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OT: Auto Insurance

BigLou

BigLou

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Jul 25, 2001
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Sorry for an off topic post during Game Week but this forum is a good source of info

My 24 year old son is buying a new car. Unlike the one he has been driving since high school, this will be in his own name.
We are shopping auto insurance. I get our insurance through Allstate which is pricey but has great service, especially with claims
So far we have quotes from Progress, GEICO and Allstate for him. Progressive was about $500 for 6 month, GEICO was about $640 and Allstate about $1200.

He's a good driver, no accidents and his last ticket (knock on wood) was almost 5 years ago.
Question: Anyone have claim experience with any of these companies and if so, how well was the claim handled. Any other companies I should check out?
 
NJM is great but very selective. I would never consider paying Allstate over double (assuming you didn't mean $1,200 was for a full year). All of those companies have excellent claims handling. For auto, go with the cheapest quote.
 
NJM has been great for me if you can get it. Both for Auto and Home...
 
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BigLou said:
Sorry for an off topic post during Game Week but this forum is a good source of info

My 24 year old son is buying a new car. Unlike the one he has been driving since high school, this will be in his own name.
We are shopping auto insurance. I get our insurance through Allstate which is pricey but has great service, especially with claims
So far we have quotes from Progress, GEICO and Allstate for him. Progressive was about $500 for 6 month, GEICO was about $640 and Allstate about $1200.

He's a good driver, no accidents and his last ticket (knock on wood) was almost 5 years ago.
Question: Anyone have claim experience with any of these companies and if so, how well was the claim handled. Any other companies I should check out?
Click to expand...

I know this wasn't what you asked but I recently had the same experience with my daughter (and 2 years ago with my son). The numbers you have above are almost exactly the same as quotes we got.

I just (a week ago) switched to progressive and took my rate down $450 for the 2 cars WITH lower Comp and Collision deducts on high end coverage. I would have stayed with the live broker but that was just WAY too much savings.

Have not heard any bad reviews on claims. (thankfully have no personal experience there)
 
NJM n
1984 said:
I know this wasn't what you asked but I recently had the same experience with my daughter (and 2 years ago with my son). The numbers you have above are almost exactly the same as quotes we got.

I just (a week ago) switched to progressive and took my rate down $450 for the 2 cars WITH lower Comp and Collision deducts on high end coverage. I would have stayed with the live broker but that was just WAY too much savings.

Have not heard any bad reviews on claims. (thankfully have no personal experience there)
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the responses but the above is what I wanted to hear.

Since posting this thread I got quotes from Liberty Mutual (over $1100 for 6 months) and NJM (over $1000 for 6 months).

Think I'm going to have my son go with Geico. A little higher than Progressive but I heard from a body shop guy that Progressive was difficult on claims.

I think my son;s rates go down with the higher priced quotes after age 25.
 
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BigLou said:
NJM n


Thanks for all the responses but the above is what I wanted to hear.

Since posting this thread I got quotes from Liberty Mutual (over $1100 for 6 months) and NJM (over $1000 for 6 months).

Think I'm going to have my son go with Geico. A little higher than Progressive but I heard from a body shop guy that Progressive was difficult on claims.

I think my son;s rates go down with the higher priced quotes after age 25.
Click to expand...

Both the young adults went on Geico too. We mixed it up by taking Progressive for us seniors. And even though I am not a BIG BROTHER fan (not to be confused with BIG LOU) ...we opted in on the 6 month SNAPSHOT offer for an extra $100 off. My wife drives so conservatively I figured it could only go down further lol. I on the other hand need to watch my right foot ... :)
 
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1984 said:
Both the young adults went on Geico too. We mixed it up by taking Progressive for us seniors. And even though I am not a BIG BROTHER fan (not to be confused with BIG LOU) ...we opted in on the 6 month SNAPSHOT offer for an extra $100 off. My wife drives so conservatively I figured it could only go down further lol. I on the other hand need to watch my right foot ... :)
Click to expand...

Every insurer I looked at has a APP like Progressive's Snapshot which tracks your driving habits. I am wondering if this is giving them too much information. My Allstate agent made it sound like the App does not automatically send info and you have a chance to delete entries that look bad, not sure if I believe that.
 
BigLou said:
Every insurer I looked at has a APP like Progressive's Snapshot which tracks your driving habits. I am wondering if this is giving them too much information. My Allstate agent made it sound like the App does not automatically send info and you have a chance to delete entries that look bad, not sure if I believe that.
Click to expand...
I don't believe it. The unit BEEPS if you brake too hard. So far only 1 beep over 2 cars in a week. But how the heck does it know you braked hard for a good reason?

They say MOST drivers get a break. I took the leap of faith. You would think our spotless records would be all that is needed. They publish a monthly report...so worst case is I cancel and pay the higher amount.
 
