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OT: Car Insurance

RUfanSinceAnderson

All American
Gold Member
Feb 1, 2006
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So I have New Jersey Manufacturers and while probably more expensive they give a dividend and have been very reliable, full service and pay quickly when needed.

Just added another car along with a brand new 17 year old driver and our insurance (used to be 2 adults and 2 cars) and the insurance more than doubled- from $2800 to $6800.

Any insights on other reliable providers out there? (just don't know if I can trust Cure, Geico, etc)
 
It's the 17 year old that's driving up your rates, not the extra car.

Really depends on what matters to you. Looking to save some money or want peace of mind. Personally, I'd keep NJM, but everyone's tolerance is different.

Here's the most important thing. If you go with someone like Geico, make sure you also buy an umbrella policy.
 
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It's the 17 year old that's driving up your rates, not the extra car.

Really depends on what matters to you. Looking to save some money or want peace of mind. Personally, I'd keep NJM, but everyone's tolerance is different.

Here's the most important thing. If you go with someone like Geico, make sure you also buy an umbrella policy.
I believe I have a personal umbrella policy from my work. Why would I need one with Geico? Is there a limit with them?
 
You can do what my dad did. When i became 17 i was under his policy but i paid him my share of the insurance money.
 
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I believe I have a personal umbrella policy from my work. Why would I need one with Geico? Is there a limit with them?
You believe you have a personal umbrella or you know or you know you do? I can talk this through further if you want to leave your email (cryptically, of course).
 
The rates going up so drastically is definitely because of kids and cell phones as every kid has one and texts 50 billion times a day
 
You need to have the 17 year listed as the principal driver of the oldest car on your policy. $4000 for one kid is ridiculous.....we paid $2400 extra year when our kids were added to the policy. NJM only wants no risk drivers and wont accept any new business from applicants that have new drivers or any tix etc.

Liberty Mutual gives a discount for Rutgers Alumni. Try bundling your homeowners and car with the same company we did this and saved about $1000 between both policies
 
Call around and get quotes.

This was a bunch of years back, and I'm single, but I saved hundreds of dollars by switching to Geico.

Why I was paying so much with my previous company I do not know. But I feel it was because I was paying my bill and not asking questions and they were simply not giving me the best rate possible. Might be the same in your case.
 
NJM has become very expensive. I switched to GEICO two years ago and I'm paying about half what I was paying with NJM.
 
I have Allstate and pay around $5,100 per year. The policy changes every 6 months. I have 4 drivers including a 22 y/o and a 17 y/o and 4 cars. Great customer service at both the agent level and claim center level. I do have my homeowners and umbrella policies with the same company.
We have been customers for a very long time and that probably gets us a discount.
 
You need to have the 17 year listed as the principal driver of the oldest car on your policy. $4000 for one kid is ridiculous.....we paid $2400 extra year when our kids were added to the policy. NJM only wants no risk drivers and wont accept any new business from applicants that have new drivers or any tix etc.

Liberty Mutual gives a discount for Rutgers Alumni. Try bundling your homeowners and car with the same company we did this and saved about $1000 between both policies

NJM does not only want no risk drivers. They recently opened their membership requirements to allow more drivers. I know someone who just saved $2200 by switching to NJM from Liberty Mutual.

NJM has become very expensive. I switched to GEICO two years ago and I'm paying about half what I was paying with NJM.

NJM has a new rating plan and is certainly the industry leader in NJ. I would get another quote with NJM if I were you - especially if you have good driving history.

Insurance is driven by statistics but quotes are issued on an individualized basis. It is impossible to compare quotes on word of mouth without knowing many many more details.

To the guy with the 17 year old, put that 17 yr old on the oldest car like another poster suggested, and if it is old enough (and you are comfortable) make that car liability only to avoid the bloated comp/coll premiums associated with new drivers.

Personally I just tried getting a quote with Allstate - would've saved me $50 but after NJMs dividends I'd come out worse by switching.
 
