Auto Insurance - what do we like?

I'm not going to name what company I currently have (I'm sure they have eyes) nor will I state any problems - but interested to see what others use given our shared GRM interests. ;)

I will have 2 "new" teenage drivers in the next 6-12 months so I know thats gonna hike some premiums.  Over 50, paid off cars, no claims - whats the go-to?

I'm under the impression that if a company spends a lot on advertising, cute commercials, identifiable spokesperson / reptile - the rates are usually higher?

What about autocross / track days (I would never put a claim on a track day accident) but I've heard people use to get canceled but the watchfull eye of auto insurance (maybe not true?).

Lemme know.

Find a local broker that's willing to shop around for you. They'll find the best deal.

I'm currently using Erie, but I will switch at the drop of a hat if it saves money.

Allstate.  I personally have State Farm but I own some Allstate stock.  

You my friend, are in good hands.  

I was with Erie for years and very satisfied.  When son #1 hit the policy, we learned that Allstate's rates are much lower for new drivers.  Currently with Allstate.  Satisfied.

Call the big ones and price shop, call a few brokers and have them shop the smaller companies that don't advertise. 

All the companies have different risk models they use for pricing based on the type of customers they want. 

What others pay for a particular carrier has no bearing whatsoever on what you will pay with the same carrier. Your rates are very specific to you, where you live, what the carriers appetite is etc. Shop around.

I use State Farm.  I have been wicked happy.  I mostly switched to them after someone T-boned me (lightly) and the other driver had State Farm.  The adjuster was at my house before I even got home (3 miles away... how does that happen?), did his assessment, and I got a call the next day to let me know they were sending a check for [insert a VERY satisfying amount].  Normally I wouldn't suggest just accepting whatever they offered, but my experience running a body shop told me that what they were offering was more than fair.  I mentioned that I would be fixing it myself so they set me up with a login for their supplement website in case I discovered something else during teardown.  They also gave me a phone number to call in case I discovered any injuries I got during the accident.

I figured if that's how they treat people who haven't given them a dime, they might be a pretty good setup.  I've had them now for about 9 years for home and auto.  Full coverage on the van with low deductibles is ridiculously cheap.  I'm insuring two vehicles and a motorcycle for about $450/yr.  In fact, I just paid my premiums a couple days ago so the emails are fresh.  Let me just look that up...

Here is my 6-month motorcycle (liability only) premium:

And here is the 6-month on the van with $250 Comp and $500 Collision  AND the LeMans with liability only right now.  (It's sealed in a safe garage)

I'm the one who correlates the advertising with the quality of their service. Not their price. "The more they advertise, the poorer their service"

I'm amazed so many people are happy with Allsnake. Probably because you haven't made a claim.   Ask a few body shops what they think of the Good Hands People.

Erie is generally pretty good with service, but they will usually cost you more. Worth it, IMO.

Each company, and the industry as a whole, experiences peaks and valleys in service depending on who the CEO is this week. Snake Farm was really good for a long time after being the most miserable a few decades ago. They are now returning to their old ways from what I hear.

Getting an independent agent to shop around for you is a good move vs exclusive agencies (SF, Nationwide, etc).

Ask a few body shops who do the best job paying for work. You'll see a pattern pretty quickly on who they truly hate.

If you have two new drivers you have my condolences. I shop semi annually and after a few years with LibMu I went to USAA and currently Allstate. They seem to be like the cable company - intro rates fade away and the jack prices  continuously.

Policy includes myself, my wife and 17&21 yo boys. Good students. Multi line discount (homeowners and umbrella). No claims in ten years and that one was a parking lot crease. No citations in 22 years. 815 credit score. Georgia. 3 cars, all 2012-2016.  $375 per month. berkeley me to tears. 

I have travelers. Have gone thru homeowners claims and auto claims, and would recommend travelers to anyone after both experiences. I've had local companies quote, and none of them can beat what I'm paying. 

We use an independent agent, who we will instruct to compare rates every year or two. I had to pull out my cards to see who currently covers our cars. Looks like it's progressive for the cars that we drive, Haggarty covers the Morris.

Since we became home owners again, it's all part of a bundle, including having the lowest liability coverage as mandated, then a big liability umbrella.

Liberty Mutual. No, not because of the emu. Jen drives an Audi and she rec'd a notice from Audi NA about an agreement with LM on reduced rates. So, being curious and a CPA who loves saving $$$, she made an inquiry. HUGE savings. I decided to play around with their website and see what the rates would be if we did her auto policy, my auto policy and the house insurance. It ended up that we saved so much on our auto policies, it paid for the homeowners policy! Now, they don't have local agents and everything is done online/phone with CSR's, but up to this point anything that we've needed has been taken care of very quickly with just a phone call. 

I'll text you my agent. No issues and pretty good prices for home and auto. 

My twins will of driving age in a few months....heaven help me!!!!

Brett_Murphy (Agent of Chaos) said:

Find a local broker that's willing to shop around for you. They'll find the best deal.

I'm currently using Erie, but I will switch at the drop of a hat if it saves money.

This is the best advice. I've been with Encompass for years and they've been great, we had a large claim with my wife a few years ago and they did right by us the entire year she was recovering and never raised our rate but each person is different. A good agent will find the best company for you. 

They all suck, so might as well pick the cheapest you can find for the coverage you want. Like buying reman car parts these days. Like others said, your combination of factors will be unique. 

Thanks all for the replies- super helpful.  I came home yesterday with 2 family members testing positive for covid.  I've missed it so far but we know how that goes.

Will follow up once this blows over.