Here's a comment from a reader on my post titled Best Way to Save on Car Insurance that illustrates why it's a good idea to shop around for car insurance every so often:
I was with State Farm for 16 years and never switched. Then I took a Dave Ramsey class and now I'm much smarter about how I go about life...I just got married and we called around for quotes. We saved $1900 on our Auto and Homeowners policy. Bye bye State Farm. My agent didn't try to match my new quote, and she didn't seem the least bit upset that I was leaving.
Not a bad savings for a few hours of work, huh? Imagine how much he would have saved if he would have shopped around 15 years sooner.
Time will tell if you actually saved any money. I've been with my agent for 20 years. His company has always paid claims quickly and fairly. Ultimately that's why we have insurance.
Posted by: rwh | June 06, 2008 at 10:01 AM
State Farm and Allstate are very consistently the top two most expensive insurance providers for me (and everyone I've talked to). People love to talk up their "wonderful customer service", but I have NEVER had a bad experience with any of the major companies. Progressive did me right and Geico has been WONDERFUL. Yes, I've had to deal with claims using both. I've been with Geico for a few years and they are usually about 200-300% less than the 'service agencies'. When I tell them this they always do the same thing: "Oh, well it looks like you'll get the better deal with them. Thanks for calling!" Nice.
But as always, to each their own :)
Posted by: t3ch | June 06, 2008 at 10:21 AM
I've only checked other quotes for auto like twice in the past five years but each time, their price was nowhere near Geico's. Now that I have home insurance also, I'll try to make it a point to do some shopping each year or every other year for auto and home to see how things are comparing. I'd still like to stick with decent names though. I've dealt with one of our local insurers and they had horrible service.
Posted by: Rzrshrp | June 06, 2008 at 11:00 AM
Good idea to check with several different insurance companies. In fact you should check each year your insurance comes due. Statistics show that only 20% shop around.
Posted by: "Mo" Money | June 06, 2008 at 11:03 AM
t3ch,
It is mathematically impossible for a price to be over 100% less than any other price. Once it is 100% less, it means it is zero.
I agree with you, however, that GEICO offers very good prices. I have been lucky to not have needed them (claims-wise), but people I know have and they were quite pleased.
Posted by: Danny | June 06, 2008 at 01:25 PM
I really haven't done much comparison shopping. I chose my current insurer (Amica) based on the J D Power rankings, and I figured that 8 consecutive years of "Highest Customer Satisfaction" should cover me well.
Although I think the rates are certainly reasonable based on my previous experience as a customer of AllState and Erie, I also want to know that I'll be taken care of if I have to file a claim, and the J D Power award gives me some confidence in that. It's not solely about finding the cheapest policy.
Posted by: Dar | June 06, 2008 at 02:46 PM
I recently switched to StateFarm and saved a lot of money on my auto insurance (compared to American Family). My premiums went down and my coverage and services went up.
I'm definitely continue to shop around for other insurance quotes, but even StateFarm can save you money depending on your situation. One of the major reasons I went with StateFarm is that they did not require my social security number or a credit check (I'm trying to avoid additional credit inquiries).
Posted by: WesleyTech.com | June 06, 2008 at 08:08 PM