Is State Farm in your area? I've been using them for 12 years until just recently, service was terminated after they took care of everything when someone ran a red light a totaled my car which led me to order a Model 3 which is going to be delivered in a few weeks where I will once again sign with State Farm XD Their customer service is on point.
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Why are Geiko and Progressive's comprehensive coverage so low compared to others?
- Thread starter fidke
- Start date
They don't. I heard this directly from Progressive themselves. Progressive also uses other underwriters for home owner's insurance and don't directly underwrite themselves. None of this is a secret, it's all out in the open for everybody to know.
jhalapin
Member
For grins I just got an online quote from Allstate for my P3D with FSD (since I am with Geico and am coming up for renewal soon). Almost $1800 every 6 months.
vs $506 for 6 months with Geico.
Yikes!
You pay for what you get. Dennis Haysbert vs. a gecko with an accent.
Garlan Garner
Banned
jhalapin
Member
For homeowners, yes (although it is isn’t Liberty Mutual) but for auto, Motorcycle, boat, RV, snowmobile, etc, no.
Mrcarcrazy
In need of a shrinking gun to zap a plaid with.
I’ve had progressive for 12yrs. They are reasonable on all of my vehicles except my Lotus. I’m hoping to switch it over to a Specialty insurance as it doesn’t get enough use to justify the crazy high insurance rate. (Double what I Pay for the Model 3 Insurance).
So, my only caution with that is to ensure you can resume "where you left off" on your insurance policy with State Farm ... there are (significant) discounts associated with longevity. For example, both of our vehicles are in the top-tier "Insured 6 years or more" category with SF. That means that an insurance agreement has been in force for 6 years or more, continuously, for each vehicle or its replacement. (i.e. I replaced my Cadillac with the Model 3 - so that counts as continuous coverage) ... I can't tell you if this is a NJ-specific thing or not, but there are 15 different Tier levels at least here in NJ.
Many moons ago, I had a company car so sold my car. Several years later, I changed employers and had to buy another car (and put it back on our policy) ... It reset the tier back to "insured 0-3 years" on my vehicle because I had a significant break in coverage.
Just run that by your agent... wonder if they can suspend your policy for a few months rather than cancel & start new. As you said, they excel at customer service, so just want to make sure that you're well taken care of!
Nopeeee XD I will be starting from square one again as I moved from California back to Hawaii. I'm just sticking with State Farm because I had my last car repaired many times reliably and always had a good rental car available. That being said I've never caused anything worse than a scratch or a dent on collisions, but the times I've been hit by someone else and they were at fault I was always well taken care of. They are pretty savage at going after other peoples insurance.
If one actually wants to know it is quite easy to look up the answers in public disclosures. FWIW, customer service representatives rarely know much about their own company actual underwriting process.
All insurance companies use reinsurance to manage their direct exposures on some or even all of their risk categories. Progressive, however is one of the largest underwriters of vehicle insurance and do not use any other company in their vehicle underwriting process. In fact Progressive has what many consider to be the most comprehensive database on vehicle risk categories.
Because of that they frequently provide the lowest prices in categories otherwise up charged by other companies. That specifically applies to Tesla, where their expertise extends to advantages in claims processing due to direct Contacts with most Tesla-authorized body shops in the US. Further that advantage can be seen in both Comprehensive and Collision pricing.
Progressive also lowers rates with claims free persistency and for multiple policies. They do tend to be exceedingly adept with treaty management (as applies to accidents in much of Canada for US policyholders, which are paid by Progressive even when fault of accident is another party. Geico has some similar advantages, but less comprehensively than does Progressive. State Farm, popular among many of us, does not have a stellar capacity for unusual risks.
Context: I do not claim to be an expert on vehicle insurance. I have consulted with several insurance companies including some based in the Midwest US regarding modeling of consumer risk management issues. In that process I have examined public documents for every company mentioned in this thread and others.
In my personal auto and homeowners policies I choose first for underwriting policies, next for claims management, third for price. I do not consult any consumer survey data. In the US, I currently use Progressive and have done since I bought my first Tesla.
