[dataway]

So I've been with State Farm for my house and two vehicles in NY for about 40 years. I don't really like them. The agent pesters me to "review" my coverage which I know is just insurance speak for ... we want to give you more coverage and charge you more, treating me like I can't read a policy, and have no idea what my house is worth. And you pretty much can't change anything about a policy online, you have to go through the agent.

What do you guys recommend for auto insurance with good online capabilities, I don't want to have to make friends with some agent. I want to get online, get an immediate quote, pay it, get my card.

We are moving to TN from NY and it seems like a good time to break my relationship with State Farm.

(We tried to get an online quote for house in TN and now State Farm calls us every week leaving messages)

[sdbob]

I've had Erie since I was 16. They paid promptly claims. We use to get a rebate each year that was years ago though. When I was self employed I upped policy to commercial. My agent doesnt send me any correspondence like that other than new policy and cards.

[tigergto]

I shop my insurance around approximately every three years. I usually call agency’s that do business with multiple insurers. I like to pick up the phone and talk directly to an agent, instead of doing business online.

[TAKerry]

Im not sure if they do homes as well but I have Geico on my motorcycle. I dont even know where a geico office is? Everything done online, they renew automatically every year, I get an email and print out my cards.

Thats all fine and dandy as I am like you, I despise someone trying to sell me something I dont want or need. i.e. unsolicited door to door people.

Having said that, I have had my home, car and business insurance with a local agent. I know the boss very well and know the girls in the office as well. They are not pushy and only give me a reminder when a payment is due. I had a catastrophic fire in my barn/shop a few years ago and the adjuster was trying to low ball me. The local agent whom I know very well went to bat for me and got me what I deserved for the loss. I probably could have done it myself but I was paying him and he took the fight on for me. Sometimes having a face to face person is SO MUCH better than dealing with a computer.

[salem1912]

I had Allstate for 40 some years was paying bout $3400 a year for cars.( never a claim thank GOD) Was at AAA and got Travelers for $1875 and slightly better coverage. Shop around, you not "your agent".

[Skidmark]

Funny this comes up after I cancelled my state farm insurance after 38 yrs of being a customer. My issue was that they raised my car insurance twice in the last 12 months. I had 3 cars insured, but no homeowners included. All cars had full coverage. I was paying 120.00 monthly, it went up to 140.00 a few months back. I called to ask why. Got no answer( which has also been an issue). Finally talked to local agent and was told all the texting people do while driving these days was the reason. More accidents, but not by me. I have had no claims ever in at least 30 years. Then they raised the price again 3 weeks ago to 156.00 monthly.

I called GEICO I now pay 98.00 monthly and raised the limits from 50/100, 50. To 100/200 100. So much better coverage.

Honestly I don't think bundling policies saves money. Even if it does, probably only a few bucks. It's definitely more favorable for the company not the customer. If I had had mine bundled at state farm, I would have had to find new home owners too. Another hassle.

Ironically, in my case I still pay 156.00 if broken down monthly, but I added a new to me Pontiac that's covered for 40k with hagerty plus i pay an extra 20.00 a year to have the car returned to me if ever totalled. So 4 cars total including 2 classics. 3 full coverage 1 liability. 156 x 12 = 1872.00 yearly. I can live with that.

It seems as though some of the bigger insurance companies are trying to get out of vehicle insuring and focusing more on selling investment products. Less risky.

[mgarblik]

After over 30 years with Motorist Insurance for Life, Home and cars, I cancelled all my policies and switched to Erie Insurance about 8-10 years ago. This was after 2 denied claims in a few years. One was roof damage from 100 MPH straight line winds where EVERY single house in my neighborhood had roofs replaced under insurance except mine. The adjuster said my roof was "improperly installed" 17 years ago and he said if I didn't like it I should sue them. The other denied claim was a small claim where my daughter and my cars were both broken into in my driveway. They wouldn't pay the claim because I couldn't "Prove" both cars were locked. Well, it was obvious they were slim jimed to get in, they just didn't break any glass. I have had a few small claims with Erie in 10 years, both paid with zero hassle, very promptly and fairly. I would give them high marks for service. I have not had a major claim with them fortunately.

[78w72]

I had geico for many years, they do house insurance too, they let you do all policies & changes online which is nice, but they arent the cheapest.

I now have american family for home & car insurance, cant do everything online but for my policy and location they are the cheapest premium price by a pretty large amount and their agents leave you alone but are very helpful when you need to make a change or have questions.

My city recently had whats called a Derecho, which is an inland hurricane, very rare, had straightline winds of 130-140mph for almost an hour straight, wiped out 80%+ of our very old large trees and caused huge widespread damage to almost every house & building, toppled 75-100 year old huge oak trees that their roots lifted concrete driveways & streets, cant describe the damage but was just like a big hurricane down south... whole town was without power for almost 2 weeks.

That was about 3 years ago, american family paid all claims for my house & property damage without any questions asked, even paid for roof repair that the contractor scammed them on by jacking up the estimate by double what they claimed in writing, thats what these storm chasing companies do, they make an estimate then do whats called a supplement claiming prices of materials & labor went up or that they found other damage that clearly was not there... but the insurance companies pay it, I even told them about the scam from the roofers & they didnt even care. After paying almost $30k claim, they raised my rates about $200 so I did switch my home insurance to all state that had lower premiums for the same coverage but I kept the vehicle insurance with amfam since they are still the cheapest I could find. Would have stayed with amfam if they didnt raise the home rate so much.

