Checked for other threads on car insurance found nothing (feel free to move to Garage if more appropriate)

Two part topic....

1.) Who do you use for car insurance? I'm dropping Geico, will explain below and looking to get someone new.

2.) While filing my claim for the incident current in the "garage" message_topic.aspx?topic=640104 I logged onto my Geico account and noticed they wanted me to electronically sign some documents. Long story short they were notifying me that my insurance premium was being increased from 499 to 853 (70% increase!!!).

I called them to ask "wtf" and they told me the new quote was reflecting a traffic violation that occurred on December 2012 (I ran a red light). I informed them that I received a PJC for this and have not had any violations since then so please explain how this was reflected in my driving record. They then "double checked their records" and stated that they saw that I get a PJC for this BUT i also received a PJC in 2004 for a speeding ticket, thus this one was getting factored into my risk equation.

Does this sound right? I was under the impression that a PJC could not be used as an admissible item on your driving record (otherwise whats the fucking point) unless you got another violation. Then after 3 years the charge is totally dismissed. The only other moving violation on my record is a speeding ticket for 9 over from back in 2007. My last at-fault accident was 2004.


[Edited on December 12, 2013 at 7:13 PM. Reason : l]

12/12/2013 7:11:21 PM

i thought you could only use a PJC once?

12/12/2013 8:13:48 PM

every 3 years....

12/12/2013 8:57:40 PM

I always remembered it being 3 years or maybe 5, regardless something from 2004 shouldn't be in the equation...(I assume)

12/12/2013 9:38:34 PM

Insurance is fucking hard to explain and the rating variables that factor into an actual rate are ridiculous. If a human had to calculate a rate it would take a week to do. Insurance rates go up because of reasons. It could be because you were getting a safe driver discount that's now gone merely because you had a violation, regardless of pjc, it could be because you have two within the experience period. North Carolina sucks for insurance companies, there's no money to be made there so any excuse that can be used to raise rates will be used. I don't know shit about geicos rating but those are some of my guesses. I know there's a guy on here that works in insurance that could probably help more.

Just go to the general and save some time. Ha

12/13/2013 12:04:49 AM

This probably doesn't help because if you were a member I'm sure you'd have it already

but USAA ftw

12/13/2013 8:15:40 AM

Quote :

"I always remembered it being 3 years or maybe 5, regardless something from 2004 shouldn't be in the equation...(I assume)"

It's 1 in 3 or 2 in 5.

HUR, just drop Geico and go with another provider. A year after I had a single vehicle at fault accident (around $5000) Travelers Insurance tried to jack up my rates by 50% or so ($1200 to $1850, 2 cars). they said it was because of the incident. Funny thing is, I was able to get quotes shopping around for $1300 or so. So after 10 years with Travelers and nothing but good things to say I dropped their asses for Liberty Mutual.

12/13/2013 8:20:11 AM

Good lord, you guys pay insane premiums

12/13/2013 8:27:13 AM

I just switched from Geico to Nationwide and my 6 month premium actually went up from $650 to $865 (both me and my wife). The only reason I did it though is I will save over $700 on my homeowners by having auto too. I will probably switch again next year or so, I don't feel like dealing with this crap for a while, just needed to do it because we are buying a house.

12/13/2013 9:07:16 AM

We pay around 1200 as well for two vehicles with a 100/300 policy and 5k med pay through State Farm. I've been with them since I was 16. Our rates did go up a little when Justin got a speeding ticket in Tyrell County, but not enough to really matter.

12/13/2013 9:18:16 AM

^ I would look elsewhere. We get 300/500 and 10k medical for WAY less than that

12/13/2013 9:26:38 AM

That's our yearly. I just did a quote with nationwide just to see and it is literally the exact same monthly premium we pay now. We bundled with home insurance as well with SF. Also SF is a pretty favorable company when you do make claims (geico is definitely the worst).

12/13/2013 10:05:08 AM

I have Allstate via a TWW contact. I'm happy. I think I pay about $750-$800 annually for auto (including comprehensive) and I have my homeowners through Allstate as well.

12/13/2013 10:11:22 AM

^^ ah, I thought that was a six month premium, carry on

12/13/2013 10:29:21 AM

You don't really know a company until you've had to make a claim. I used to have state farm, and the one time my car was totaled, I was more than happy with the pay-out. With that said, I dropped them a few years later when they wanted to raise my home premium about 40% (I have multiple homes, with zero claims, so this was no bueno). I switched to AMICA. I did my research, and after USAA, they were the second best insurer. They are very picky who they insure. I have not had to make a claim with them yet, so no clue how good they are.

With that said, when they are raising your rates like that, it tells me they don't want you as a customer, so why stay?

You could contact the insurance commissions office and see if the rate increase is legal. I've fought one after my accident with state farm and won (had I not, my insurance rate would have doubled).

