Off Topic -- Auto insurance info

No info on specific companies but I was getting an oil change at the dealers (every other one is free!) and a gal was trying to get one of their rentals while her car was being serviced. Turned out she didn't have coverage on her own car insurance policy (they don't sell insurance coverage for their rentals) Anyway she was shocked she didn't have the coverage. I guess my long point here is sometimes the cheapies don't include everything. You may not want a particular coverage but reading the policy to find out what you ARE buying seems important.

We had to go over to AAA when we had teen drivers. They offered the cheapest coverage with the kids. Lots of companies don't like teens. Don't think that is an issue for you these days ; )

Looking forward to hearing for other folks too. Taria

Sandy Ellis> Howdy!

Cheap is not always the best. You need to make sure that you are comparing the policies exactly. Also, a lot of the companies give you better rates after the first year or so if they also write your homeowners insurance. I was in this business for over 20 years, and you would be amazed at the lack of coverage people had just because it is cheap. Unfortunately, they usually didn't realize it until they had a claim that wasn't covered. If I only had Nationwide and Travelers to choose from, I would choose Travelers.

Sherry Starr

Sandy-

If you or your hubby are over 50 y.o., I HIGHLY recommend The Hartford thru AARP. We saved almost $800 per year over the closest annual insurance bid on our three vehicles. I've had a couple of claims over the years- including when DH backed *our* car into *our* pick-up in

*our* driveway. They are prompt with calling you and keeping you informed and getting an adjuster to see you and they pay well and promptly. None of this getting cheap imitation parts. They will go with non-factory parts if the vehicle has over 50K miles on it, tho. I have been very pleased with them for about 8-9 years and recommend them highly.

Leslie & The n> Howdy!

Howdy!

Well, you're in my general neighborhood, you know how expensive our auto insurance is in the Metroplex. While I can stay w/ Farmers, checking out other companies that can save us HUNDREDS of dollars for the SAME coverage seems like a pretty good idea. Consumer Reports agrees. I've kept up w/ our insurance stuff for 33 yrs; I do know how to compare, I know what coverage we have and need. So I'm looking for alternatives. Thanks, Sherry.

Ragmop/Sandy --no teens, thankgod

Howdy!

Thanks, Leslie.

Being in the parts biz, husband checked w/ their body shop and they do mention that Nationwide okays "used or reconditioned parts" unless the policy specifies "OEM only." It makes a difference to us. He's about to catch up w/ 50 this month (I beat him to it ), and this is another factor. It's about time our age benefited us. ;-D ...hmmm...I had Hartford Insurance 35 yrs. ago. I'll check on AARP, they've been wanting me for 21 yrs..

Ragmop/Sandy--reminding the parents of pre-teens to forget about the college funds if you're going to have teenaged drivers -- start those savings accts. now! ;-P

DH & I had Hartford Insurance with AARP until about 8 years ago. We got higher limits of liability, lower deductibles for $650 a year less than Hartford. Farmers always has some of the highest rates around.

Sherry Starr

I can't speak about either one either, but I just researched insurance companies a couple of years ago, when our bank made the remark that they they thought our homeowners rates were very high. I called sooooo many companies & checked for both auto & homeowners, since we have both thru AAA. We had a carpet claim about 3 years ago, which increased our homeowners rates - however, when I questioned them about it, they checked our record & since we had not had any other claim in 20+ years, they removed the penalty! Hmm - who knew they would/could do that. I found that our rates were competitive or less than most of the other places I checked with. (I had heard that GEICO has cheaper rates, but that wasn't the case for us.) Anyway, to summarize, I increased our deductibles to the maximum for both auto & home & realized that it is almost never worthwhile to file a claim, unless it is for something major, because, one way or another, the insurance companies will penalize you, your rates go up & the claim you filed, you end up paying for in the new increased rates anyway!

When we bought this house I figured I would give my company a call and just add it to the policy. Wrong. There had been a $500 claim so nobody of any name would cover the place. Not a great thing to find out as you are trying to close on the house sale. You shouldn't get penalized for using what you pay for but it seem that happens (in our case it was the property not even us!) I have had pretty high deductibles for a long time. The policy costs are a lot less and not dealing with insurers is a good thing.

A guy with Geico t-boned ds (in my 3 month old car, ds totally not at fault) They were so bad to deal with every time I see that gecko I want to smash him! I guess they figure if they tell us they are cheapest enough we might forget to actually check their cost out. Taria

Paul> I can't speak about either one either, but I just researched insurance

Sorry about going through google....we just switched from Farmer's (been with them for our first year here, they still cover our house). We are now covered by LIberty Mutual with a saving of over $200 per year!! I ran a check online, not including my AAA information and the rate was the same that I was quoted supposedly with the AAA discount..but, hey, if it saves $200/year, then I'm happy. When I was younger, the entire family was covered by State Farm Insurance and we never had problems with them either.

