Car insurance costs

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

We just got our latest 6 month car insurance bills in the mail from State Farm. Despite only having liability coverage, I just realized for the first time that over 6 months, we will pay more for our insurance than we did for one of our vehicles from a dealership.

Cars we have:
2000 Chevy Metro - paid about $1k 2.5 years ago
2012 Toyota Yaris - paid about $6k when it was 5 years old
2013 Toyota Yaris - paid about $8k when it was 6 years old
2006 Ford Focus - paid about $1k last summer (granted, it needed about another $400 in parts before working well)
2008 Cadillac STS - paid about $3k just under a year and a half ago (needed about $500 in parts to fix several problems, but has a great Harley Davidson design on the hood)

Anyway, our insurance just jumped up to $1,042 for 6 months. We have 2 adult drivers, plus two adult teens. (1 boy, 1 girl) In the past, the bills for each car came separately,
which I suppose may have sort of blinded me to how much total we are actually paying each year for car insurance. Now it will be over $2,084 a year. Obviously, we have older
cars plus a spare car if one needs to be in the shop, but this means I've never felt the need for comprehensive coverage. If there is a wreck, we just look for another used car.
We don't have to pay the huge comprehensive coverage amounts.

Is this pretty typical? A couple of years back when I 'shopped around', I was getting rates that were higher than the ones from State Farm, so I figured I might as well stay put.
I was wondering if any of you out there who also have liability only coverage, and perhaps a couple of older teen drivers might be able to pipe up with a quick comparison.

Are there any online tools a person can use to shop around without having to get loads of sales calls?

Thanks!

 

[nakedfrog]

Teen drivers are expensive. Honestly $2k/year with two teens on it, with one being a boy, seems pretty good to me.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

When I was driving daily to and from work, I seem to remember the rates being something like 4-500 for six months for two older cars and one driver. I'd have to dig the bills out from several years ago though.

Currently I'm around $250 for six months for two cars with very, very low mileage coverage.

Comprehensive isn't usually that bad and covers a lot of loss types like hitting an animal. Collision is the one that takes the big $$$ bite.

 

[Mermaidman]

"Despite only having liability coverage,"
-It doesn't matter what your cars cost. It's the OTHER party's vehicle, and automobiles have gotten so expensive. I recommend working with an independent insurance agent, and let him do the shopping for you.

 

[BoomerD]

I pay almost $1500/year for ONE vehicle with State Farm. A 2019 F-150. We both have spotless driving records and ZERO claims.

 

[Exterous]

I'd post my cost but I'm in Michigan and our car insurance is the most expensive in the country...often by quite a bit

 

[I'dluv2]

I'm in Az and until last year I was paying $1200 for full coverage for 2 vehicles, 2012 Tacoma & 2014 Equinox. Was in California and backing out of a parking spot in a mall. Backed out and stopped, put my car in D when someone backed into me. Jump out, take pics, exchange info and drive home. Call insurance when we got home to find out the other party already filed. no biggie they said sorry didn't see you.

Come to find out in Cali in that situation unless you can prove who's at fault it's 50/50. Fuck that she ran into me. So that's how it shakes out, my insurance jumps $500 a year.

 

[manly]

With as many TV ads with high profile pro athletes that State Farm runs, I'd be surprised if they are the lowest cost option among major insurers. Whenever I've gotten a quote from them, it's been astronomical in SoCal.

Recently shopped my insurance...wow.

I currently use nationwide for home / auto. My costs are $1600 and ~$3500 / year respectively. I started to first shop for collector car insurance for my viper. Which would have reduced my yearly cost on that car to ~$820 from ~$1550. I then decided to shop my entire policies and I wound up...

forums.anandtech.com

People make it sound like auto insurance is a huge racket; and you'll get a better deal by shopping around once a year. I haven't found the latter to be the case, unfortunately.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Every year? No.

Every three or four years? Probably.

