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Auto Insurance Advice

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UncleB
Credit Mentor

Re: Auto Insurance Advice


@Anonymous wrote:

Started a collectibles policy as you had to have homeowners or renters to have a valuable property policy.  It is through a third party....  but hopefully that is enough.  We also got a quote for mobile home, (also provided by 3rd party) and they came in higher than their current rates.  I'll give it a few days and then have one of my parents try to sign up.


Depending on how the accounts were established you might have to make a quick call to USAA for the insurance to be "available" once your parents are eligible, but it's painless (they will do everything they can to help). 

 

As long as the memberships were set up with the membership numbers of the 'qualifying' person listed as the sponsor, it should be automatic (again, not a problem if it doesn't).  Smiley Wink

 

(I want to reiterate that I don't generally care to talk to banks/companies/etc. on the phone, but USAA I don't mind... they really are that nice.)

Message 11 of 20
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Auto Insurance Advice

So I worked for Geico for 5 years and I still have my auto policy with them.  It is true that it is based on the area you live in down to your zip code.  I would call geico and ask them to look for any discounts that they can apply and see if they can do anything to get the price down.  If they tell you No ask for an underwriter to review you policy manually.  

 

Also we have had claims in the past and hands down they were awesome!  Spoke to them twice all together and that was it. 

 

They had our car fixed with in 3 days. 

 

I will say my policy went up this past renewal and I was really surprised considering it has been the same for almost 10 years. 

 

You our can always rate shop and see what you find as well.  

 

 

 

Message 12 of 20
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Auto Insurance Advice

FYI for anyone looking to do the same thing...  Let me save you some money and time.  The collectable policy does not qualify as a policy that will pass membership.  You will need a Legacy policy to pass membership from the first generation to the second.  The legacy policy is not available from second generation to third generation, so the second generation will need to have a real home or auto policy.  Back to square one.

Message 13 of 20
UncleB
Credit Mentor

Re: Auto Insurance Advice


@Anonymous wrote:

FYI for anyone looking to do the same thing...  Let me save you some money and time.  The collectable policy does not qualify as a policy that will pass membership.  You will need a Legacy policy to pass membership from the first generation to the second.  The legacy policy is not available from second generation to third generation, so the second generation will need to have a real home or auto policy.  Back to square one.


+1

 

The key is that the policy must be through USAA 'proper', not a third party.  (That's the easiest way for me to tell which is which). Smiley Wink

 

I'm waiting on my own father to purchase a 'Legacy' policy right now so that I can even see what my own rates would be.  FWIW, there used to be a 'jewelry' policy offered through USAA ('proper') that would qualify; it's what I helped my grandfather purchase years ago that made my father eligible for their legacy products.  Note that it was specific to jewelry (not collectibles) and that it was a few years ago, so YMMV.

 

I'll also add that the jewelry policy might not be available to the 2nd generation, either.  I went to help my father purchase one a year or so ago, but his only options (at least online) are for car or homeowners insurance.  There might be more options available to him with a CSR... we haven't tried that yet.

Message 14 of 20
CreditDunce
Valued Contributor

Re: Auto Insurance Advice

GEICO is a heavy user of profit optimization scoring.  They are not increasing your rates due to losses in your zip code.  They are increasing your rates to make more profit.  They are very good at increasing the rates just enough to make it not worth the trouble to switch.

 

When I had GEICO, they raised my rates every 6 months except for the times I requested a quote from another company.  I suspect they also don't jack up rates as much for people who regularly switch.  If it is taking months to get into USAA, then find another company.  You can always switch to USAA before your renewal date.

Message 15 of 20
RonM21
Valued Contributor

Re: Auto Insurance Advice


@Anonymous wrote:

While not completely credit related...  I hope it is still appropriate to ask.  I've had Geico for a few years, and with out any changes to my driving record my rates go up every 6 months.  My last increase was $40 per 6 months (was told based on claims in the area), so I increased my deductibles to bring the price back down as I had been meaning to anyway.  I originally went with them because of price in comparison with Allstate.  I fortunately have not had the opportunity to see the claims process with Geico (knocks on wood).  Where price used to be very important to me, I'm now leaning towards piece of mind while still being frugal.  While reading reviews online, there are a few bad reviews for every good review.  Is there an auto insurance company that will take care of you when you need them most?


I can't directly name a company, but I found through trial and error that going to a place that constanly looks for the best deals for you worked for me.  At first I'd go to one particular insurance carrier and would always suffer high rates. Eventually, I found someone local who searches everyone. Even when I have a great deal, they're still always looking for me, and will call me in when they think they've found something worth considering. Best move I ever made regarding my auto insurance!!



Total CL: $321.7kUTL: 2%AAoA: 7.0yrsBaddies: 0Other: Lease, Loan, *No Mortgage, All Inq's from Jun '20 Car Shopping

BoA-55k | NFCU-45k | AMEX-42k | DISC-40.6k | PENFED-38.4k | LOWES-35k | ALLIANT-25k | CITI-15.7k | BARCLAYS-15k | CHASE-10k

Message 16 of 20
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Auto Insurance Advice

 
Message 17 of 20
bartoe
New Contributor

Re: Auto Insurance Advice

My husband and I have two vehicles 2013/2015.  We were with USAA since I quit my job at a auto insurance company (who by the way, I made a comp claim (glass replacement) and paid my $50 deductible, the next renewal they jumped our premium to $450 which happens to be the SAME cost of the windshield) and he had one accident from 2013 coughprogressivecough.  

