Insurance quote, is this possible?

[Zizou]

Hi

For the last 18 months we have been car insured with Farmers. Prior to that Liberty Mutual for 30 years which went up way too high.

Anyway to round the numbers to make it easy 18 months ago Statefarm charged us $750 (6 months) for our cars, 6 months later it went to $950 and now before we renew it's going to be $1100.

So I shopped around the usual suspects, I eliminated everyone but Progressive.

They are quoting me $450 for 6 months.

So I checked what they are giving me for that money and what statefarm gives me and they are very close to each others.

So I had my wife look at our current policy and progressive numbers and she said like me, about the same.

Are they both for 6 months? Yes they are, I must have checked 10 times (No lies) and then my wife checked.

Same cars, nothing changed.

We also went back to our credit card statement to make even more sure and yes we were charged $750 in September and $950 in April by statefarm.

How can this be? $450 vs $1100? So $900/Year progressive and $2200 Statefarm.

Thanks a lot

[Horseshoez]

I would say, definitely possible.  Why?  Progressive came in at a third of our AARP/Hartford car insurance, and even better in relation to Liberty Mutual, State Farm, and Allstate.

[CreditCuriosity]

Yes currently with progressive for car insurance as was tired of getting rate increases on state farm every 6 months being no fault of my own.  With that said it will increase after 6 months and might need to shop around again as a portion of the savings is signing up for a new policy and doing online a one time discount.  Whether you save more than the others after the first 6 months I have no idea.  Believe you can also possibly save more with them or was it another if you pay your whole policy up front as well maybe that was geico I cant remember.  Really the 3 cheapest usually for at least where I live are going to be progressive/geico/sf if you consider 255$ cheap for one car per month.  Then others come in at 600$/mo quotes they are giving you those but clearly are saying here is your quote but we don't want your business for whatever reason.  Nuts insurance costs here in FL likely due to higher percentage of uninsured/underinsured insurance along with fraud and well just horrible drivers that we acquired from every other state in mass that don't know how to drive.  I have perfect credit/perfect driving record, etc.. so frustrating but part of living in said state

[Realist]

Anytime I've used Progressive in the past, their six month policies increased 20% plus each and every new policy renewal, like clockwork.  Now granted, it seems like ALL of the insurances are doing this now, but that was how Progressive was for me back then.  They will catch up soon enough.  Their introductory offers are only to get you in the door.

Never utilized insurance once in my life, knock on wood.  I just wish I could get all of the mandated and stolen premium money back from any insurance provider.  That alone is a massive pile of cash for anyone that has never had a need to collect on an insurance claim.

[Zizou]

Awesome, Thanks a lot

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@Horseshoez wrote:

I would say, definitely possible.  Why?  Progressive came in at a third of our AARP/Hartford car insurance, and even better in relation to Liberty Mutual, State Farm, and Allstate.

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[Zizou]

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@CreditCuriosity wrote:

Yes currently with progressive for car insurance as was tired of getting rate increases on state farm every 6 months being no fault of my own.  With that said it will increase after 6 months and might need to shop around again as a portion of the savings is signing up for a new policy and doing online a one time discount.  Whether you save more than the others after the first 6 months I have no idea.  Believe you can also possibly save more with them or was it another if you pay your whole policy up front as well maybe that was geico I cant remember.  Really the 3 cheapest usually for at least where I live are going to be progressive/geico/sf if you consider 255$ cheap for one car per month.  Then others come in at 600$/mo quotes they are giving you those but clearly are saying here is your quote but we don't want your business for whatever reason.  Nuts insurance costs here in FL likely due to higher percentage of uninsured/underinsured insurance along with fraud and well just horrible drivers that we acquired from every other state in mass that don't know how to drive.  I have perfect credit/perfect driving record, etc.. so frustrating but part of living in said state

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I appreciate the help

Thxs

[Zizou]

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@Realist wrote:

Anytime I've used Progressive in the past, their six month policies increased 20% plus each and every new policy renewal, like clockwork.  Now granted, it seems like ALL of the insurances are doing this now, but that was how Progressive was for me back then.  They will catch up soon enough.  Their introductory offers are only to get you in the door.

