auto insurance quotes

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catdude
Posts: 1959
Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2007 8:11 pm
Location: Oregon

auto insurance quotes

Post by catdude »

I've been doing a bit of shopping for car insurance, for the first time in many years. My current coverage is with Liberty Mutual... it expires in a few weeks, and if I renew the cost will be $1083/year. I went online this afternoon and got quotes from GEICO and Progressive. GEICO's price is $365 per 6 months ($730/year); and Progressive's price is $263 for 6 months ($526/year). I'm really surprised at the differences in rates... Naturally I think I'll go with Progressive, but is their rate too good to be true? Anybody out there have any experience with their claims service? I guess I shoulda shopped around years ago, instead of just blithely renewing with Liberty Mutual every year.
catdude | | All generalizations are false, including this one.
jbmitt
Posts: 657
Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2008 1:00 am

Re: auto insurance quotes

Post by jbmitt »

The online quotes are usually preliminary in nature, and may adjust once they run your MVR. So what you are quoting may increase. Make sure you are comparing equal coverages. There are usually discounts for new customers that may roll off after a period of time.

I'm loyal to price for equal coverage, not a particular insurer.
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El Greco
Posts: 515
Joined: Tue Aug 23, 2016 2:21 pm

Re: auto insurance quotes

Post by El Greco »

catdude wrote: Thu May 24, 2018 7:23 pm I've been doing a bit of shopping for car insurance, for the first time in many years. My current coverage is with Liberty Mutual... it expires in a few weeks, and if I renew the cost will be $1083/year. I went online this afternoon and got quotes from GEICO and Progressive. GEICO's price is $365 per 6 months ($730/year); and Progressive's price is $263 for 6 months ($526/year). I'm really surprised at the differences in rates... Naturally I think I'll go with Progressive, but is their rate too good to be true? Anybody out there have any experience with their claims service? I guess I shoulda shopped around years ago, instead of just blithely renewing with Liberty Mutual every year.
Hi Catdude:

I just switched off from Liberty Mutual (see my recent posts in the other currently running insurance thread). I was a long time customer and they were really killing me on rates. As far as your question, I was hit about 4 years ago by another driver who had Progressive. They (Progressive) paid my claim promptly and very generously, I might add. Almost double of what Liberty Mutual estimated would be the cost to repair my car.
DavidW
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Joined: Wed Jan 24, 2018 3:14 pm

Re: auto insurance quotes

Post by DavidW »

OK. I tried Progressive but they won't give me a quote unless I unfreeze my credit report for all 3 agencies (my wife and I). Being a BH, I don't want to spend the $60 to unfreeze all 3 for my wife and I unless it is worth it.

Is Progressive that much cheaper? I have been with Geico for 16 years but my rates increased by $400/yr earlier this year (from $2400 to $2800)

I don't mind switching but I don't want to get in the trap of lower rate in one year and return to normal/higher rates the next...

BTW, I do have a teenage driver (1 yr under his belt)....
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fortfun
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Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2016 7:31 pm

Re: auto insurance quotes

Post by fortfun »

DavidW wrote: Thu May 24, 2018 10:47 pm OK. I tried Progressive but they won't give me a quote unless I unfreeze my credit report for all 3 agencies (my wife and I). Being a BH, I don't want to spend the $60 to unfreeze all 3 for my wife and I unless it is worth it.

Is Progressive that much cheaper? I have been with Geico for 16 years but my rates increased by $400/yr earlier this year (from $2400 to $2800)

I don't mind switching but I don't want to get in the trap of lower rate in one year and return to normal/higher rates the next...

BTW, I do have a teenage driver (1 yr under his belt)....
My Geico rates were going up 33%. Just switched to allstate. Rates went down 600/yr below Geicos.
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celia
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Location: SoCal

Re: auto insurance quotes

Post by celia »

DavidW wrote: Thu May 24, 2018 10:47 pm OK. I tried Progressive but they won't give me a quote unless I unfreeze my credit report for all 3 agencies (my wife and I). Being a BH, I don't want to spend the $60 to unfreeze all 3 for my wife and I unless it is worth it.
It may soon be free to freeze and unfreeze our credit, but you will have to wait a few months.
http://wreg.com/2018/05/23/congress-jus ... ezes-free/
bigtex
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Joined: Fri Jan 26, 2018 9:34 am

Re: auto insurance quotes

Post by bigtex »

With progressive, as long as you do your quote online, it’s always very cheap for the first policy you have with them because of first time customer discounts. Then at the renewal the rate is much much higher. The key is to not renew and simply start up a new sixth month policy as a new customer. I have been doing this for years and my rate keeps going down.
SimonJester
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Joined: Tue Aug 16, 2011 12:39 pm

Re: auto insurance quotes

Post by SimonJester »

DavidW wrote: Thu May 24, 2018 10:47 pm OK. I tried Progressive but they won't give me a quote unless I unfreeze my credit report for all 3 agencies (my wife and I). Being a BH, I don't want to spend the $60 to unfreeze all 3 for my wife and I unless it is worth it.
Very strange as I have all three of mine frozen and have been able to get quotes from all the insurance companies and their inquiries do show up on the reports. Insurance companies were exempted from the freeze so they as certain government agencies can still pull your report when frozen.

Could be an issue with your state law....
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
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