 

We recently went with Hanover/Citizens Insurance and went from paying $3828 a year to $2688 with better coverage AND we switched our renter's policy over and even though that was a little bit more (about 60-100 a year more) we also were able to get the umbrella policy as well.  Overall we have saved about $1000 a year on insurance (thankfully my husband's accident fell off)

 

Oh and we live in the GREAT state of Michigan (I'm being sarcastic) where NO-Fault screws you over  Cat Mad

Message 18 of 20
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: Auto Insurance Advice


@UncleB wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you all for your help.  I'm currently not eligible for USAA without some work on my end.  If it were a matter of just having two generations sign up, it wouldn't be a problem at all.  However the way I read it...  they would need to have or had an insurance product for the next person to be a full member.  Convincing two people to switch insurances (house or car) because I want them... adds complication to the mix.  I started the discussion tonight and the reception went well as they are open to the idea of at least looking at rates.  Fingers Crossed...


+1

 

If it helps, here's what I did...

 

My grandfather was in WWII, and is thus eligible for USAA.  However, he's quite pleased with his arrangement with State Farm (and honestly at age 93, it would be a bit of an effort to have everything changed over at this point.)

 

A few years ago I got him a membership in USAA, and two years ago I helped him purchase their very least expensive jewelry policy online; if I recall correctly the price was around $35 for a year.  Once that was done (I paid the one-time premium with my credit card) my father became eligible for USAA insurance.  I told my grandmother to simply ignore the renewal that would come in the next year, and not to be concerned with any paperwork that might come in the mail for the policy (and I made sure to set the policy to not auto-renew on my credit card).

 

Note that once qualified, always qualified, so a one-time small policy is all that would be required to pass the eligibility on to the next generation.  It's not necessary to disturb their current auto/home insurance arrangement if they are happy with what they have (or especially if what they already have is cheaper).

 

Hope this helps!  Smiley Wink


Uncle B,
Thanks for the info,
I just signed my father up for USAA ( with his permission of course) I added his military info or as much as I had and they issued him a number. As I was finishing him up, it asked for family members, so I had an old USAA account and entered that number. Received an email saying that my father added me. Sooooo
I signed him up for some cheap renters insurance and then then logged into my account and got a quote on a new auto policy.. the quote was $80 cheaper than my Gecio policy. I saved the quote because I didn't wasn't completely sure that I was in... What do you think..

Message 19 of 20
UncleB
Credit Mentor

Re: Auto Insurance Advice


@Anonymous wrote:

@UncleB wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

Thank you all for your help.  I'm currently not eligible for USAA without some work on my end.  If it were a matter of just having two generations sign up, it wouldn't be a problem at all.  However the way I read it...  they would need to have or had an insurance product for the next person to be a full member.  Convincing two people to switch insurances (house or car) because I want them... adds complication to the mix.  I started the discussion tonight and the reception went well as they are open to the idea of at least looking at rates.  Fingers Crossed...


+1

 

If it helps, here's what I did...

 

My grandfather was in WWII, and is thus eligible for USAA.  However, he's quite pleased with his arrangement with State Farm (and honestly at age 93, it would be a bit of an effort to have everything changed over at this point.)

 

A few years ago I got him a membership in USAA, and two years ago I helped him purchase their very least expensive jewelry policy online; if I recall correctly the price was around $35 for a year.  Once that was done (I paid the one-time premium with my credit card) my father became eligible for USAA insurance.  I told my grandmother to simply ignore the renewal that would come in the next year, and not to be concerned with any paperwork that might come in the mail for the policy (and I made sure to set the policy to not auto-renew on my credit card).

 

Note that once qualified, always qualified, so a one-time small policy is all that would be required to pass the eligibility on to the next generation.  It's not necessary to disturb their current auto/home insurance arrangement if they are happy with what they have (or especially if what they already have is cheaper).

 

Hope this helps!  Smiley Wink


Uncle B,
Thanks for the info,
I just signed my father up for USAA ( with his permission of course) I added his military info or as much as I had and they issued him a number. As I was finishing him up, it asked for family members, so I had an old USAA account and entered that number. Received an email saying that my father added me. Sooooo
I signed him up for some cheap renters insurance and then then logged into my account and got a quote on a new auto policy.. the quote was $80 cheaper than my Gecio policy. I saved the quote because I didn't wasn't completely sure that I was in... What do you think..


If you were able to get a quote, that should mean you're "in".  When I try to get a quote, this is what i see:

 

usaanope.jpg

 

Note that my father is eligible to get a policy, he just hasn't done so.  Smiley Frustrated

 

For me to even see what my rates would be he has to get a policy first... I have no way of getting even a 'ball-park' idea of what my rate would be.  If you're able to get to the screen that gives quotes, you should be good! 

 

Also, congrats on the lower rate... it's always fantastic to save a few dollars - especially when the service level is said to be as good or better than the competition as well!  Smiley Wink

Message 20 of 20
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