Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

sda

Seems not much has changed over the years with Allstate. I got my first (and only) speeding ticket. I’ve been very lucky. It was an area where the speed limit had been recently reduced and a radar speed trap was set up. They pulled about 6 of us at once. I was ticketed doing 43 in a 30, the previous limit being 40. My driving record was clean yet Allstate sent me a letter that opened ‘Different cars and different drivers...’ and canceled my insurance. I was driving a Sunbird, hardly sporty. I’ve been with USAA ever since.

graphicguy

https://www.carscoops.com/2019/04/what-makes-the-acura-nsxs-6000-andaro-paint-so-special/amp/

xwesx

Many, many years ago (1997, for those counting), I opened an Allstate policy. Back then, the rates were competitive, and a little better than, other places (for a young 19-y.o.-pup). After some period, maybe ten years, of no claims, they locked in that "accident forgiveness" bit. I still have the policy, but man is it expensive compared to other options now. I even went so far as to eschew the policy for another company on both my Fiesta and my Q7 because the rate they wanted to charge was so ludicrous that I would not have bought either of them if I insured through them.

However, keeping it did work out well for me when I chewed up my '08 Forester a few years ago: Two "oops" driveway bang-ups that were indisputably my fault, damaging all property that was insured on the same policy, yet they didn't balk coverage and it had no effect on my rates. However, given how high those rates are, and how long I have had the policy, I would probably need to crash into a super-car for Allstate to end-up upside down in this relationship!

stickguy

I went to Allstate last year after AAA (whoever they were using) jacked rates up again for no real reason. After some checking, I was surprised that AS was cheaper (I didn't look at the big TV advertisers). If they start ratcheting up next renewal, I will shop again. Easier now that we don't have a kid on the policy. Might even check AARP to see if all their talk about being great for us "older folks" is more than just smoke blowing.

tjc78

My Mom just switched to State Farm of all things and saved a bunch from Liberty. I should probably shop around. It’s been about 5 years since I’ve changed.

stickguy

Liberty was my 2nd choice. Car was a bit higher, but home was less. Assuming a rebate from Liberty, might have ended up close in the end.

xwesx

At first glance, it seems odd to me that these companies would want to discourage long-term customers. However, I suspect that they feel exactly the opposite: Assuming you have not had any claims to date, their exposure goes up the longer you are with them.

In other words, the risk thinking is that it is not a matter of *if*, but *when* a crash will occur. So, you have been claim-free for ten years? Wonderful! But, now how likely is it that you will end up being in a crash over the next ten years? Statistically, it is higher. So, if you - the customer - move on to another company that is willing to assume that risk to earn your premiums, then you lock in their profits and move your risk somewhere else.

Maybe *I'm* blowing smoke, but I can certainly see a bunch of actuaries thinking this way.

pensfan83

Today must be the day for unpleasant surprises. Came home from one of the kid's baseball games and found a slowly leaking water heater

corvette

In my area, Allstate agents are notorious for mailing unsolicited ads suggesting that they will insure your $200k home for about $300 a year, which we all know is unrealistic. That un-underwritten junk mail "quote" included a "welcome discount," or in other words, something you only get the first year, plus a claim-free discount and other discounts many people will not qualify for.

As someone who works in the industry, but doesn't sell, adjust, or underwrite personal lines policies, I don't like Liberty Mutual / Safeco's claim handling practices, nor do I like Progressive's.

I have my home, cars, business, umbrella, and one rental property with a regional insurer through a local agent I've done a lot of business with in the past. Pretty much every claim has had some sort of issue with the carrier not playing by the rules. Every time I complain to the agent, I get the excuse that this is the best carrier they have and it's rare for them to have a claim problem, the carrier has a new CEO who is going to fix things, etc. The latest being a claim on my dwelling fire policy, where my tenant's mattress caught fire, and caused over $30k of damage to the rental. Insurance carrier hired the worst disaster restoration company in town and tried to cover for their lies and defective workmanship, and has ignored my requests for reimbursement of lost rent and other things the disaster restoration company didn't repair, repaired incorrectly, or where they caused additional damage in the process of repairing.

