anyone have Amica or experience with Amica auto insurance?


I'm with Nationwide and considering shopping around. I've heard some good things, but I have another friend who works in claims and said he rarely if ever sees anything from Amica come through so I wonder if they're as popular/great as they seem.

4/7/2011 12:05:51 PM

yep homeowners and auto

highly recommend

[Edited on April 7, 2011 at 12:20 PM. Reason : if you get a DUI they will drop your ass, fyi]

4/7/2011 12:11:39 PM

Sounds mexican, wouldn't trust it.

[Edited on April 7, 2011 at 12:39 PM. Reason : sorry thought this was chit chat]

4/7/2011 12:33:54 PM

I have AMICA. You cant really trust anyone's opinion on their insurance company until they file a claim.

I havent filed a claim, so I cant give you a good idea of their worth, but I will give you a few comments...

1) They are very very particular about who they insure. I had to answer a ridiculous number of questions about my dwellings, as well as having inspections of some of them. They wanted to know what type of pipes I have, how many guns are in the house, are the guns in a safe, do I have any trampolines (they wont insure you if you do) amongst a flurry of other questions. I have NEVER had an insurance company ask me so many questions. As part of all this, I had to sign a ton of declarations (electronically online). It was a major pain.

2) It does suck not having an agent that knows you. After I got my initial quote on 4 dwellings, 2 cars, and an umbrella policy (a lot of money), I couldnt get the agent that quoted me to do any requotes. She wont return my calls or emails. I had to call and speak with a new agent that knew nothing about me or my policies. A big disadvantage if you have a complex insurance setup.

3) Their rates are initially high, and then you get a divident paid back to you at the end of the year if they didnt suffer large losses. This means their rates will be higher than others initially, and you'll have to hope to get your 20% dividend at the end of the year to make them competitive.

4) My mother in law, a lawyer with her own firm, states that are better than average at paying their customers and claimants. She prefers Farm Bureau based on professional experience.

5) When I researched insurance companies, AMICA was ALWAYS at the top of consumer and professional surveys. This is why I selected them.

6) I did not insure my boat with them because they asked way too many questions for insurance, and their premium was significantly higher than the others.

[Edited on April 7, 2011 at 1:29 PM. Reason : .]

4/7/2011 1:26:59 PM

interesting. thanks for the heads up. I am interested in auto for 1 vehicle as well as renters insurance. hopefully it won't be much of a hassle.


i know they ask if you have had any claims in the last 5 years, i got into a wreck in 07, but I can't find any information via my nationwide online account info regarding that claim. I suppose i'll have to call?

4/7/2011 1:54:26 PM

They will run a clue report on you. I'd tell them you had an accident in 07, but dont remember the details. They will pull the report.

4/7/2011 1:56:47 PM

I was formerly with State Farm but State Farm raised my rates for no apparent reason this year so I switched to Amica after hearing good things about their customer service and rates. I shopped around with Nationwide, Progressive, Geico, and Allstate and Amica did come in the cheapest.

Albeit I haven't needed to file anything with Amica yet, but their rates are consistently lower than anything I've ever quoted. About 20-50% lower.

So much so that I have now switched my auto and home, my fiancee's auto and home, and my future-in-laws auto and home all to Amica. Plus you get the multi-line, multi-family discount on top to boot!

4/7/2011 2:12:39 PM

I also had the same problem with State Farm. They were raising all my home policies aout 40%. They gave some B.S. reason (not anything I did). I told them they could kiss my ass after I had been a good customer for over 10 years.

4/7/2011 2:29:39 PM

haha that was the same treatment I got from State Farm.....they told me some standard NC State raised insurance rates across the board so they had to blah blah blah......I told them I guess the 15 loyal years I've been with them doesn't count for anything and hung up

4/7/2011 2:59:01 PM

I had Amica until I got married ~8 years.

I will say I have tried to get my husband to switch back. I love them.

Customer Service- A+++++++++++++++

ex...windshield broke on the way to work.... Called the number. Before I drove home, they had looked at it, called a mobile repair guy and fixed it before I left work. I never had to hunt anyone down.

Another guy at work has Amica. His wife was in an accident. A guy picked her up from the tow place in what would be her rental car and got her all squared away with the car repairs within 3 hours.

At the time my premium was about 40% less than what I was paying with Gieco My husband won't switch because he is too lazy to change over the insurance on the houses, cars, etc. to another company.