As noted, see an agent. In fact, see a couple of different agents. Lay it all out. Go for every possible discount. There are some weird ones. Multi-policy and lack of claims are common ones, but there are others for miles driven, pay in full vs installments, etc. Part of mine is a 'loyalty discount' for years continually insured, even though it was all with different companies.

I had seen Flo's ads for years and kept getting her spam in my mailbox. I always threw it out swearing I'd never do business with a company that spent so much on advertising. I'd even gone to the website a couple of times for quotes and found they were quite high. Then on one of my quests for better rates an agent quoted Progressive. The rates were far lower than I'd seen on the site. Turns out agents get better rates through their direct connections that the pubic does via the website quote tool.

Many companies now have a program that assesses your driving over time. They send you a device to plug in to the OBDII port. It measures speed, amount of driving time day or night, miles driven and factors like hard braking or rapid acceleration. It not not map location or any personal information including who is driving. At the end of the assessment period (usually 90 days or so), you mail the device back to them. Your discount is based on those factors and can be as much as 30%, though in some cases repeated bad driving might possibly increase rates.

Other companies have a program that uses your phone/device and can keep track of WHO is driving.

Remember that rates, low or high don't matter if the claims process doesn't work well. The company has to have a record of standing with the customer.

But five cars and four drivers, two under 25 and in an urban area is going to be expensive no matter what else can be applied.

 

[Brainonska511]

I have full coverage ($1k deductible) on a new car for about $900/yr with GEICO in MA. Two adult drivers on the vehicle.

Not surprised to see costs high though with teen drivers on the policy. I would say you should try shopping around though. I check every now and again via each company's website quote tool to see if I can get a better deal through the few providers offering coverage in MA (State Farm is not one of them).

 

[repoman0]

I have full coverage ($1k deductible) on a new car for about $900/yr with GEICO in MA. Two adult drivers on the vehicle.

Not surprised to see costs high though with teen drivers on the policy. I would say you should try shopping around though. I check every now and again via each company's website quote tool to see if I can get a better deal through the few providers offering coverage in MA (State Farm is not one of them).

I had always done that every year or so, but somehow ended up in touch with a local insurance agent a few years back (buying home insurance maybe? Can’t remember). It’s cheaper than any of the usual major providers for my wife and me and way easier to let them create all the quotes. We keep high limits on the auto policy and really comprehensive home coverage. Coverage is through Hanover Insurance right now.

 

[Torn Mind]

Insurance rates vary.

Like I checked a bunch earlier in January, and while Geico, Progressive were around 408 or something, but State Farm some how was about 228 a month, and I would guess that is due to market conditions, because that is not normal or expected from State Farm. This was for MD.


Also, if two policy holders are Geico, Geico will rule in a manner to pay out as little to either.

 

[GunsMadeAmericaFree]

Also, if two policy holders are Geico, Geico will rule in a manner to pay out as little to either.
[/QUOTE]

Well that's crap. I guess I'll never get Geico, then.

 

[Captante]

Car "insurance" is just another 100% legal money-making scam designed to line the pockets of the 1% at the expense of everyone else.

This and other obvious BS "rules" that completely favor the wealthy like it in America are why I no longer have ANY fvcks to give.

These people need to be reminded what happens when their tiny minority of super-rich bean-collectors gets impaled on poles next to the road by the angry mob of serfs they created. (and it's coming!)

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Did a squirrel hijack your ID?

 

[BoomerD]

Also, if two policy holders are Geico, Geico will rule in a manner to pay out as little to either.

Well that's crap. I guess I'll never get Geico, then.
[/QUOTE]

All insurance companies are that way. In the end, their primary duty is to the shareholders, NOT their customers.

 

[NutBucket]

I think that is somewhat state dependent too. I have Geico and was rear-ended by someone who has Geico. I had no issues at all getting the car fixed, rentals, etc. Granted, it was minor and no injuries.