I'm in the process of moving my banking account from the bank where I've done business for over ten years, due to a couple of instances of minor to moderate inconvenience. I think once this claim is wrapped up, I'm going to shop insurance.

corvette

pensfan83 said:

Today must be the day for unpleasant surprises. Came home from one of the kid's baseball games and found a slowly leaking water heater

At least it wasn't a quickly leaking water heater! Hope you have a reliable plumber!

xwesx

pensfan83 said:

Today must be the day for unpleasant surprises. Came home from one of the kid's baseball games and found a slowly leaking water heater

Well, that's where they start when you're lucky! Better than a catastrophic failure.

If you have an electric unit, look into replacing with a heat pump water heater. It will pay for itself within a few years, if not sooner. Or, if yours is gas, consider a tankless option.

The best thing you can do for tank longevity is to replace the anode rod every two to three years and clear the sediment that accumulates at the bottom of the tank annually.

xwesx

corvette said:

I'm in the process of moving my banking account from the bank where I've done business for over ten years, due to a couple of instances of minor to moderate inconvenience. I think once this claim is wrapped up, I'm going to shop insurance.

For the sake of your sanity, I sure hope you do! That sounds like a nightmare.

omarman

xwesx said:

At first glance, it seems odd to me that these companies would want to discourage long-term customers. However, I suspect that they feel exactly the opposite: Assuming you have not had any claims to date, their exposure goes up the longer you are with them.

In other words, the risk thinking is that it is not a matter of *if*, but *when* a crash will occur. So, you have been claim-free for ten years? Wonderful! But, now how likely is it that you will end up being in a crash over the next ten years? Statistically, it is higher. So, if you - the customer - move on to another company that is willing to assume that risk to earn your premiums, then you lock in their profits and move your risk somewhere else.

Maybe *I'm* blowing smoke, but I can certainly see a bunch of actuaries thinking this way.

I'm waiting for the first copy of Car & GF Relationship Actuary. There's risk and then there's risk.

fintail

I've had Farmers since I was a teen, using my parents policy. I technically still use the same agency as when I was a student and got my own policy. Never had an issue. Rates went up only a couple dollars with the new car, no reason to change.

pensfan83

On insurance I've been with Erie Insurance since I got my license. I too am with the same agency as I was when I was a teenager, my wife was also with Erie albeit a different agent. I've never had a complaint about service or premiums and we have home, auto, and an umbrella policy through them.

corvette

My neighbor had a nightmare experience with a wind/hail claim on her house with State Farm, then switched to Safeco after having to pay for a new roof out of pocket and bragged about how great they are. I asked her whether she had had a claim with Safeco, and she said no. So, all she actually knows Safeco is great at is taking her money!

If any of you are CR subscribers, their auto insurance ratings rank Amica at the top at 96 points, and MAPFRE North America at the bottom at 86 points... Not a large spread. Allstate is below average, which fits with those here who complained about them. Are they almost all equally crooked, or what?

corvette

Working on this, but it's difficult to compare apples to apples, as I have higher coverages with my current carrier ($1,000,000 combined single limit liability and UM/UIM) than what many carriers offer. So far, I can say that Allstate quoted me higher premiums on both auto and homeowners for substantially lower coverage.

corvette

I've gotten mixed answers about USAA. I know my paternal grandfather was a service member, but not sure if he was an officer (at the time, I think only officers and not enlisted could join USAA). If he was a member, my father would be eligible, and I could probably get eligibility through him. But when I've called USAA, I've gotten inconsistent information about eligibility.

stickguy

pensfan83 said:

Today must be the day for unpleasant surprises. Came home from one of the kid's baseball games and found a slowly leaking water heater

better than finding one that was gushing!

Guess I am a glass half full guy today (don't get used to it).

mjfloyd1

Robotic prostatectomy was done yesterday.  Just sore this morning. I walked the long way around the unit this am. 

Urologist says margins looked clear but waiting on pathology report. He said the Prostate was “compact” and did not look like any spread outside the capsule. 

Should be headed home by noon. 

au1994

mjfloyd1 said:

Robotic prostatectomy was done yesterday.  Just sore this morning. I walked the long way around the unit this am. 

Urologist says margins looked clear but waiting on pathology report. He said the Prostate was “compact” and did not look like any spread outside the capsule. 