[Edited on April 10, 2011 at 2:32 AM. Reason : ]

4/10/2011 2:30:11 AM

I wish I dealt with Amica claims more on a daily basis to give you some advice, so like your friend I don't have much to tell you based on experience. :-/ They just don't come up very often unfortunately. but ^ story seems like it's a quality company


but regarding SF...Pretty sure the State Farm home ins increase was due to the coastal home insurance issue last year. However, some times you get what you pay for...and I do know that SF is one of the easier insurance companies to work with when it comes to filing a claim

[Edited on April 10, 2011 at 9:10 AM. Reason : ]

4/10/2011 9:07:58 AM

How are the rates for Amica vs. Farm Bureau?

I got a half doze quotes last time my Farm Bureau came up for renewal, and no one could come near the rates I have with Farm Bureau. Changing insurance is a pain but any substantial savings can make it worth the trouble.

My family had State Farm for at least a decade and changed everything over to Farm Bureau when prep-e worked there. (due to it being way cheaper)

4/10/2011 10:40:52 AM

Have Amica auto and renters. Never had to file a claim yet, but haven't had any complaints about service or rates. When we signed on, they were cheaper than Farm Bureau for us. Very responsive in my experience.

4/10/2011 11:20:40 AM

so my Nationwide coverage just came up for renewal ( i knew it was close, just not this close) and it dropped almost 150 per 6 months! But i just moved and this is based on my old address. I'm scared if I call and change it may spike back up due to living in the city instead of a more suburban location. To be honest, or not?

4/13/2011 8:45:10 AM

Keep your mouth shut

What mama don't know, won't hurt her

4/13/2011 9:33:37 AM

4/13/2011 9:50:11 AM

welp, i was honest with Nationwide and my rate went back up a little bit. I called my agent to see if he could keep it at the previous level but he had no interest in really trying. The guy sounded like a complete retard (not my original agent). Has anyone ever switched agents within a company? Nationwide has always treated me well but I don't want to stay with this moron.

4/18/2011 1:50:10 PM

I changed agents within Amica. It was no problem.

If you do get insurance with Amica, there is an agent in the Raleigh office with the initials G.W.

I recommend she be avoided at all costs. A former colleague left them to go to Nationwide because of her. In my case, when I had problems with her, I just requested another agent and asked that she never deal with my account or me again.

[Edited on April 18, 2011 at 2:59 PM. Reason : p.s. Aside from the issue w/ that agent, I have been very satisfied.]

4/18/2011 2:58:09 PM

Having just switched to AMICA after State Farm rate increases in November, I am already looking to go elsewhere.

It started with the agent that helped put my policies together not returning phone calls or emails when I had some questions on my umbrella policy, and wanted to investigate them covering my boat. That was back in February.

I was asked to complete an online satisfaction survey a couple of weeks ago, which I did, and called out the representative for poor post sales support. I got a call from the Raleigh office.

When they found out why I was calling (about covering a boat), they got very interested. Started asking lots of questions about the boat. This is a 21 foot Supra wakeboarding boat used on lake gaston. My umbrella policy, up until that point, covered watercraft for coverage about 300k. Well, they considered wakeboarding too risky, and they told me they were writing out coverage of the wakeboarding boat from umbrella coverage. They wanted serial numbers and everything for my boat to expressly exclude it. I told them to go to hell.

So, bascially, if you do anything other than eat/sleep/work in your auto or home, the umbrella is practically useless.

They are so risk averse in their underwriting, that I'd advice against going with them until you are much older.

I am currently getting quotes from Eerie, hoping they will have better coverage for a similar price.

[Edited on July 13, 2011 at 10:14 AM. Reason : .]

7/13/2011 10:07:47 AM

test

7/13/2011 10:09:02 AM

I had to make sure the topic would be able to go bttt before I typed a long response/ It was edited now.

7/13/2011 10:12:48 AM

When I was shopping around for auto insurance, I looked at Amica. They were the 2nd most expensive (Progressive was 1st) and offered the least amount of coverage. The lady I spoke to was kinda snooty with a "well this is what we're offering, take it or leave it" attitude. They didn't seem like they'd be helpful if I ever had to file a claim. This was a few years ago so things may have changed, but that was my experience. I also don't have the cleanest driving record, so that could have something to do with it.

