Insurance Companies

[Big Daddy]

I am frequently asked who my insurance company is and how much do I pay. I always atart with, you need to understand there are numerous variables with insurance companies, such as driving history, coverages, vehicles, but people still want to know, and they ask, are you happy with them?

I am currently covered with Traveler's, three vehicles (2-2006 models & the 98 M Roadster) with slightly upgraded coverages, just a notch above basic, but full coverage on all three with the exception of rental car. I pay $950.00 for six months of coverage (reduced in the winter with the roadster is garaged and coverage is lowered)

Yes I am very happy with them, just checked prices online and no one was even close.

Past insurers: AIG, Liberty Mutual and Allstate.

How about you?

 

[Audi-BMW MAN]

Big Daddy,

Jason here. I'm glad that you posted something about insurance here. I currently use all-state and MAP(EFG companies) What do you have to say about them? I'm curious because you have used All-state. Feed back would be awesome.

thanks,
Jason

 

[Big Daddy]

I shop insurance about every five years as things change and rates vary widely. I did not care for Allstate, no real reason other than poor service and rates climbed slowly over the time I had them. If you compare coverage for coverage (apples to apples) shop around there are some good buys out there.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

State Farm is a major bad faith insurance carrier

Big Daddy,

Jason here. I'm glad that you posted something about insurance here. I currently use all-state and MAP(EFG companies) What do you have to say about them? I'm curious because you have used All-state. Feed back would be awesome.

thanks,
Jason

When it comes to insurance companies, it's your best bet to ask an experienced personal injury lawyer as to their opinion regarding company X or company Y. The reasoning behind this would be the extensive dealings these attorneys have with filing claims and dealing with bad faith on the part of the insurer.

Aside from that, you can google "fight bad faith insurance companies" for a website fbic.org I believe ( have not been there in a while) and they will suggest reputable insurance carriers, as well as list those with the largest number of bad faith claims against them.

I personally would not use State farm, state farm loves to play hardball when it comes time to file a claim. In state farm's case you get what you pay for, and that is lousy coverage. Remember Hurricane Katrina, well state farm basically told their insured home owners that the Hurricane was an act of God and that they were denying their claims. State Farm and Allstate and AIG are three companies I would avoid. I have used AIG and aside from horrible customer service, they also have dishonest claims adjusters who will claim to have paid bills i.e. rental coverage, only to have never drafted a check to begin with...

Travelers insurance also lags in customer service and has a lot of bad faith claims against them, however they do offer very cheap rates and are popular in the Northwest. I would recommend another insurer such as Amica as they are top rated and have very high satisfaction ratings, although they probably cost a little bit more than travelers. Chubb is also an excellent rated company, although you get what you pay for, (use genuine parts and insure luxury vehicles with annually updated beforehand agreed total loss value) meaning they're $$$.


I currently use GEICO, competitive rates, excellent friendly customer service reps, and they are willing to work with you when you file a claim, especially with no fault medical coverage. I also pay around $1200 for 6mo. for an 08 Honda and an 07 X3.

 

[Pete K]

I just got a bunch of quotes for combined home and auto policies and am switching to Travelers. Ironically, my wife is a claims adjuster for Progressive but they don't do home coverage here in NH so we couldn't get a good deal. But she does work with other insurance companies. She has poor opinions of Allstate and State Farm. I think she likes working with Farmers, Liberty Mutual and Amica. She says Progressive is pretty fair with their customers.

 

[Bmw 325i 7803]

I just got a bunch of quotes for combined home and auto policies and am switching to Travelers. Ironically, my wife is a claims adjuster for Progressive but they don't do home coverage here in NH so we couldn't get a good deal. But she does work with other insurance companies. She has poor opinions of Allstate and State Farm. I think she likes working with Farmers, Liberty Mutual and Amica. She says Progressive is pretty fair with their customers.

I hope you did some online research and saw this and this about Travelers, this took about 2 minutes to find.


http://insurance.freeadvice.com/reviews/158/

most people 63% are very unsatisfied

http://www.carreview.com/cat/Misc-category/auto-insurance/travelers/PRD_14841_1823crx.aspx

and a grandma apparently was threatened by their adjusters for her stolen truck, and I didn't read the other 20 something reviews...


If the price meets your budget, fair I guess, but I usually avoid companies that have a high or majority dissatisfaction rating. I also got a quote from Travelers and they offered me around $950, I preferred to pay more, and use someone else, although I am aware that not everyone has the ability to do so, but if they did I would encourage them to pursue those companies with high satisfaction ratings. Speaking with our $$$ is the only way to change policies.

 

[Big Daddy]

I have had no issues with Traveler's and they came highly recommeded by the local independant high dollar body shop, one highly recommended by the local BMW CCA Chapter, who also by the way holds tech sessions for our chapter on insurance companies. I would avoid a lawyers advice (having personal experience here) as they tend to be on the wrong end of the insurance companies and their reputations are suspect to begin with (tounge in cheek).

And from another personal experience avoid Chubb, they denied a claim I was involved in where I was hit while parked. Long story short they eventually paid after threat of a suit.