Never utilized insurance once in my life, knock on wood.  I just wish I could get all of the mandated and stolen premium money back from any insurance provider.  That alone is a massive pile of cash for anyone that has never had a need to collect on an insurance claim.

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That makes sense, if they go up by 20% in 6 month, I will still be way ahead.

Thanks 

[AndrewF]

As a person with a bankruptcy on my credit from 5 years ago, I can definitely say if it wasn't for Progressive I'd have to seriously consider hanging up my car keys and just paying Uber to take me everywhere because it would be cheaper than driving.

https://www.ilsos.gov/special/driving_change/home.html

The Secretary of State in Illinois is pushing for a bill that will stop insurance companies from considering anything other than your driving record, just your driving history and nothing else.

I think my favorite statistic from the SoS is that a person in Illinois with a spotless driving record and a bad FICO score, will pay $862 more per year in car insurance, than a person with a good FICO score and a DUI.

That's really messed up. Count the number of times that you've opened the news and seen a drunk driver doing a hit and run or driving into a moose lodge or crashing into a tree. Have you ever heard thousands of stories like that, but the only factor was a low FICO score?

The greedy insurance companies have shared no actuarial data showing that a low FICO score can possibly justify this sort of increase in car insurance premiums. They just say "Trust us, it's there."

I really hope it passes because I've had an 826 FICO score and a 496 FICO score and I was the same person both times, but my car insurance went from being SUPER CHEAP to outrageous with anyone but Progressive. I don't think that people who live in the hood should have to pay into a "car insurance subsidy" for rich people.

They all throw credit ratings in there as an excuse to gouge people who are, face it, likely broke and with no power base, and they don't feel we can do anything about it.

Anyway, until the bankruptcy is off my credit, Progressive is probably where I'm going to plant myself.

They get sort of a bum rap from people with other companies, but the truth is that Farmers and Liberty Mutual and some others just charge you more and still don't really want to pay the claim. Oh they all do this. They'll pay eventually but they're not in the business of writing the check. They want to wait you out because they know you need money desperately after an accident and they have it and you don't. The goal is to get the claim in as cheaply as possible, then raise your premiums.

I fought Liberty Mutual with the Department of Insurance a while back. They just said that they wouldn't insure anyone with a bankruptcy, and so I filed a complaint with the IDOI and Liberty Mutual changed that policy. They'll offer you car insurance now if you live in Illinois and have a bankruptcy, but it will be expensive.

[AndrewF]

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@Zizou wrote:

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@Realist wrote:

Anytime I've used Progressive in the past, their six month policies increased 20% plus each and every new policy renewal, like clockwork.  Now granted, it seems like ALL of the insurances are doing this now, but that was how Progressive was for me back then.  They will catch up soon enough.  Their introductory offers are only to get you in the door.

Never utilized insurance once in my life, knock on wood.  I just wish I could get all of the mandated and stolen premium money back from any insurance provider.  That alone is a massive pile of cash for anyone that has never had a need to collect on an insurance claim.

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That makes sense, if they go up by 20% in 6 month, I will still be way ahead.

Thanks 

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Progressive has a different formula for raising car insurance rates than most insurers. They do it gradually whereas many do it in fits and spurts, so I've been seeing my car insurance premiums go up about 2-4% per six month term whereas I've seen other companies wait a couple years and then say "We're doing 30% all at once!" or something.

I find that another "trick" for dealing with Progressive is that, you can force them to take an American Express card by running it through Paypal, and American Express tends to load a an extra "welcome" offer for insurance payments to new cards, including authorized users, so I tend to get back the card's normal rewards, plus $20, when I go to pay my Progressive term. I just add an AU card when I go to renew.

Amica reached out to me and said I was one of the safest 5% of drivers in Illinois and they wanted to give me a quote. Then when they gave me one I said, "Good Lord! I didn't want to buy the car again every time my term is up!"

[Zizou]

Thanks for sharing this story!