Best way to shop car insurance and how frequently do you all do it?

[LoveBWVVBR]

Honestly, we haven't shopped ours in years. We have GEICO, no accidents or tickets, and it still seems high. I know I should shop it, but it seems like a pain. Is there a relatively painless way to do it, like a company that can check a bunch of different places for quotes? Do you all call places like Progressive, AAA, State Farm, etc. individually? I want to do this before the end of the year as our renewal is coming up. Thanks.

ETA - Also, is there such a thing as price matching? I don't like the idea of changing from GEICO since we have other policies with them. If another quote is much cheaper could I get them to price match it?

 

[Eastern]

I felt the same way.

This year I went online about 2 months before renewal and priced out 3 policies for auto from different places. (My auto had gotten ridiculously high.) I got my quotes, but I also started receiving solicitations from other agents. So I wonder if there is some data bank that shows you are shopping around. Then when I got my new renewal policy from my current insurer, the price had gone down by about 3k. So I don't know if shopping around had anything to do with it or not, but I was very surprised.

 

[brios86]

We were paying about $800 for 2 cars. We shopped around. We now pay $390 for 2 cars. The car we sold was worth the least. I wish we had shopped around earlier! We went from Geico to Esurance. Ironically we used to have Esurance years ago and left them bc Geico was less expensive last time we shopped around. We also reduced out deductible and still saved money.

ETA: I do not think they pricematch. Geico could not offer anything when I called to cancel. Same thing with Esurance last time we switched.

 

[NinaBella]

Careful, when you shop around online they are not pulling in your MVR or CLUE report. Insurance score is a complicated matter. So the quote you are getting initially may change after you sign up with a new company and they get the MVR and CLUE reports.

What I find crazy is some insurance companies charge fees to pay your bill. There are a lot of hidden fees with some companies. I hear it all the time about two months in to a new company they start seeing rate increases and and hidden fees. I would go with a reputable company that you know will support you during the claims process, not fight against you.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Careful, when you shop around online they are not pulling in your MVR or CLUE report. Insurance score is a complicated matter. So the quote you are getting initially may change after you sign up with a new company and they get the MVR and CLUE reports.

What I find crazy is some insurance companies charge fees to pay your bill. There are a lot of hidden fees with some companies. I hear it all the time about two months in to a new company they start seeing rate increases and and hidden fees. I would go with a reputable company that you know will support you during the claims process, not fight against you.

GEICO charges a fee to pay my bill anything other than monthly! It's nuts! I just want to pay it once a year and be done with it.

ITA about making sure the company is reputable. I guess that's another reason I've dragged my feet on shopping around. We are paying more than we should though, I'm sure of it. UGH, insurance shopping is no fun.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

We were paying about $800 for 2 cars. We shopped around. We now pay $390 for 2 cars. The car we sold was worth the least. I wish we had shopped around earlier! We went from Geico to Esurance. Ironically we used to have Esurance years ago and left them bc Geico was less expensive last time we shopped around. We also reduced out deductible and still saved money.

ETA: I do not think they pricematch. Geico could not offer anything when I called to cancel. Same thing with Esurance last time we switched.

This is us too, but I think we are at around $900 and change twice a year and one of the cars is 10 years-old. I am going to look at esurance now.

 

[disfanforlife]

I feel the same way. Our local insurance agency closed. One of the reasons I went with them was to support local business. Now, my policy is shipped out to an office in another town. Is esurance an online only insurer? I definitely want to try to get a better rate this year too!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Esuramce was within a few dollars of what we currently pay with Geico. I'm going to shop it with 2 more places, but I'm not too optimistic about getting a lower rate right now.

 

[usnuzuloose]

The way I see it , sometimes you may get a good rate. But what it comes down to what happens if you have an accident are you getting the full protection of what you need? I have 4 vehicles to insure and one is a million dollar policy for business. I pay a little over 200 a month and that is full coverage for all 3. Not including the umbrella one. That is around 111.00 a month. I was very happy to have the full coverage because we had lost both of our vans for the business and the coverage was so worth it for us.

 

[bearzabout]

Call an agent and look into bundling the car insurance with home owners insurance. Sometimes they offer a discount. We pay $500-600 per year for quality car insurance and save on our homeowner's policy.