[Edited on December 13, 2013 at 11:46 AM. Reason : .]

12/13/2013 11:44:44 AM

I am currently looking for new auto insurance. Quick question...during the online quote application...they often ask about your driving record, what happen if I said I did not have any violations within the past X years?

12/13/2013 12:06:24 PM

If you're implying that you would be lying, they will figure it out. Because they'll have access to your DMV info.

12/13/2013 12:16:38 PM

I've been with Nationwide my entire driving career (17 years), through my parents and then on my own, and have been very happy with them. No trouble after accidents (though none were at-fault) and after a few traffic violations the rates increases were never too bad. Currently pay 1600/yr for 2 cars (comprehensive on the newer car, liability only on the older), my wife and myself, plus a renters' policy. Seems reasonable for the level of service.

[Edited on December 13, 2013 at 12:21 PM. Reason : d]

12/13/2013 12:21:12 PM

Has anyone used Progressive before???

I negotiated Geico down to $630. After rate shopping, however, I got a quote for $380 for 6 months with progressive. Almost seems too good to be true.

12/26/2013 10:15:20 AM

My wife was with them on her previous car before I switched her over to my policy. No complaints, though I don't believe she ever had to file a claim so that might not be the best indicator.

12/26/2013 11:25:45 AM

Quote :

"Has anyone used Progressive before??? I negotiated Geico down to $630. After rate shopping, however, I got a quote for $380 for 6 months with progressive. Almost seems too good to be true."

I went from Geico to Progressive when Geico attempted to jack my rate up. I'm currently paying $80/month on 2012 Sonata. Would love to lower my rate somehow.

[Edited on December 26, 2013 at 12:31 PM. Reason : ]

12/26/2013 12:30:00 PM

I thought USAA was supposed to be super competitive. They could not beat my current rate with Nationwide.

So what are some of the other advantages to having USAA Auto Insurance? Trying to decide if some other benefits would make it worth moving over.

5/4/2016 1:14:36 PM

State Farm did pretty much what the OP described to me over two collisions my wife had. I went to Geico and save a bunch.

5/9/2016 1:57:39 PM

I've had my share of beef with Geico about 10 years ago when I was shopping for better insurance rates. However, as of recent, I have switched back to Geico because they have the best rates and they've been very helpful with all my needs.

I have a similar experience as the OP with Progressive; My rates randomly increased 30% this year because of a 9 over speeding ticket that was PJC'd 2.5 years ago. When the representative at Progressive said, "You should consider yourself lucky we didn't raise your rate sooner" in a tone as if I had stolen from them, I dropped them. Geico was willing to beat my existing premiums at the same coverage level as Progressive. My 2 cars and motorcycle are now all under Geico and I'm saving about 10% compared to when I was with Progressive (before they wanted to hike my rates).

Progressive did say that they only looked at violations within the past 3 years. I have heard some really infuriating stories with just about any and every insurance carrier.



[Edited on May 10, 2016 at 9:26 AM. Reason : /]

5/10/2016 9:24:09 AM

^ that is interesting since i had the opposite situation. Geico did to me what progressive did to you.

5/10/2016 11:55:53 AM

Quote :

"I switched to AMICA. I did my research, and after USAA, they were the second best insurer"

i, too, switch to amica and save $50 a month with home and auto

5/10/2016 8:07:01 PM

Fuck being loyal to an insurance company. Switch every year to the company with the best rate.

5/10/2016 9:07:20 PM

Cool since you're the first to bring up the idea of loyalty.

5/10/2016 11:32:38 PM

I tried to get Amica and they were like nah....my wife runs in to a lot of shit.

Geico FTW

5/10/2016 11:57:44 PM

bttt

1/9/2018 10:19:49 PM

hmm, Allstate just raised my rates again. Though they've always been good to me, it's getting expensive. But 2 years ago when I checked other auto insurance, Allstate was still cheaper by far.

holy shit. just check amica again... $5,600/year. WTF? I pay far less than that now.

\/I get the same excuse.

[Edited on January 10, 2018 at 9:05 AM. Reason : .]

1/10/2018 8:48:31 AM

my rate goes up a little bit every year too and the only thing Nationwide tells me is that it's due to the NC state regulations/fees. And i have not been able to find comparable coverage with another provider that has any real savings.

1/10/2018 9:00:13 AM

I switched last year to Erie Insurance. Saved about 30% on my auto insurance, and my home owner's insurance went down from $1800 to $600! (per year)

1/10/2018 9:48:27 AM

USAA is the best, not the cheapest, but is typically competitive.

Geico is the suck. They will cut corners, use after market parts (not OEM) and will not fight on your behalf if you are in an accident and are not at fault. I had them, due to owning my car in my business entity (couldn't use USAA for corporate insurance). When other lady was at fault and totaled the CLS63 that I had, Geico had no interest in subrogation (going after the other company to help make me whole). Furthermore, Caliber Collision said they are the worst.