Amfam also has a classic car policy but I just have the basic coverage for vehicles from them.

[dhcarguy]

Originally Posted by tigergto

I shop my insurance around approximately every three years. I usually call agency’s that do business with multiple insurers. I like to pick up the phone and talk directly to an agent, instead of doing business online.

I do the same thing. I've had an agent now for 40 years. first his father, now his son. He always calls me about every 3 years after he finds better deals for us.
He deals with a lot of companies and some I had for more than once.
My brother was an insurance agent in Florida with Met life and AAA before he retired. he always told me to change Insurance companies every 3 years.

[unruhjonny]

Once in a while my wife will shop around;
Generally going to a broker will yield the best options.

I would recommend finding a broker - their whole job is to get insurance companies business.

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by dhcarguy

I do the same thing. I've had an agent now for 40 years. first his father, now his son. He always calls me about every 3 years after he finds better deals for us.
He deals with a lot of companies and some I had for more than once.
My brother was an insurance agent in Florida with Met life and AAA before he retired. he always told me to change Insurance companies every 3 years.

Consumer Reports, FWIW, says the exact same thing. It's a "fools game" to stay with the same insurer year after year. We like to think 20-30 years of dedication to a company builds "customer equity". especially with a good claim history. Nothing could be further from the truth. NONE of these insurance companies give a damn about long term customer loyalty. You are just a pawn in their ponzi scheme. They will pay out to the absolute minimum of your policy, not a penny more. Whether your policy is a month old or you have been a customer paying premiums for 40 years without a claim. My agent shops my policies every 2-3 years.

[KS circutguy]

Insurance is the biggest scam going.
They are virtually all the same .

[unruhjonny]

it is easy to be cynical for sure.

but car insurance is a catch-22;
You can't legally be driving without it, and when you need it, you really NEED it.

You can downgrade to PLPD - which only covers others should you be in an altercation;
but it's a gamble - because if someone hits you, now YOU have to go to court because you haven't paid for your insurance company to fight for you.

You can skip home insurance, but if something happens you're left with a mortgage to pay off and nowhere to live.

[Cardo]

Find a insurance broker that carries multiple lines in your new locale in Tenn. They'll shop for you and find you the best deal.

[sdbob]

My father did work for local Erie agent. So when I needed car insurance I went Erie. When the wife and I bought a house in Latrobe it was the Erie agents father and mothers home. It had insulbrick on it celotex that looks like brick. Erie had insured it forever when I bought it Erie said no coverage because of the insulbrick! Then we sold that home and bought home in country insured with Erie, that was my mothers and fathers home I helped build as a kid. So I started building 30x60 garage. Erie called me and said we cant insure you home because of the construction, hazard some underwriter bologna. So I went with agent that helped with insulbrick problem. This agent for my home is Donegal.

[Rachelsdad]

As has been intimated here but not stated explicitly, there is a difference between an agent and a broker.

An agent is an agent for a particular company. While you may find an agent who is personable and well versed in his company's offerings, he or she is, after all, still working for that one company.

A broker, on the other hand, works for himself, thus, for the client. Different brokers will offer coverage from different selections of carriers. You should never think that one broker is offering you all of the possible choices of carriers in your area. You may want to shop around and speak with multiple brokers until you find one offering something you feel is a relatively good deal.

Back to agents for a moment, if you feel that the carrier in general is giving you a good value, but have a difference of opinion regarding how you feel the agent should be handling your account, you should probably seek a different agent for that company.

I offer the above as an accountant who has had probably a little more than a layman's experience with multiple clients seeking my advice on property & liability insurance (and auto insurance).

[Trulyvintage]

Originally Posted by dataway

What do you guys recommend for auto insurance with good online capabilities, I don't want to have to make friends with some agent. I want to get online, get an immediate quote, pay it, get my card.

You have your answer in your question.
Go shop online.

Personally - I value human relationships.

I have had the same independent
insurance agency for longer than
I can remember.

Jim

[dataway]

These answers remind me that about 40 years ago I had a local "Agency" ... a broker. Handled a bunch of different companies, I think I sent my checks to the Agency, not the insurance company. Got to know the owner, the secretary, would go in to insure a new (to me) vehicle and hang out and BS with them etc. Nice people, totally forgot about them. I remember if I bought a new vehicle at a dealership I'd have the dealership call them .. boom, insurance 15 minutes later.

They were right down the street from me, they retired, I moved out of town.

Might try to find me a local broker in my new town, thanks for reminding me.

[The Champ]

Late to the party, but having spent 10 years of my life in commercial insurance...

I strongly recommend working with an independent agent. Check out a couple down in TN. Let them shop your home/auto/personal umbrella insurance with multiple companies. Listen to their recommendations and have them justify why they would recommend company X over company Y. Let them know that you will get back to them shortly. Look for reviews on those companies on line. If the premiums are relatively close, go with the better rated company.

If you feel more comfortable with agent X over agent Y, and the premiums are close, go with agent X.

[400 4spd.]

Farm Bureau.