I had NJM for 30 plus years. My last rerate seemed high so I shopped around. Saved $800 by switching to Geico (my policy is me, wife and 20 year old daughter). No accidents or tickets on any of our records.

When my homeowners expires with NJM I am goung to shop that too.
 
For those of you with Geico, please pay attention to the coverage. I am an independent agent and on far too many occasions have seen that they have lowered limits of coverage, usually the PIP (health insurance) and uninsured/underinsured limits. They may also put your health insurance as primary coverage in the event of an injury due to an accident, but your health insurance (if you even have it) may prohibit this.
Also please don't assume "everything is the same" as I have heard just about every time either. They may not even ask the questions outside of what liability limit and what physical damage coverage deductible do you want. On one memorable occasion, Geico dropped collision on a client with a 1 year old car... but she was "saving" $400 a year...

NJM auto is still outstanding, though not quite as untouchable as they were 5-10 years ago. Their homeowners policy is very vanilla, and may not include very important coverage that you assume you have.
 
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BigLou said:
Every insurer I looked at has a APP like Progressive's Snapshot which tracks your driving habits. I am wondering if this is giving them too much information. My Allstate agent made it sound like the App does not automatically send info and you have a chance to delete entries that look bad, not sure if I believe that.
Click to expand...
I was offered downloading an app from NJM as well in return for a discount but I turned it down. I'm with the too much big brother point of view as well. The savings isn't worth the oversight to me.
 
RUBubba said:
For those of you with Geico, please pay attention to the coverage. I am an independent agent and on far too many occasions have seen that they have lowered limits of coverage, usually the PIP (health insurance) and uninsured/underinsured limits. They may also put your health insurance as primary coverage in the event of an injury due to an accident, but your health insurance (if you even have it) may prohibit this.
Also please don't assume "everything is the same" as I have heard just about every time either. They may not even ask the questions outside of what liability limit and what physical damage coverage deductible do you want. On one memorable occasion, Geico dropped collision on a client with a 1 year old car... but she was "saving" $400 a year...
Click to expand...

Very, very true - see this in my line of work (PI law) all the time... People are amazed (too late !) at how much coverage they gave up to have Geico "save" them $25/month....
 
I am with NJM for home and auto and have never had an issue with any claims and their rates are good. My only is the will not insure my motorcycle or my shore condo. I am going to look into USAA I hear their rates are fantastic and will see if they will bundle all of my insurances.
 
RU at the shore said:
Very, very true - see this in my line of work (PI law) all the time... People are amazed (too late !) at how much coverage they gave up to have Geico "save" them $25/month....
Click to expand...

that can be very true for those first quotes you get.....but I can match up my declarations pages and see side by side the exact same or better coverage. And a simple call to your Medical Provider can confirm the primary coverage option.

If people aren't smart enough to do the homework...what can I say.
 
No one has mentioned State Farm. I've used them for years. They work well with body shops, according to the shop owners I've talked to. I have to admit I've never come to them on a issue like the OP's, but I think they're worth asking.
 
RU Golfer, to the best of my knowledge, USAA will not do your motorcycle or shore home. Still a lot of companies that refuse to do coastal properties. They also have different definitions of "coastal". Some say two miles from tidal water, some say five miles, etc. Gets really screwy around the Raritan river & Bay too.

1984, wholly agree, but some companies also "code" their coverage options. They may show "Option E" instead of listing a limit.
 
RUBubba said:
For those of you with Geico, please pay attention to the coverage. I am an independent agent and on far too many occasions have seen that they have lowered limits of coverage, usually the PIP (health insurance) and uninsured/underinsured limits. They may also put your health insurance as primary coverage in the event of an injury due to an accident, but your health insurance (if you even have it) may prohibit this.
Also please don't assume "everything is the same" as I have heard just about every time either. They may not even ask the questions outside of what liability limit and what physical damage coverage deductible do you want. On one memorable occasion, Geico dropped collision on a client with a 1 year old car... but she was "saving" $400 a year...

NJM auto is still outstanding, though not quite as untouchable as they were 5-10 years ago. Their homeowners policy is very vanilla, and may not include very important coverage that you assume you have.
Click to expand...
I have both home/auto with NJM. Any particular company you recommend for home insurance?
 
Hopefully these young adults are paying for their insurance, solely. Nice that you offer to help with the research.
 
I moved from NJ to North Carolina and my Allstate bill went from over $200/mo to about $130.
 
BigLou said:
Sorry for an off topic post during Game Week but this forum is a good source of info

My 24 year old son is buying a new car. Unlike the one he has been driving since high school, this will be in his own name.
We are shopping auto insurance. I get our insurance through Allstate which is pricey but has great service, especially with claims
So far we have quotes from Progress, GEICO and Allstate for him. Progressive was about $500 for 6 month, GEICO was about $640 and Allstate about $1200.

