Progressive: Interesting story about a "no fault" claim we made with them 2.5 years ago.
Traveling 65mph, on 30 through Little Rock, a car in front of me kicked up a solid concrete block. It slid to the right, ricocheted off the tire of the car on my right, and went airborne through my grill. (Toyota Avalon Hybrid). We quickly Googled, located a Toyota dealership within 5 miles, drove in with the Hybrid coolant leaking out. No engine damage, but needed bumper and grill, $3000.
Here's the FIRST kicker: IF THE CONCRETE had been sliding on the road, I would have been at fault. Since it was AIRBORNE, it was no-fault. So, they paid the claim as a no-fault claim.
SECOND kicker: 4 months later, they doubled our rate on all four cars. Changed to USAA.
Flo never even called to explain...very disappointed...
Hahah Flo is getting old and needs to move on IMO!!! You'll never get a good explanation, but at least they're required to send you a rate-change notice prior to your term renewal so you can start shopping.
That liability coding is standard across major carriers btw... If it's stationary in the road, you'd be at fault. If it's a projectile or bouncing/rolling, fault-free. Same with animals... hit a dead deer in the road, you're at fault. Deer runs in front of you, not at fault! Can't have a subjective review of every accident, need black&white rules to follow.. and contest with the law when those rules fall short of justice.
Best strategy IMO is to annually shop between quality insurers that pay claims the right way instead of counting pennies (the insurer, that is). Most cheap carriers will send you a reconciliation letter saying they can't come to an agreement with your shop of choice, if it's a high-end shop with OE certs especially. Having worked with such shops in the SF Valley and Beverly Hills for many years myself, the average ticket is many thousands even for a minor repair. With CA being the land of lawsuits and expensive shops, you definitely want healthy BI and PD limits... Self insuring wouldn't seem like a great idea when you have to shell out $10k for a relatively minor repair, another $10k for the other vehicle(s) and/or property if at fault, plus whatever injury settlement(s) the other party(ies) are claiming, plus the lawyer you hired to negotiate with them.
Unfortunately, this has become the norm in SoCal. A shopping cart dings a door, and the owner of the car doesn't feel safe using the childseat that was installed at the time... Insurance is required to pay. A bumper tap while in line for Starbucks = injury claims for all 5 people in the front car. You only saw 4 people? Too bad, there were 5... pay up. Very glad I don't process/settle claims any more!!
In this area, USAA and Progressive are both generally excellent when it comes to paying fairly per the manufacturer's guidelines... But rates are constantly changing, and companies change gears all the time. State Farm and Allstate aren't what they used to be. Farmer's is a mess when it comes to Auto. Geico pinches pennies and that's their model. Underwriting is merciless at all carriers, and loyalty means nothing...
