I've had Geico for ages, bought into their low cost claim over the years and didn't really shop around. Before getting my 3 I added the car to my GEICO app, and to my shock it quoted just over a thousand for 6 months, which is basically double what I was paying on my VW GTI. I started requesting quotes from all the reputable sources (Farmers, State Farm, Progressive, etc.) and ended up saving 50% (or back down to what I was paying for the GTI) with Progressive. I did some research online and some blogger said it pays to shop around for car insurance once a year to get the best rates, and insurance companies know when you’re shopping around so they will try to be more competitive. Consumer like me who didn’t bother to shop around would just get higher premiums over time even though I had zero accidents and claims in the past decade.
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PSA: shop around for the best insurance rates
- Thread starter Ciditad
- Start date
CA driver here. Progressive gave me good rates, just wanted to make sure you checked them out for Tesla if you haven’t. I know it varies per person but I pay only $300 more on Progressive for a 2016 model x and 2018 model 3 than i did on Allstate with a 2002 Camry and 2008 Accord... and I have higher coverages on the Tesla’s.
In SoCal myself, and Geico had the best rates. It was also reassuring to hear from the top rated Tesla certified repair shop that Geico was by far the best to deal with compared to all others. Now, whether that means it's good for the shop, or good for the car owner remains unknown. YMMV
I had the same issue with Geico and shopped around. Then I called Geico and asked if they could give me a better rate. They said they could try a different 'formula' to calculate our rates, and came back at $700 less for the 6 months than we were currently paying. I still might switch because another insurance company is $1000 less for the 6 months, but while I research, at least Geico is down considerably from what they automatically priced us at when I added the car. Maybe a consideration if you really don't want to switch.
I did call GEICO back and they gave me a slightly better quote, but it was still over 400 bucks more per 6 months so I'm staying with Progressive for now. Coverage also seems a little better on the liability side, plus I get $0 deductible on windshield replacement coverage at a very low price whereas GEICO would charge a lot more for $0 deductible.
JLFORBES
Member
I've been wanting to shop around for insurance so i finally did after reading the original post. So glad I did... I just spoke with Progressive and the six month quote for my 3 cars is almost half of what i am paying GEICO. Also Progressive has me at $500 deductible where GEICO had me at a $1000 deductible with all other items being identical. I might check with a couple of other providers while I'm at it...
That seems odd. You certain they quoted you the exact same coverage level? Thought insurance was a highly regulated industry, and offering a customer a different price based on a different "formula" seems dubious at best.
MarkBrokeIt
That's the way the lady on the phone explained it to me. When I go look at the policy now, the only difference I see is our deductibles have a $1 extra, like $1001 and $501. I did remove a vehicle that was $50 extra every 6 months, but that shouldn't cause that much difference. She said that formula usually costed people more money, so they didn't run it typically. I wonder if it switched us to a different sub insurance company, because some of that info looks a little different.
That's the way the lady on the phone explained it to me. When I go look at the policy now, the only difference I see is our deductibles have a $1 extra, like $1001 and $501. I did remove a vehicle that was $50 extra every 6 months, but that shouldn't cause that much difference. She said that formula usually costed people more money, so they didn't run it typically. I wonder if it switched us to a different sub insurance company, because some of that info looks a little different.
In my limited experience, and it probably differs in every state, if they are just a broker and not the company actually providing the coverage, they have to disclose that. Because if they were just a broker & you needed to make a claim, that would go directly to that other insurance company.
I've also never heard of anyone having an odd deductible like that. Sounds like you got a creative agent, and it was awesome for you. Hope your advice will help others, thanks for sharing!