I checked out most major companies and ended up going with Allstate. They were the most friendly and took the time to meet with me and answer all my questions and find something that suited my needs. I've always been able to get in touch with my agent when I had questions (i.e. adding renter's insurance, switching cars, etc). It seems like they really care about their customers - tonight they're doing a free screening of the new Transformers movie with a bunch of prizes and giveaways.

7/13/2011 10:34:25 AM

My decision was based on market research and customer service satisfactions as well as the opinions of my mother in law, who is a lawyer that sues these companies all the time. She knows the ones that pay their claims properly, and the ones that try to get out of paying.

One of her favorites is Farm Bureau, but I won't use them over the silly $30 membership fee you have to pay every year. Its bogus.

7/13/2011 10:41:33 AM

an update on my OP, i contacted Amica but they were one of the higher and seemed less inclined to work with me to find any discounts. They still harped on an accident I had 5 years ago in an old vehicle. I ended up staying with Nationwide after all.

7/13/2011 11:01:45 AM

I just switched from Nationwide to Amica for two cars and my house. I'm now paying half of what I was. I can't believe I was too lazy to do this sooner.

7/3/2012 3:22:25 PM

just switched in may after the dickbags at travelers canceled my homeowners because of the tornadoes last year and the claim we made

BUT...it worked out for the best because not only was amica better coverage for less money regarding the homeowners, but their auto was significantly cheaper than either geico or progressive and with better coverage, as well

i'm a fan...so far

7/3/2012 3:43:48 PM

My mom recommended them after she switched and then immediately hit a deer in her brand new car (apparently they were great.)

However, I told the lady on the phone:

Quote :

"Honestly, I'm more excited because I've never seen an Amica ad on TV. At least I know you're not blowing my premium on way too many crappy ads."

Side note: I think the advertising tactic of "Customers who switched to us saved X on their insurance premiums!" should be illegal. I mean, no shit. If anybody tells you "Sure, we'll cover you. It'll be 15% more than you're paying now!" you ain't switching. Of course everybody who switches saves money. Assholes.

7/3/2012 4:28:40 PM

They're awesome and cheap; however, I'll shop around since their rates rose.

7/3/2012 7:01:36 PM

I was with Amiga switching from nationwide with full coverage...for the same price just for liability.

They were friendly enough, but decided to go with Erie after about 4 months of using them. Erie was at 55% what amica was because I had a claim in my nationwide for my convertible top being broken into.

7/3/2012 11:46:27 PM

Sounds like begonias was dealing with G.W. -- I'm disappointed to think she still has a job there.

Also, the original ask was about auto, but a lot of the feedback (including mine) came from people with combined policies. It's difficult to compare getting a quote for auto only vs. getting a quote for auto / home / umbrella.

[Edited on July 5, 2012 at 8:48 AM. Reason : .]

7/5/2012 8:43:52 AM

Insurance is now about $1000 a year for my new car. I def need to up the deductible, but thinking about just switching from Allstate. Is Amica still the way to go?

[Edited on January 18, 2015 at 6:48 PM. Reason : ]

1/18/2015 6:47:44 PM

Yes, if your record is clean.

1/18/2015 8:40:28 PM

i haven't seen an Amica commerical in a long time.

1/19/2015 8:10:34 AM

Just get price quotes from a half dozen reputable companies and go with the cheapest

1/19/2015 5:17:41 PM

^this is usually the kind of advice you have to pay for!

1/21/2015 8:54:09 AM

Do you normally do a real quote (e.g. pull credit) or just an estimate?

I hate inquiries.

1/21/2015 9:37:10 AM

Insurance should be a soft pull.

1/23/2015 8:31:52 PM

Amica is the best out there right now from what I've gathered, if you have a clean record and decent credit. I had Erie for a while after leaving Farm Bureau several years ago, but Erie has taken some rate increases over the last few years and they're just not nearly as competitive as they used to be. I saved about $400 per year switching to Amica on a 2-car auto and homeowner's. I don't think she'll mind me giving her name, but in the Raleigh office is a lady named Iris Guzman who I randomly got connected with when I called in. She has turned out to be extremely helpful and always responsive to my emails. Highly recommend. 1-800-892-6422 x 45523

1/24/2015 10:19:13 AM

Awesome. Thanks! Finally ditched the old civic for a 2013 mazda 3 and I'm paying about $1000 a year which seems pretty dumb.

1/24/2015 2:25:55 PM