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acdesignsky

Auto Insurance @#%?

acdesignsky
18 years ago

I can not figure out what is going on w/ DH and I's auto insurance. Every year about this time, I start calling around for new quotes since our premium is always "too high" (or I think so). DH has a newly married friend. Before the wedding, he was a 32 yo single guy with a sporty car and a recent DUI and he was still paying 30% less than us!

We have one daily driver, a 2004 Hondaa Odessyey. We also have a 73 MB that is covered seperately. DH works from home and flies out to work weekly, so he doesn't need a car. I'm the only one to drive the minivan 98% of the time. The MB gets about 100 miles a month in the summer. DH had an accident that paid out We live in a suburban/rural area. Our homeowners and auto are with the same company.

We pay $1100 a yr. I called around and got quotes ranging from $1100-$1800 with all the same limits and deductibles.

That just seems way to high. Am I being silly? Is that reasonable? What do you pay in your neck of the woods?

.

Comments (19)

  • tandaina
    18 years ago

    Hmm I pay about $1200 a year. Single, over 25, no tickets. I had one accident about 3 years ago (wasn't at fault never saw a change in my insurance).

    I drive 2 hours every day but the insurance company doesn't even really care about that. From what I can tell it makes very little difference. I've got pretty beefy coverage though, roadside, maximum liability. The place I've seen teh MOST difference is in the deductible. Changing mine from $250 to $500 knocked a HUGE chunk off my insurance. Something to think about.

  • fairegold
    18 years ago

    Definately up the deductible to $500 or even $1000. And for heaven's sake, don't report little things like that little $300 fender-bender. Remember that insurance is for the things that you cannot afford to cover.

    You say that this policy does not cover the MB? That should be covered entirely separately on a policy for non-operation. Just tell the company when you will be driving it.

  • sue36
    18 years ago

    $1100 for a 2 year old minivan sounds cheap to me. I pay $700 for a 1998 Explorer with a perfect record.

    In our area a speeding ticket adds at least $100 per year for several years. The accident would probably be at least that much also.

    I used to get the low mileage deduction. You had to drive less than 10k miles per year and it was 10% off.

  • proudmamato4
    18 years ago

    We have Erie, and a 03 Minivan and 96 Compact Truck. Perfect driving records for at least past 10 years. $1100 approximately, high deductible. Sounds reasonable to me. My guess is DH's friend with the DUI has liability only with a high-risk company.

  • fairegold
    18 years ago

    Also consider zip code red-lining and your credit score. Here in California, your premium is directly related to your zip code. And if your credit score isn't perfect, your premiums will also be higher.

  • garden_graphic_gal
    18 years ago

    You can also get multi-car discounts and decreases in auto insurance if your home owners insurance is with the same company.
    I pay $800/yr for a 2005 Lexus RX and $840 for my 1997 BMW Z3, no tickets, 52 yrs old. All my insurance is with the same company (home, other cars, etc).
    They get ya no matter what!!!

  • PRO
    acdesignsky
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Ok, I guess I shouldn't complain. We didn't report the $300 accident, the other driver did. In both accidents, the insurance paid for the other driver's repairs only. We have a $500 deductible and the MB has antique car insurance ($50 a yr!). We've got very good credit, so that's not a factor.
    I guess I just remember too well the 90's when I was single, in my 20's and paid $400 a yr for insurance!

  • mary_228
    18 years ago

    We have three cars: a new Vette, a '97 minivan and a beater and our insurance is $1570 in the Chicago suburbs. We have a discount for having our home insured with them and DH's college alumni assn got us another 15% off! We carry high deductibles ($500 on collision) and we're delighted with the rate!

  • bill_vincent
    18 years ago

    As you should be. I've got a 2000 Dodge pickup, and a 96 Chrysler LHS, and for liability and comp only, for my wife and me, it's about 1400.00 a year, up here in crime ridden urban Maine. *oozing sarcasm*

  • User
    18 years ago

    Stop changing insurance companies every year. If you stay with the same company and establish a record with them, your insurance rate may go down. I live in suburban Baltimore and I pay $800 a year for my 2003 CR-V. I have a very good driving record, but since I've been with them for 30+ years, they tend to be forgiving.

