc....
While I feel your pain for paying so much for auto insurance it is just a fact of life now days.

Good Luck

 

[Tulsa-Dan]

I use Geico and am very happy with them. They covered one accident when I totalled my new Mitsubishi and no problems. Quick service too.

Their rates are better than Progressive, at least for me. I am older, use the car minimally and have a "decent" driving record (1 moving violation). Still the rates are better than anyone else I've found.

Hope this helps.

 

[Clover's Mom]

I have American National and I love them - I am young as well, with 1 accident (my fault) and I pay around $86 a month. I do have a high deductible, well not extremly high, but it helped to lower payments.

It also depends were you live.

Good luck.

 

[BoxerDudz811]

Thank you all so much for the advice! In response to some suggestions...


I drive a 2002 Chevy Cavalier and I'm still paying it off.
I've called Gieco and their rates were outrageous! I guess it's because of my record.
I am 19, unmarried, and on my own policy so that goes against me right there.
I didn't know that Progressive was a high risk company...I guess why they were one of the only ones that would even take me 2 years ago after my accidents and ticket!
Lastly, I called a company called SafeCo that a girl at work told me about...they quoted me $100 less a month than Progressive but I'm a little worried. I've never heard of this company before this and I'm not sure how safe it is to go with a lesser known company (altough I should NOT be picky right now) What do you all think?
One more question. My policy with Progressive is up in December and last time I renewed with them they dropped my rate from $502 to $369 a month! I was impressed, do you think that since I've been with them for about 2 years with no accidents, tickets, or claims that it will drop again?

I think I'm going to wait until I get my policy renewing form thingies and then decide if I will stay with Progressive or swith to this SafeSo place. Thanks for listening to my rambling....

 

[BXR BUS]

I have heard of SAFECO and no matter if they are known on a local level or a national level they have to cover what the state requires and if you were to get into another accident they must pay out, that is why we have to pay for insurance to begin with. You can also call the BBB before making a decision on switching to a new insurance company and check them out to see if they have any compalints against them, and there is also your local insurance commissioners ofc who should also be able to help you.

Good Luck and I agree it may be in your best intrest to wait until renewal time before making a switch.

 

[Cypress' Mom]

We use All State and they are great! My boyfriend has had 2 at fault accidents that still show on his record. He was with Geico and Progressive and when we combined our policies his rate dropped sooooo much. I was worried about having him on my policy as I have a fantastic record and didn't want it to mess mine up. My agent said it wouldn't affect my record or chance of getting insurance at all. If we decided to seperate our policies I would go right back to where I was. We also have 3 vehicles as well so that helps with the multi car discount. We have full coverage on 2 of the vehicles and we pay 209 a month. Not bad considering we were paying over 400 a month when we had seperate policies. Good luck. Also on Progressives wevsite they have a comparison feature where they will also compare their prices to other companies. I have found much lower prices on their own site.
Jess

 

[rog1006]

Hey all-

If you're 19, unmarried, with one accident and 1 ticket in the last three years, and you're driving a fairly new car, your rates are going to be high no matter what. Sticking with your company is the best idea as they will give you discounts for staying them. Are you in college? If so and you get a B average or above, reputable companies will give you a Good Student discount. Are you renting an apartment? If so, you can get a small renters policy (a good idea to have anyway) and it will give you an Auto/Home (Rent) discount on your Auto policy. Raising your deductibles will help--I tell people all the time (I work for an insurance company) that there is NO POINT to having 250 or even 500 deductibles because making a small claim like that will raise your insurance for three years--only claim BIG things.

Insurance has gone up for everyone, just like everything else. The costs of going to court on an accident and going through subrogation is costing the companies a ton more than ever (pain and suffering for a neck ache costs thousands of dollars, etc.). Hence, the young people, people with tickets and accidents, and people that haven't had continuous coverage are going to be higher because they simply are more risky to insure. To me, that seems fair as lots of us go through years and years with no tickets or accidents, yet our rates steadily increase because of everyone else. Example: The other day I was talking to a client who was upset that her rates increased on renewal. I looked over her policy and found that she had a negligent accident and told her that was why her rates were going up $100 every six months for the next three years. She was soooo mad and as I was looking over the policy, I saw that it was her second accident in the last 5 years and that her most recent claim totalled over $100,000 because she seriously hurt the other driver and totalled not only her car, but the other person's car. She was berating me and after a few minutes I explained to her that paying $200 more a year for 3 years is pretty fair being that we would need to charge her $200 a year more for 500 years to get the money back that we paid out--not including lawyer fees.

Doesn't mean I'm not still sympathetic, as I was a "young" person not too long ago and had to make those payments too!