Should be headed home by noon. 

That’s certainly great news!

au1994

We were with State Farm for quite a while. I was generally pleased although the rates did tick up a bit after my wife rear-ended someone a few years ago. It did seem that there were a few other minor increases along the way.

We switched to Allstate as they are the only ones that would cover the lake house. It’s in a remote area and pier and beam construction with a large deck. I was told that was a contributing factor to Farmers, SF and one other refusing to cover it. First world problems I know.

It’s not been without problems. Primary residence is definitely cheaper, boat insurance is dirt cheap (less than 250/yr) but the auto has never exactly added up to the quote which was supposed to be considerably cheaper and its been one excuse after another...have to be signed up for e-billing, need to take a safe driving class etc. To top it off, they dropped coverage on the lake house while the renovations were going on. It seems their adjuster went to take a look for whatever reason and the old railing on the deck wasn’t to code. This was reported back and we said no problem, its being brought to code as part of the reno and nobody is living there anyway. Still dropped it and I had to have it reinstated based on the above.

Renovation is done and things have calmed down so I think it may be time to shop insurance again.

What are everyone’s thoughts about ‘unbundling’? Separate homes, cars, boat? I was always taught that is how to get deeper discounts but am hearing/seeing otherwise now.

sda

corvette said:

I've gotten mixed answers about USAA. I know my paternal grandfather was a service member, but not sure if he was an officer (at the time, I think only officers and not enlisted could join USAA). If he was a member, my father would be eligible, and I could probably get eligibility through him. But when I've called USAA, I've gotten inconsistent information about eligibility.

I was very fortunate and when Allstate cancelled me USAA had just broadened the eligibility rules. Dad was an officer in the Navy. Prior to the change I was not eligible. Now, even my daughter is eligible when she needs insurance even though I didn’t serve. Thanks Dad! We’ve had a few claims, house, car, theft, over the years. They have been consistently good to work with.

nyccarguy

mjfloyd1 said:

Robotic prostatectomy was done yesterday.  Just sore this morning. I walked the long way around the unit this am. 

Urologist says margins looked clear but waiting on pathology report. He said the Prostate was “compact” and did not look like any spread outside the capsule. 

Should be headed home by noon. 

Great news!

nyccarguy

pensfan83 said:

Today must be the day for unpleasant surprises. Came home from one of the kid's baseball games and found a slowly leaking water heater

What do you have? Gas or Electric?

nyccarguy

We bought our current house in July 2010. For 8 years, I had a cheap mailbox and a ratty looking post. About a year ago, I decided to have a nice one put up. I paid about $400 and it was perfect. Until yesterday:

pensfan83

nyccarguy said:

pensfan83 said:

Today must be the day for unpleasant surprises. Came home from one of the kid's baseball games and found a slowly leaking water heater

What do you have? Gas or Electric?

Gas

nyccarguy

So I pull in the driveway last night and a girl and her Mom come to my door.  She tells me she dropped something in her car and hit my mailbox the night before.  She says she’s really sorry and hands me a Home Depot Gift Card.  I tell her it’s OK and I appreciate her coming to me and owning up to her mistake.  The gift card is for $100.  

tjc78

At least they owned up to it!

Is it a clean break? If so, I'd get a tube of construction adhesive and some 2" deck screws. After it dries fill the crack up nice and sand/paint.

Good as new!

Edit: looked again... new post for sure. Hopefully it’s not cemented in.

qbrozen

nyccarguy said:

So I pull in the driveway last night and a girl and her Mom come to my door.  She tells me she dropped something in her car and hit my mailbox the night before.  She says she’s really sorry and hands me a Home Depot Gift Card.  I tell her it’s OK and I appreciate her coming to me and owning up to her mistake.  The gift card is for $100.  

Did you tell her what it cost you?

on the plus side, it appears the mailbox is OK? 

nyccarguy

qbrozen said:

nyccarguy said:

So I pull in the driveway last night and a girl and her Mom come to my door.  She tells me she dropped something in her car and hit my mailbox the night before.  She says she’s really sorry and hands me a Home Depot Gift Card.  I tell her it’s OK and I appreciate her coming to me and owning up to her mistake.  The gift card is for $100.  