  • pecanpie
    18 years ago

    mom47 has a point-ours has knocked a couple hundred off our yearly premium just to keep our business. Of course, we have 4 cars and two drivers under the age of 26-one a teen-age boy (highest risk subgroup) and lead-footed DivaD1 - and even with their good grades discount, our yearly premium is about the same as the GNP of a developing country.

    Makes my noggin hurt just thinking about it.

  • bill_vincent
    18 years ago

    momj47-- I tried that. I was with Progressive for three years, and all my insurace kept doing was going up. When I finally changed to Nationwide, it was up to just under 1600.00 a year, and that's with no at fault accidents or tickets literally in decades.

  • PRO
    acdesignsky
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    We don't actually switch every year. I just call around to see if it makes sense to switch. We had Allstate for 7 yrs (closer to 10 including when I was in college and before we were married), one other for 4 yrs, and our current carrier for 3 yrs.
    I'm dreading when our girls start to drive, but that's about a decade away!

  • bill_vincent
    18 years ago

    If Allstate was the last auto insurance on earth, I'd walk. I was involved in an auto accident about 6 years ago, where someone in a pick up went thru a stopsign right in front of me. As it was, I was going slow enough where I only caught the back end of the truck. It was enough to total out my blazer, though. The guy's insurance was Allstate, and when their adjuster called me to settle the claim, I was told that I was 25% at fault for the accident, because I COULD have either gone into the telephone pole to the right, or into oncoming traffic on the left, thereby avoiding their client. I'd tell you EXACTLY what I think of em, but forum rules won't allow it.

  • kathypass
    18 years ago

    We have two cars [with bill's favorite carrier ; )] a 2004 Saturn and a 2003 Explorer; renewal just came today and its 800.00 for the Saturn (annual) and $2000.00 for the Explorer.

    I also have a 19 year old daughter listed on the policy, which I'm sure doesn't help. Son will be 16 in June and going for permit, at 17 license, and I'm sure that will raise it even higher.

    And, that is with a "discount" for having my homeowners with them as well!

  • reno_fan
    18 years ago

    Allstate, State Farm and Farmers were all the highest quotes we got.

    We now have Liberty Mutual for car and home, and couldn't be happier. They were TONS cheaper than Allstate for homeowners (by half!!!!) and cheaper for auto (not by half, but by a large amount). For the *same* coverage.

    And they're wonderfully quick and accomodating should a claim arise. (I barreled into a six-point buck, and did over 5k damage to my Suburban. They paid everything within a day, and were so pleasant!)

    I too have my reasons to stay away from Allstate. We had them for years and LOVED our agent. Loved him. But his hands were tied when we actually had to submit claims and Allstate turned into the devil incarnate.....

  • snookums
    18 years ago

    We have 21st Century, two cars, and pay about $1250 a year.

  • celticmoon
    18 years ago

    We were at $1200 for 3 vehicles (96 Z28 ragtop seasonal only). Opted to drop collision on the older Toyota and raise deductable to $1000. Now we are at $750 a year. Sweet.

    50's, midwest city suburb, good driving records, longtime Nationwide customers, no claims.

  • PRO
    acdesignsky
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    I'm anti-Allstate now as well. First of all, they dropped my parents' home insurance after they'd been clients for at least 30 yrs due to one break-in. That put them into a high-risk pool which nearly tripled their premium.
    Before that, it turns out all those years DH and I had a policy that we were in Allstate Idenmity (which is a high risk pool). The agent never told us that we could have switched over 2-3 yrs after DH's last speeding ticket which was 9-21 months into the policy. In fact, he never told us that we were in a high risk pool at all. It was only after we got a new statement and were looking at paying nearly 3K a yr that I began calling around and kept being told Allstate Idenmity is not the same as "normal Allstate".
    We have Liberty Mutual now and since we're paying what appears to be an extremely fair premium (smile), we'll stay put.