That said, I now use Erie. They are competitive, but they were the company that the at fault lady had and they were great to work with. Caliber Collision says they use OEM parts, don't cut corners and negotiate in good faith. Being on the other side (non-insured through them), I was very pleased with how quickly we were able to amicably solve my wreck (made me $23K) and got my check overnighted after agreeing to a settlement, which was not overly burdensome.

1/10/2018 11:47:14 AM

GECIO used OEM parts on each of my claims, on a safelite claim i did have to get a letter from the dealership saying that OEM glass was the only acceptable glass otherwise they were going to charge the difference

[Edited on January 10, 2018 at 1:46 PM. Reason : i'm switching though because for the first time i got a lower quote from someone else]

1/10/2018 1:46:10 PM

My old roommate had GEICO. He had several bodywork claims and they did not use OEM parts. In some cases they didn't even use new parts (?!?!).


It's my general understanding that GEICO is great if you never need to file a claim.

1/10/2018 2:27:44 PM

I'm confused, the insurance company doesn't do the repair, why would the decisions of the mechanic's shop be attributed to the insurance company?

1/10/2018 3:07:24 PM

because the insurance company stipulates the parts / only pays so much for repairs.

1/10/2018 3:08:35 PM

Ahh, now I see what you guys were dealing with. I've been involved with several claims (on both sides of fault) over the years and just always go to battle with them and hold out for as long as it takes to get what I think is fair. They have cut me a check each time personally, and then I go get the repairs done.

1/10/2018 3:12:26 PM

that might have been how i got OEM, i found my own shop

1/10/2018 3:44:44 PM

Can someone explain my situation?

I have Geico, just renew for $850/year (07 Camry, 16 Sienna).

But when I get quotes from other companies...they are quoting me on average $4000/year.

1/10/2018 4:45:08 PM

^similar current $ for me. Several insurers quoted me $2k+; 3 are similar to what I pay now. I don't get it.

1/11/2018 8:10:42 AM

^^ did you check to make sure the coverages were the same?

1/11/2018 9:23:46 AM

recently had road debris kick up from an 18-wheeler's tire and break my headlight

truck company's insurance says no evidence of a blowout was found and that existing road debris is something they aren't liable for when damaging other cars

geico (first call) tried to say it was a collision incident, even though it was something unavoidable and more of an "act of god" situation, wanted me to pay $500 deductible, and rates could go up in future...I told them not to do anything w.r.t. an actual claim.

got an estimate from body shop, which was $1567 (for a headlight replacement!)

called geico again today to re-explain and ask if there was a deadline to actually file a claim, lady changed it to a comprehensive claim for me and that deductible is only $50, and it's considered a not-at-fault incident, so not likely to raise rates, at least not by much

point of the story: if you have something that you think is comprehensive and not collision, dont accept the first thing they declare, and maybe you will get a better agent the next time you call

1/11/2018 10:41:41 AM

I mean that's definitely a comprehensive claim. Also the truck company is definitely liable but GOOD LUCK getting enough evidence to make them pay.

2 years ago an 18 wheeler ran over something when I was behind it, in another lane, and the front of my car was peppered with bits of debris (I think it was a chunk of sheet rock) despite me additionally swerving onto the shoulder. (truck was in middle lane of I-40). Cost around $1000 to repaint my hood and roof. My deductible is $0 for that kind of damage, however.

1/11/2018 4:16:29 PM

uh, does any comprehensive claim raise your rate? it's optional coverage and fault doesn't matter. at least that's how allstate has treated / explained it to me...

[Edited on January 12, 2018 at 7:42 AM. Reason : .]

1/12/2018 7:42:06 AM

The answer I got back for that didn't make sense to me (also had Liberty Mutual at the time). They said it doesn't, but they still record and keep track of comprehensive claims. When Liberty Mutual said they couldn't lower my premium (after I went from 5 pts to 2 on my license) one of their reasons given was the number of claims I had over the last 5 years, which INCLUDED comprehensive claims.

Shady fucking business

1/12/2018 9:04:39 AM

won't increase rate != willingness to decrease rate

1/12/2018 1:47:52 PM

So for past 5 or so years I only drive 2500-3500 miles a year. With progressive with new to me car but feel 600/6 months is too much. Thats minimum everything for financed car.

Saw Allstate has a per mile type plan for low mileage drivers, milewise or some such thing. It says based on 3000 miles a year, premium is 77/month

Any other per mile type insurances that will be lower due to my small amount of annual mileage?

5/4/2020 7:18:42 PM

Progressive sent me a check for $50 for COVID relief

And I only pay like $300 per 6 months from them, not sure if Texas has much higher rates or something

5/5/2020 6:08:34 PM