Did you tell her what it cost you?

on the plus side, it appears the mailbox is OK? 

I did not. My wife said I should have. The girl was remorseful and sincere. I'm a softy, what can I say? The door of the mailbox is dented and it doesn't close properly.

stickguy

might be able to work on the door with some care and get it back in shape. worst case, can replace that part.

for the post, they do have vinyl kits that go over the post. Can take that one, and sleeve over it. You only need the bottom part, so what is not broken might be enough. Or, just get a new post and reuse the top part.

in any case, it does suck to have happen, but it restores some faith in humanity that they came to fess up (though probably the parent gets the credit for that). Hope the kid learned a lesson. And had the car taken away. Damage to the car was probably more than your mailbox too.

stickguy

for insurance, I would not be surprised about the bundling being a scam. Once something becomes "common knowledge" that is often the case, since people never think to question it. Next time I shop I might look into it.

corvette

If you have an umbrella liability policy, many carriers require that you have auto and home with them, as well. There are companies like RLI that specialize in writing standalone umbrella policies. 

graphicguy

Went local with my insurance after State Farm screwed me with a plumbing leak, and subsequent arrogance in dealing with me. Cincinnati Financial has treated me well since then, though.

28firefighter

au1994 said:

What are everyone’s thoughts about ‘unbundling’? Separate homes, cars, boat? I was always taught that is how to get deeper discounts but am hearing/seeing otherwise now.

I am seriously considering exploring this option.  The problem is we really don't have many great options here - just a lot of bad ones.

If I could get a regional carrier, I'd probably be much more satisfied.  To @corvette's point, Allstate and Safeco have been happy to take my money but are batting .500 when it comes to actual claims handling.

corvette

@28firefighter, check out Pemco - they only write in WA and OR, but were in the top half of Consumer Reports’ ratings. 

corvette

Erie appears to be fairly well regarded. It appears they still use a flat dollar figure deductible on wind/hail homeowners claims, which is something a lot of carriers are phasing out in favor of making the deductible a percentage of the insured value. 

28firefighter

They quoted me $5000/year for Auto Insurance. Sweet jeebus. I pay $1600 with Safeco...haven't seen numbers that high since I was in college.

kyfdx

I read all of the glowing reviews about Amica, but my total bill for auto/home would have gone up by $800/yr, if I switched (from State Farm)

Went to State Farm in 1985, when I bought an old second car for $6000, and my current insurance company wanted $2000/yr to insure it. State Farm was $350 for full coverage. I've had no issues with State Farm, regarding price, claims or service.

I occasionally check rates at other companies, but so far, no one can beat them. Also, their coverage amounts are more generous for the homeowner's part of it.

breld

@mjfloyd1 - great news. Best wishes and prayers your way.

@nyccarguy - I agree with the other sentiments. It's great the girl was honest about it - probably will cost more than the $100 to repair, but the gesture is a nice one.

henryn

xwesx said:

At first glance, it seems odd to me that these companies would want to discourage long-term customers. However, I suspect that they feel exactly the opposite: Assuming you have not had any claims to date, their exposure goes up the longer you are with them.

In other words, the risk thinking is that it is not a matter of *if*, but *when* a crash will occur. So, you have been claim-free for ten years? Wonderful! But, now how likely is it that you will end up being in a crash over the next ten years? Statistically, it is higher. So, if you - the customer - move on to another company that is willing to assume that risk to earn your premiums, then you lock in their profits and move your risk somewhere else.

Maybe *I'm* blowing smoke, but I can certainly see a bunch of actuaries thinking this way.

I would expect an actuary working for a big insurance company to have an advanced degree in mathematics, and know more about probability and statistics than the average person would ever want to know. I do remember from my one semester of prob-stat that it does NOT work the way you describe.

Look at it this way: the odds on a coin toss are 50-50. Even if you hit 10 "heads" in a row, the odds on the next toss are STILL 50-50. It seems counter-intuitive, I know, but that is how it works.

tjc78

No that makes perfect sense.  The coin doesn’t change no matter how times you flip it.  

pensfan83

corvette said:

Erie appears to be fairly well regarded. It appears they still use a flat dollar figure deductible on wind/hail homeowners claims, which is something a lot of carriers are phasing out in favor of making the deductible a percentage of the insured value. 