He's a good driver, no accidents and his last ticket (knock on wood) was almost 5 years ago.
Question: Anyone have claim experience with any of these companies and if so, how well was the claim handled. Any other companies I should check out?
Click to expand...
Go for NJM.
 
Racinejake said:
So having NJM is worth paying an extra $1000 per year over Progressive?
Click to expand...

NO! Major name insurers have have upped their games over the years on claims and you should consider them all equal on that. If you have doubts about coverages compare side by side and ask questions.
 
Back in the late 80’s, I think I was paying $4500 a year on my brand new Mustang. Got married and moved to Bergen county and the amount dropped to $1000. Go figure. Being married didn’t change my driving habits!
 
Section124 said:
Back in the late 80’s, I think I was paying $4500 a year on my brand new Mustang. Got married and moved to Bergen county and the amount dropped to $1000. Go figure. Being married didn’t change my driving habits!
Click to expand...
Soooo- you are Italian? Why did you choose the Mustang over the Transam?
 
We have been with NJ Manufacturers for ever. Have been satisfied and would recommend. We also have a policy with State Farm for a car we have in Florida. One interesting benefit which obviously doesn't apply to your sun is we can turn the insurance on and off when we are not there. Only get charged a very nominal amount to keep policy active and give them a heads up to turn it on when we are there.
 
Mr_Twister said:
Hopefully these young adults are paying for their insurance, solely. Nice that you offer to help with the research.
Click to expand...

Yes my son is paying for his insurance,and the car he is buying. In fact, he has been paying his portion currently while on my policy (I own the car he has been driving since high school so its on my insurance - and I will keep the proceeds when I sell the car). In fact the loser in this situation is me since evidently the cost of my policy will be reduced by less than what I have been charging him so my cost goes up).

We ended up going with GEICO who at $640 for 6 months was more expensive that Progressive by about $100. I was afraid that with Progressive, some of the discounts were one time things and there would be a price increase on renewal. Still a much better price that Allstate, Liberty Mutual and NJM.

One thing that happened with GEICO was they tried to push us on the medical expense by recommending that we take the lowest minimum of $15,000 of coverage for medical expenses. They said that since my son has health insurance he is over insured at anything above that. We elected to take max coverage which only changed the premium by a couple of dollars per month.

Thanks everyone for your input.
 
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yesrutgers01 said:
Soooo- you are Italian? Why did you choose the Mustang over the Transam?
Click to expand...
Definitely not Italian. Back then, Mustangs were for All American boys like me. IROC’s and TransAm’s were for Guidos from where I came from! :smiley:
 
We have Geico and both my daughters pay about $1200 a year. My daughter rear ended a guy last year and he attempted to sue us, even though it was a fender bender. It reminded me of the Brady Bunch episode. Geico was really great through the whole process. I didn't bother hiring an attorney because I knew it was bogus and so did they.

 
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FYI, umbrella policies include coverage for the cost of defense for lawsuits. Company's attorney of choice, in all likelihood, in house attorney.
 
Still might be worth considering the option of not buying the car in his name but rather in your name (or your wife's). You could still make him responsible for making payments, fuel, maintenance, etc. It would be better to keep a 24yo on your policy for a better/lower rate (for at least another year until he passes the age 25 threshold, or even longer), especially if he is living under your roof. He can also be responsible for paying the new vehicle's portion of the premium.
 
1984 said:
I don't believe it. The unit BEEPS if you brake too hard. So far only 1 beep over 2 cars in a week. But how the heck does it know you braked hard for a good reason?

They say MOST drivers get a break. I took the leap of faith. You would think our spotless records would be all that is needed. They publish a monthly report...so worst case is I cancel and pay the higher amount.
Click to expand...
I tried snapshot but I lived on a road with a 6 degree incline and there just isn't a way not to set it off when you go down that twice a day.
 
RUnTeX said:
Still might be worth considering the option of not buying the car in his name but rather in your name (or your wife's). You could still make him responsible for making payments, fuel, maintenance, etc. It would be better to keep a 24yo on your policy for a better/lower rate (for at least another year until he passes the age 25 threshold, or even longer), especially if he is living under your roof. He can also be responsible for paying the new vehicle's portion of the premium.
Click to expand...

Yes you could but its time to get him to stand on his own. He has been working for 2 years living at home so he has saved quite a bit. While he has built up a nice credit rating for one his age having a car loan in his name will boost it. The cost of his own insurance is not much more than what he was reimbursing me for my policy.
I have kept him on my health insurance benefits because, while he can get his own from his employer, my cost would not go down if I took him off my policy.
 
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Harambe_be_my_qb said:
I tried snapshot but I lived on a road with a 6 degree incline and there just isn't a way not to set it off when you go down that twice a day.
Click to expand...
seems very sensitive so far. just came back from the shore via 195....must have gone off 6 times...+1 for the deer that came out on the county road ...we'll see.
 
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