Larisa

Sandy Ellis> Howdy!

I'll jump in here a little late. We've just been informed that our home owners insurance company has been seized by the state of Texas - it's out of money (the insurance co. not Texas). We've been running around looking for someone to take over the policy and we're adding our cars insurance to boot. It's amazing how much they can differ for basically the same coverage. In our case, Geico wasn't the cheapest. Allstate is the most expensive and we're waiting for the quote from State Farm. At this point, I think we're going to go with a local company unless State Farm comes up with a great deal. We were with our agent for 30 years and she informed us she couldn't place us with any other insurance companies. We aren't very happy with that agency and don't plan to deal with them every again.

DH was reading over my shoulder and proceeded to comment "Oh she's referring to her S.E.X. enabler/mobile". Just thought I'd share the humour. He is well trained! lol Referred to my stash as future quilt assets.

We've been with State Farm nearly 20 years, since our son started driving; they had the best "good student" rates and the kids knew they had to keep their grades up if they wanted to keep driving :). We haven't done any rate comparisons recently, but have been satisfied with State Farm; we've had a couple of minor fender benders that they've handled nicely. They also totalled a car that had some hail damage; not a bad deal for us as we'd been thinking about replacing the car anyhow.

Julia in MN

I have had State Farm since I came to Texas in 1988 for all out insurance needs. I have had some claims, a few rather large (roof damage, some water damage) and was never penalized with a bigger deductible or cancellation threats. My agent is always available and his "people" are wondeful. Yes I could get insurance cheaper,but I really value the service I receive. YMMV< JMHO, Linda in Tx

Howdy!

Thanks, Julia.

In Texas, State Farm and Farmers, w/ AllState a close 3rd, are running the high rates, taking turns requesting rate hikes, usually getting them. (Our state insurance oversight committee is a joke.) State Farm has about the highest rates, and according to industry (body shop and repairs) records, one of the highest customer complaint rates. AllState is worse. Farmers is okay, but slow. Btw, in the highest rates by state category, Tx. comes in at #13-- that's a bunch of $$$$$$$$$.

coverage closely follows the auto insurance rates. Again, we could stay w/ Farmers, have for almost 20 yrs. But there are better deals: the same coverage for less money, w/ good service. That's what I'm researching.

Thanks, all y'all, for your help.

And, Carol, you're husband is absolutely on target, it IS a S.E.X. enabler mobile! I have proof. ;-D

Ragm> We've been with State Farm nearly 20 years, since our son started

Lets hope you do not live in an area with a lot of natural disasters. Living in Mississippi has become an insurance nightmare. State Farm and Allstate are the worst for paying claims. They hire people for claims adjusters that know nothing about damages to homes or automobiles.

Allstate just announced that they were dropping wind and hail damage on thier policies as of Nov 2005. BUT if you have both auto and homeowners bundled together you have wind and hail. Another catch, the deductibles have gone up. Those is us in the hurricane damage area are being hit with another "Office policy of Allstate". Since we have filed claims for the hurricane and if we file a claim for anything on our automobiles or homes we will be charged a 5 percent surcharge on any future claims within the next five years. They hit you with the deductible on everything, then depreciate everything. I couldn't believe they depreciated the food I filed a claim for. By the time they pay out what they think they owe you, it will be only 25 percent of the actual cost of damages.

Have you considered Farm Bureau. I've heard nothing but good reports about them.

Kate T. South Mississippi

Meemic was very good for putting through both claims we had to submit over the last few years (one: chunk of concrete bounced up from road and smashed the windshield, thankfully DH was nto hurt and I wasn't in the car. The other: we were the middle car in a 3 car chain reaction thanks to an ambulance ride loving individual who wasn't paying attention -- or just wanted to ride in an abulance again. The emergency workers clued us in only enough to say she wasn't as hurt as she was claiming and that she has a thing for emergency vehicles -- she was leaving the hospital where they had taken her just the night before).

However, there are only two ways to get Meemic insurance -- be an employee of an educational institution (k-12 school, college, etc.) or get a recommendation certificate from an employee of an educational institution --- called ROSE certificate. I am pretty sure ours are expired or been trashed because we didn't have anyone to really recommend that wasnt' already an educator.

Farmers has been good to my grandparents but really ticked me off in my mom's accident but she's not switching -- I don't know why.

Good luck, Tricia

Sandy Ellis> Howdy!