I have no complaints about them. When I was getting the Acura fixed last year the body shop I use also shared that some of the well known companies referenced here will only spring for OEM parts on collision claims for cars in the current model year or will only approve OEM for current and prior. Erie will approve OEM replacement parts for cars up to 3 model years old.

Mr_Shiftright

stickguy said:

might be able to work on the door with some care and get it back in shape. worst case, can replace that part.

for the post, they do have vinyl kits that go over the post. Can take that one, and sleeve over it. You only need the bottom part, so what is not broken might be enough. Or, just get a new post and reuse the top part.

in any case, it does suck to have happen, but it restores some faith in humanity that they came to fess up (though probably the parent gets the credit for that). Hope the kid learned a lesson. And had the car taken away. Damage to the car was probably more than your mailbox too.

How about a short white PCV tube-sleeve as a joint between the broken halves. Drill a hole top and bottom of the sleeve, then drill through each of the broken pieces, bolt it up, spray it all white. Then you can deal with a replacement when you have time.

Michaell

A little help, please?

https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/55565/general/x/best-road-trip-cars#latest

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

stickguy said:

might be able to work on the door with some care and get it back in shape. worst case, can replace that part.

for the post, they do have vinyl kits that go over the post. Can take that one, and sleeve over it. You only need the bottom part, so what is not broken might be enough. Or, just get a new post and reuse the top part.

in any case, it does suck to have happen, but it restores some faith in humanity that they came to fess up (though probably the parent gets the credit for that). Hope the kid learned a lesson. And had the car taken away. Damage to the car was probably more than your mailbox too.

How about a short white PCV tube-sleeve as a joint between the broken halves. Drill a hole top and bottom of the sleeve, then drill through each of the broken pieces, bolt it up, spray it all white. Then you can deal with a replacement when you have time.

I like that idea but I would make it full-length You could even mix up a little concrete and pour it into the 4 voids between the post and the tube.

BTW, looked up your house on Streetview, very nice. I knew it was yours when I saw the Prelude in the driveway. This new mailbox is an improvement over what was there at the time of the image being captured..

henryn

pensfan83 said:

corvette said:

Erie appears to be fairly well regarded. It appears they still use a flat dollar figure deductible on wind/hail homeowners claims, which is something a lot of carriers are phasing out in favor of making the deductible a percentage of the insured value. 

I have no complaints about them. When I was getting the Acura fixed last year the body shop I use also shared that some of the well known companies referenced here will only spring for OEM parts on collision claims for cars in the current model year or will only approve OEM for current and prior. Erie will approve OEM replacement parts for cars up to 3 model years old.

Do you really care whether that new fender is OEM or aftermarket? Is anyone ever going to know? Will it affect the resale value?

The answer, to all 3 questions, for most people, is “no”.

Many years ago, General Motors started running ads on TV trying to get people to only buy genuine GM body parts. I didn’t pay that much attention until one day I ran across an article explaining why they were running those ads. It seems at that time GM was losing an average of $2,500 on every vehicle they sold. But they were still profitable, still making plenty of money, making up those losses in the sale of parts.

But … the Chinese realized there was a tremendous markup on those Chevy fenders, and they got into the game. Which threatened GM’s whole business model. Assuming the fender is going to fit correctly (and it most likely will, due to computer controlled manufacturing), what really matters is the paint matching and just the quality of the paint job. A few years back, the hood was stolen off of my new F150. I had it repaired at the Ford dealers body shop, and the hood itself was about $6 or $7 hundred. Painting the hood cost $8 or $9 hundred.

Because the work was done by the Ford dealer, I assume the hood was genuine Ford. But I didn’t really care, it didn’t really mater to me. What mattered was that you absolutely could not tell that the hood had been replaced. And it did not show up on the Carfax.

roadburner

I use an independent agent and I’m moving from Safeco for home and auto to Auto Owners for our home(go figure) and Progressive for all of our cars save the Club Sport which is insured through Hagerty. 

tjc78

Aftermarket body parts are known for not fitting as well as OEM. I'm sure a good body man can make anything fit, but at what labor cost (or amount of filler)