I'm glad I'm not the only one recently surprised by NJM rate hikes! Just added a Mercedes and was shocked at the increase but I priced NJCure and saw they were almost a thousand higher...ill just stick with NJM, wife and I both have clean histories.
 
I'm an agent. NJM is still very good, but certainly not the gold standard they were a few years ago. The dividend is one of the greatest marketing & sales tools ever. People are addicted to it, even though I frequently quote against NJM and beat them even with the dividend. Its like a free t-shirt. People go nuts for it.
As someone else said, you just can not compare your rate to someone elses. There are so many rating variable involved, even if you think you and your neighbor are "similar".

To the poster that thinks he has an umbrella through work... chances are, you don't. Its called a "personal umbrella" and it goes over your cars, homes, boats, etc.... not your work stuff. Many companies may require you have one (some salesmen that use their vehicles for work being one example), but it would still be your responsibility to get one.

Be VERY careful with Geico. They will lower some limits of coverage, usually your health insurance (PIP) for auto related injuries. It can produce a nice premium, but can leave you with a huge gap in coverage in the event of an accident.
 
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To the poster that thinks he has an umbrella through work... chances are, you don't. Its called a "personal umbrella" and it goes over your cars, homes, boats, etc.... not your work stuff. Many companies may require you have one (some salesmen that use their vehicles for work being one example), but it would still be your responsibility to get one.
Actually, some employers purchase a "group" personal umbrella program that allows a defined population of their workforce (i.e. VPs & above, as an example) to access pre-determined personal umbrella pricing that is cheaper in a group than it would be one-off. It would typically be offered as part of the annual benefits enrollment offering. It's not common, but it is available in the marketplace (typically through Chubb or AIG). That's why I asked.
 
I had Allstate for years - plus my homeowners and umbrella. 2 adults and 2 boys with 4 cars.The cost was $8,000 in Florida. That made me quickly move to Geico. I now pay $271 for 3 drivers and 3 cars. $3200. (son graduated and got a job). I couldn't be happier with the service.
 
NJM is much cheaper than the rest, unless you are getting into a lot of accidents which raise your rates, at that point you are better off with something else.
 
Actually, some employers purchase a "group" personal umbrella program that allows a defined population of their workforce (i.e. VPs & above, as an example) to access pre-determined personal umbrella pricing that is cheaper in a group than it would be one-off. It would typically be offered as part of the annual benefits enrollment offering. It's not common, but it is available in the marketplace (typically through Chubb or AIG). That's why I asked.

Interesting. Not something that I was aware of. I would be curious to see one to see how they work.
 
I suggest you talk to an independent agent that works with several carriers , have them run quotes for you and go from there.
 
New Jersey manufacturers is considered the creme de la crème of policies. That said personally, as a 50+ year old with not such a great credit score I've found that the two lowest priced companies were with AAA and Allstate. Allstate has the reputation of being cheapest but with lousy customer service and God knows what problems with accidents.***The last time I tried to change (year I basically escaped foreclosure) Allstate could not match AAA within a few hundred (I cused to pay $1,000 more a year Liberty Mutual than with AAA and Geicos prices were exorbitant). Also coincidemntially Allstate changed coverage lower to provide a lower quote. I thought that bait and switch.

That said Ive been real disappointed with the new agents in the Bridgewater AAA office. Run their operations like its Wall Street. Don't want to deal with changes, yada.

Also with AAA they now have a 2nd 3rd party provider (pool). The first with Erie Insurance Company was lower by hundreds per year.

As other have suggested a 17 year old on a new car will cause your policy costs to skyrocket. Learn the discounts (ie. good student, safe driver class, airbags, security measures) and what each provider bases its rates on.

Most savings occur when you give up threshold (the right to sue in most cases) and raise your deductible. If your employer will cover in case of an accident/hospitalization, I believe you don't need a ton of such coverage with auto. Check to see how many annual miles you are driv ing per car.
 
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