 

[Captante]

I think that is somewhat state dependent too. I have Geico and was rear-ended by someone who has Geico. I had no issues at all getting the car fixed, rentals, etc. Granted, it was minor and no injuries.

Geico will bend you over and ream you with no grease like a freaking jackhammer if it will make them money .... don't kid yourself.

Anytime you are involved in any car accident serious enough to require insurance, talk to a LAWYER first before speaking to anyone else, especially an adjuster even from your own provider!

Your insurance company is 100% NOT on your side when you make a claim.... you can learn this the easy way or the hard one your call.

 

[NutBucket]

Similarly when the same car was totaled a year later it wasn't bad getting paid out properly. Offending driver had Mercury. Maybe I just got lucky...

 

[FelixDeCat]

Progressive is junk. Every renewal was a 20% increase. F that.

I went with Farm Bureau.

 

[Torn Mind]

Well that's crap. I guess I'll never get Geico, then.

All insurance companies are that way. In the end, their primary duty is to the shareholders, NOT their customers.
[/QUOTE]

I think that is somewhat state dependent too. I have Geico and was rear-ended by someone who has Geico. I had no issues at all getting the car fixed, rentals, etc. Granted, it was minor and no injuries.

Geico will bend you over and ream you with no grease like a freaking jackhammer if it will make them money .... don't kid yourself.

Anytime you are involved in any car accident serious enough to require insurance, talk to a LAWYER first before speaking to anyone else, especially an adjuster even from your own provider!

Your insurance company is 100% NOT on your side when you make a claim.... you can learn this the easy way or the hard one your call.

GEICO Settlement Offers and Maximizing Your Accident Payoff

This page aims to help you understand the settlement value of your case against GEICO and give you weapons to maximize the settlement value of your claim. Learn the secrets they don't want you to ...

www.millerandzois.com

Even lawyers experience how a tough cookie GEICO is.

GEICO's tends to make extremely low first settlement offers. At Miller & Zois, we went through some old files to try to give victims an idea of how much money GEICO offered compared to the client's medical expenses. We pulled some random first settlement offers in car accident cases along with the amount of the client's medical bills to give you some idea of what you might be able to expect. We do not think this kind of data is available anywhere else. We have looked everywhere ourselves to find something similar.

Also, car accident lawyers can be rather lazy and be a settlement mill. The bigger the firm with more branches, the more likely it's a mill.

 

[Captante]

Also, car accident lawyers can be rather lazy and be a settlement mill. The bigger the firm with more branches, the more likely it's a mill.

That's why you need to be prepared and know where you stand going in.

 

[Torn Mind]

Car "insurance" is just another 100% legal money-making scam designed to line the pockets of the 1% at the expense of everyone else.

This and other obvious BS "rules" that completely favor the wealthy like it in America are why I no longer have ANY fvcks to give.

These people need to be reminded what happens when their tiny minority of super-rich bean-collectors gets impaled on poles next to the road by the angry mob of serfs they created. (and it's coming!)

Car insurance is a government-created market.

Probably a few issues led to its creation, one being that people without money can "get away with it" and thus a victim can't get any money at all. Or, someone simply can't be served due to not knowing their address. Then there's the matter of the court system being slow, having to pay an attorney back in the way old days before contingency fee; insurance companies can quickly provide a settlement and resolve the dispute.

Of course, being government mandated, that means many other laws are passed to make car insurance mandatory and make violations a money maker for government. And the government makes tax revenue off the business.

 

[Torn Mind]

That's why you need to be prepared and know where you stand going in.

It's tougher if someone doesn't have English as a first language and the mill happens to be advertising in the local foreign newspaper with their paralegal than can speak the language. Portner and Shure does this for the Chinese speakers in my area.

And also, the lawyer is the one who knows the rules, so it means shopping around for a few more to evaluate the case and see what they say.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

My response to the Bureau of Farms would have to go in P&N.