Auto/Home Insurance

[Tanis143]

Earlier this year I did some shopping for new insurance due to Progressive scre...er... not being so kind to me. If you can, I found USAA to be the cheapest when you compare like policies though USAA throws in a few more than others. Plus, they do not do depreciation. They cover the actual cost of replacement, something Progressive did not (Gave me just over $2500.00 to replace my roof, gutters and a heavy-duty metal patio cover. Roof alone was over 11,000!).

 

[dennishoddy]

Earlier this year I did some shopping for new insurance due to Progressive scre...er... not being so kind to me. If you can, I found USAA to be the cheapest when you compare like policies though USAA throws in a few more than others. Plus, they do not do depreciation. They cover the actual cost of replacement, something Progressive did not (Gave me just over $2500.00 to replace my roof, gutters and a heavy-duty metal patio cover. Roof alone was over 11,000!).

We bundle everything through USAA. They cover our home, vehicles, outbuildings, tractor, guns, and wife’s jewelry without riders. Most companies cover guns with a 5K max unless adding a rider. We wondered about that so called and asked about gun coverage. We were told there wasn’t a limit but to be sure and have good documentation.

 

[FullAuto]

I worked for State Farm as an auto adjuster for a decade. State Farm is expensive. They don't try to hide it. They are only targeting the "best" of potential customers. They want customers that can afford to pay their premiums and want a good product. After being there, I will say I am NOT a fan of the way the company is ran internally. But to be fair, they will pay the highest of the companies for your repairs.

After leaving State Farm, I am now on the repair side of the business. I bill all the insurance companies. IMO, USAA is a close second. They pay very well and will repair your car correctly. Farm Bureau and American Farmer's & Ranchers are both up there too. The next step down brings in most of the other big names; Allstate, Shelter, AAA, Liberty Mutual, Farmer's.

Progressive is a clear step below all the other big names but it's important to note they have a different business model. Progressive is sold by independent agents. They are the best insurer typically for second tier customers. If you don't have the best credit, have a rough claim history, a DUI, etc., Progressive is usually your best bet. They are taking the customers the big name companies don't want. Their premiums aren't competitive if you are an A class customer. They also have lower repair standards than most everyone else. Forget getting OEM parts, they won't even buy you certified aftermarket parts. They rely heavily on the shop's ability to price match OEM to the junk they authorize. This doesn't always work out so sometimes your car is going to be put back together with low quality junk. They are pretty fair outside of their parts purchasing though. They will pay for proper repair procedures.

Last but not least, there is Geico. This is by far the worst company of any of the household names. It's trash insurance. If you are paying them, it's for the verification only. Don't even consider paying more than liability coverage with them. They are the most dishonest, shady company out there. There is zero chance your car is being repaired correctly without you paying out of pocket for it. Try and find a shop where the employees have Geico. It's not going to happen. If you're in the business, you know. Even their direct repairs will tell you they're trash. They are only direct repair for the volume. Their direct repairs will primarily be large, multi-shop organizations that have no problems sacrificing quality. The independents that don't cut corners would never consider being on their program. Most shops reject Geico jobs than any other company. IF you're hit by a Geico customer, use your own insurance.

 

[Snattlerake]

I worked for State Farm as an auto adjuster for a decade. State Farm is expensive. They don't try to hide it. They are only targeting the "best" of potential customers. They want customers that can afford to pay their premiums and want a good product. After being there, I will say I am NOT a fan of the way the company is ran internally. But to be fair, they will pay the highest of the companies for your repairs.

After leaving State Farm, I am now on the repair side of the business. I bill all the insurance companies. IMO, USAA is a close second. They pay very well and will repair your car correctly. Farm Bureau and American Farmer's & Ranchers are both up there too. The next step down brings in most of the other big names; Allstate, Shelter, AAA, Liberty Mutual, Farmer's.

Progressive is a clear step below all the other big names but it's important to note they have a different business model. Progressive is sold by independent agents. They are the best insurer typically for second tier customers. If you don't have the best credit, have a rough claim history, a DUI, etc., Progressive is usually your best bet. They are taking the customers the big name companies don't want. Their premiums aren't competitive if you are an A class customer. They also have lower repair standards than most everyone else. Forget getting OEM parts, they won't even buy you certified aftermarket parts. They rely heavily on the shop's ability to price match OEM to the junk they authorize. This doesn't always work out so sometimes your car is going to be put back together with low quality junk. They are pretty fair outside of their parts purchasing though. They will pay for proper repair procedures.