 

[Eighty8Keys]

I've been with the same agent for 26 years now. Actually I started with his dad and when the son joined the business they divided up the policyholders and I ended up with the son. I don't feel like I'm overpaying my premiums and I'm reluctant to shop around because I don't want the continuous sales calls from the other agents. The two times I had to file a claim, it was paid promptly without a hassle. At work we're dealing with an insurance company for a vehicle that caused an accident on the street and drove through our fence. The insurance company is one I'd never heard of and has been stalling for months now claiming they need more time to gather information and interview witnesses. The accident was clearly their insured's fault and our fence repair bill isn't high. I'm thinking that no way would I want to be a customer of that company, no matter how low their rates are.

 

[tvguy]

I have all my insurance with one company. When I have price shop, I may get a lower quote for the auto, but the homeowners is higher. Or the Auto is higher, and the homeowners lower. Or the Umbrella policy is more or less. Bottom line, no matter who I get a quote from the TOTAL bill for all my insurance is almost the same.

Now, I did just a shock when I bought a class car last month. My classic car is worth twice what my 4 other cars are worth combined. Insurance is is $300 a year, same coverage as my other cars, except it has zero deductable, and free unlimited towing. Insurance agent said classic car and travel insurance are the lowest risk policies in the insurance industry.

 

[amcnj]

I check every 3-5 years or so, just to keep them honest! It can be a hassle, especially since I get a homeowner's quote too. And usually I find little difference for the same coverage at companies I consider to be equivalent so far as customer service and reputation. I have actually switched back and forth maybe three or four times over the decades between two highly regarded companies in my area. The difference was never a really large amount though, and over time they seem to stay pretty close in price to one another. Right now I am on hold so far as checking for rates as I am waiting for a newer driver to get a certain number of years of experience as I was told last time I tried to get a quote from "my other company" that I would go into their higher risk subsidiary company if I switched before that level of experience was attained.

 

[tiggerluver12]

How do you go about getting car/rental insurance in a state you will be moving to? Have a family member moving to California this next summer and will need car/rental insurance independent of parents. So first time on their own.

 

[amcnj]

How do you go about getting car/rental insurance in a state you will be moving to? Have a family member moving to California this next summer and will need car/rental insurance independent of parents. So first time on their own.

Do they already have an address there? I would think they would need that to write a policy. A lot of companies are national or at least multi-state. So they can check with their current insurance company to see if they offer policies in CA and what they would need. Otherwise the process is the same as getting any quote I would imagine. Also for the auto insurance maybe check what the current company says so far as covering them under the existing policy for a certain period of time after having moved. I see out of state plates around where I live even though the people are now living here. Though some may be temporary moves I guess.

 

[here757]

We have USAA.. So no we don't shop around. If u do just be aware if u have more then one policy.. U may lose discounts. I will admit that we have motorcycle insurance with Geico. We switched from progressive when my husband bought his Harley mostly because of cost. But at the time I was an insurance agent and had idea which company to start with.

 

[agavegirl1]

We have USAA.. So no we don't shop around. If u do just be aware if u have more then one policy.. U may lose discounts. I will admit that we have motorcycle insurance with Geico. We switched from progressive when my husband bought his Harley mostly because of cost. But at the time I was an insurance agent and had idea which company to start with.

This is what I am looking at. Certain discounts may be lost when shopping out you car insurance when you have homeowner's insurance with the company as well. Many online companies are unable to quote an accurate rate without inspecting the home in question so you can receive multi-policy discounts.

 

[here757]

This is what I am looking at. Certain discounts may be lost when shopping out you car insurance when you have homeowner's insurance with the company as well. Many online companies are unable to quote an accurate rate without inspecting the home in question so you can receive multi-policy discounts.

I don't think anyone does in person inspection anymore.. Unless there are certain certain situations. I.e. Multi million $$$ homes. Unique features . ( I once had a guy with an escalator) run down side of a hill to a lake. Generally we use software written by Taylor swift & Marshall. It uses square footage. Cost labor. Where u are. If garage built in,attached or detached. It's pretty accurate.

 

[agavegirl1]

I don't think anyone does in person inspection anymore.. Unless there are certain certain situations. I.e. Multi million $$$ homes. Unique features . ( I once had a guy with an escalator) run down side of a hill to a lake. Generally we use software written by Taylor swift & Marshall. It uses square footage. Cost labor. Where u are. If garage built in,attached or detached. It's pretty accurate.

I'm aware of the software and usually get a quote within a few bucks of eachother. However, there are unique features that need to be addressed for replacement cost my current company is aware of.

 

[here757]

I'm aware of the software and usually get a quote within a few bucks of eachother. However, there are unique features that need to be addressed for replacement cost my current company is aware of.

Make sure u tell the agent during quote. We can add I'm features