FWIW, my Model P3D+ was severely damaged in an accident in New Brunswick five days after I bought it. It was being driven by a driver from Australia and the responsible driver for the accident was Quebec-licensed and had ‘inappropriate’ documentation for both the truck and trailer he was operating. Progressive covered 100% of the damage including diminished value (explicitly excluded from my Florida cover) because they, not I, told me about their treaty conditions. A couple of months after that expensive accident my insurance was renewed including a rate reduction, repeat; rate reduction due to my claim free record.
The foregoing is 100% true and also a rare situation. Progressive could have neglected to follow the Canadian/US treaty terms if they had wished to, but they instead treated this exactly as kindly as possible including charging the accident to a category that did not affect my record.
When choosing an insurance carrier it is important to do homework in advance to ensure that if presented with an unusual claim or an ordinary one you can rely on the integrity of the company. Eventually you’ll benefit by having done that research.
FWIW part 2: I do the same thing with my covers in other countries (at the moment I have two others). Luckily I have had few claims in my life, but I have never regretted spending extra time to be prepared since, after all, that is what insurance is for.
Lastly, when insuring a Tesla it is important to know that your chosen company is very familiar with their risks, especially since Tesla loss frequency is much lower than average, human being loss severity is vastly lower than average, but collision repair is more costly than average. Combining these actuarial categories can result in widely varied quotations for identical risk. Hint: companies that specialize in mass market risk are rarely wise choices for an unusual vehicle.
This is excellent insight. Thank you!
I'm currently (and will continue) with State Farm, not because of or in spite of my Tesla, but the "holistic" relationship. I have what I consider to be an outstanding agent, who has been my best advocate in the very few times I've needed them. I continually compare not only cost, but also the actual coverage offered for my vehicles, home and personal liability policies, and haven't found anything in the market that can make my move.
For example, beyond the auto coverage - I have policies for my personal camera equipment, and drones. Their drone policies especially are extremely unusual - it's a $60/annual rider to add my fairly expensive drones (a few K each) to my homeowners policy for coverage. This alone is worth its weight in gold, as it covers me for damage, loss and liability.
So, I agree with all you've said above and encourage everyone to consider the ENITRE insurance package, end-to-end... not just automotive.
I'm currently (and will continue) with State Farm, not because of or in spite of my Tesla, but the "holistic" relationship. I have what I consider to be an outstanding agent, who has been my best advocate in the very few times I've needed them. I continually compare not only cost, but also the actual coverage offered for my vehicles, home and personal liability policies, and haven't found anything in the market that can make my move.
For example, beyond the auto coverage - I have policies for my personal camera equipment, and drones. Their drone policies especially are extremely unusual - it's a $60/annual rider to add my fairly expensive drones (a few K each) to my homeowners policy for coverage. This alone is worth its weight in gold, as it covers me for damage, loss and liability.
So, I agree with all you've said above and encourage everyone to consider the ENITRE insurance package, end-to-end... not just automotive.
Nobody has yet mentioned one very easy way to reduce a premium, raising the deductible. Most people would not make a claim for something that cost less than, say, $2000, since doing so would normally raise rates more than the claim would be worth. Raising the deductible usually saves quite a lot.
AAA in California has tended to price non-mass market risks quite high. Keep in mind that AAA is not an insurer, but each State has distinct companies that typically pay a royalty to the AAA State organization and sometimes are owned by that one. Therefore you need to check the fine print on any AAA-branded insurance in order to know it is a good deal or not, more than with other insurance companies.
Mercury is relatively small but has excellent performance in the markets where they are most active. That said, it is a trifle unusual for them to undercut Progressive on collision by a major amount. Their claims service is reputed to be quite good in most of their major markets. In comparison with your other two cheapest options Mercury is probably less tolerant of claims when doing policy renewals. If you choose them you probably ought to check local reputation for claims service and renewals just to be conservative. They are one of the best of the smaller auto insurers.
Luudcrs
Member
I guess it all boils down to personal experience, which can vary tons. I've been with Geico for at least the past decade and have had our share of claims, but never totaled. Their CS has always been responsive and we've never had issues with repairs or reimbursements. I usually cross-shop rates every year or two and they've always come in as one of, if not the lowest. Have been very happy with them. However, just got my renewal and as others have mentioned, their collision rates for Teslas have gone up significantly. So I'll be cross-shopping rates again soon.