Last but not least, there is Geico. This is by far the worst company of any of the household names. It's trash insurance. If you are paying them, it's for the verification only. Don't even consider paying more than liability coverage with them. They are the most dishonest, shady company out there. There is zero chance your car is being repaired correctly without you paying out of pocket for it. Try and find a shop where the employees have Geico. It's not going to happen. If you're in the business, you know. Even their direct repairs will tell you they're trash. They are only direct repair for the volume. Their direct repairs will primarily be large, multi-shop organizations that have no problems sacrificing quality. The independents that don't cut corners would never consider being on their program. Most shops reject Geico jobs than any other company. IF you're hit by a Geico customer, use your own insurance.

I agree with everything you have spelled out above. What is your take on Allstate? This is the insurance I have. Yes it is expensive but they made us take the car we had insured to a certain shop where they only used genuine OE parts. If the OE part wasn't available, they went online and ordered them and paid the extra shipping just to get an OE fender. The shop was great with communication between Alstate and us and I feel was really trying to make the repair as if it never happened. That is precisely what we received on our Infinity.

As a side note I was a State Farm customer for over 20 years and the price creeped up on us. We contacted them and they would do nothing for us. NOTHING. We left them for Allstate and State Farm calls me every month wanting us back. I told them the last time they had their chance and to take me off their list.

 

[Parks 788]

Thanks for the replies. Lots of great info. USAA comes up a lot. Do you have to be current or past military to have coverage? I need to look into them if not. Also was happy with AAA here in CA for many years until my son started driving then it got expensive. We've had Traveler for the last 15 months in CA until this SF stuff recently.

 

[Parks 788]

Just answered my own question. Looks like I don't qualify for memebership with USAA, No immediate family in the military. On to the next option.

 

[FullAuto]

I agree with everything you have spelled out above. What is your take on Allstate? This is the insurance I have. Yes it is expensive but they made us take the car we had insured to a certain shop where they only used genuine OE parts. If the OE part wasn't available, they went online and ordered them and paid the extra shipping just to get an OE fender. The shop was great with communication between Alstate and us and I feel was really trying to make the repair as if it never happened. That is precisely what we received on our Infinity.

As a side note I was a State Farm customer for over 20 years and the price creeped up on us. We contacted them and they would do nothing for us. NOTHING. We left them for Allstate and State Farm calls me every month wanting us back. I told them the last time they had their chance and to take me off their list.

As an adjuster, I would hear all the stories about all the insurers from various shops. They would use what others do against us for a comparison as well as just ***** about the other companies too. Don't get me wrong, plenty of shops don't like State Farm but it's usually for some specific trigger at that specific shop. There was never much negative said about Allstate. They were the first to go to virtual estimating and make the shop us an app, even pre-Covid. So that was very negative at the time. Now it's common and staying so Allstate was just first and change isn't liked. They do buy aftermarket parts on their estimates, but reality is, as long as it's a certified part (and it will be with almost everyone but Geico), then a huge majority of those parts can be price-matched to OE parts. If a shop is using Keystone sheetmetal parts (which is considering the highest quality of the aftermarket parts) on an insurance job, it's typically because they are morons and their office personnel suck. Usually this is going to be a small independent where the office person is the shop owner and also performs some shop function like bodyman or painter. If a shop is large enough to have a full time estimator, then they've usually figured out the game by them.

>90% of car repairs out there are going to come down to the shop, not the insurance. It's a game. People always get hung up over what the estimate from the insurer says, usually aftermarket or recycled/used parts. This has very little impact for a professional shop estimator. The shop will ultimately decide how they're going to repair your car. Either they will do it correctly or they won't. In all cases, they will make more money with certain insurers like State Farm/USAA paying them, but the Farmer's car is still being delivered to the customer in the same condition. Again, the only exception is Geico. There is zero chance of your car being repaired correctly off their payment. If you can find a shop they will pull all OE repair information (and there are very few out there) Geico will not approve it. Everyone in the insurance business or repair business knows they are a punchline.

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

No matter which company you go with, you should re-shop the insurance about every 5 years. All policies will 'creep' in price. A new company kind of resets the price.

Good luck!

I agree but watch the like-for-like coverages. I'd like to dump State Farm but my full roof replacement coverage is grand-fathered since I started the policy when the roof was only 5 years old. If I go with another company I lose that full coverage for prorated coverage and at 16 years I'm almost of the hook for the cost of the entire roof.

 

[Chuckie]

I don't drive anymore (sucks trying to get to a gun range now LOL) but my renters insurance is with USAA.

 

[Range Plunker]

When shopping auto and home insurance, several observations, first, you should look at whether your current coverage limits and deductibles are inline with the times; second, you will see inflation has impacted insurance companies estimates for home replacement value; third, when considering companies, remember the real issue is how they handle claims and whether they offer 6 month or 12 month policies. Finally, for those that have made a claim for either auto or home, companies tend to shy away from home claims within three years, and for auto, even minor claims can impact your options. (I currently use Kemper, and have bundled both auto and home; and while I've used them for three years, I annually search the market to make sure they are competitive.)