Learn Me : Car Insurance - multiple policies

I've been on my parents plan since I was 16 and once I graduated I was just giving them cash to cover my part of the bill. It's about time I put all of my cars under my name. Is the best method to just get online quotes from all the reputable companies and see which price is best? Who is your provider?

Details: 25 years old A few tickets but none should be on my record and only 1 accident which i wasn't at fault 1st car is 12 years old and worth ~$7,000 - my daily driver 2nd car is 18 years old and worth ~$5,000-9,000 - not currently insured No house although I have been considering renters insurance.

I also have a boat which is worth ~$10k and a moped which is worth ~$1,000 which aren't currently insured.

All the online sites suck, IMHO, for figuring out the prices. If it were me, I'd just call in to the call centers. They'll be able to help you and more than likely be able to tell you exactly the information that you need.

Also, you should buy from the company that rhymes with Great Charm.
(This is a biased opinion)

Talk to your local agents.

Bundling saves money also.

Or you could call an independent agent who will shop around for you.

I am not feeling a lot of love from my Great Charm agent right now.

spitfirebill wrote: Or you could call an independent agent who will shop around for you.

Independent agents can't get you all the companies. IIRC, the two big ones in particular don't let agents carry any other lines.

I, and a few others here, work in the auto insurance business. Everyone can give you their rates and their opinion on a particular company, but it won't amount to a hill of beans for you. You need to start calling around and do some shopping. Independent agents don't typically carry the larger companies, such as State Farm, Nationwide, etc....those companies have their own exclusive agents. Independents will carry companies like Safe Auto, Erie and a host of other smaller companies.

Since you're just starting out on your own, you may get a better rate from a smaller company who's willing to take a bit more of a "risk" than the bigger companies. But that's just a guess, there are too many factors that go into it. Shop around. Don't skimp on your liability limits.

the online quotes are usually worthless, best to talk to someone on the phone or in person.

"incedents" like tickets and accidents are on your insurance record for 3 years.

How is your credit score?
Your credit score has a huge bearing on your rates. Poor credit, higher rates.

I agree, speak to an independent. What independent means is when you open the phone book, find a guy/gal who's name is next to multiple insurance companies. You may not be as familiar with the Insurance companies they sell but trust me when I say, "the best insurance does not come from the company with the biggest advertising budget!" This will give you one point of contact for multiple companies and prices.
A non-independent example would be State Farm. The salespeople only sell for State Farm. They have no other choice other than State Farm. I am sure before you enter the door, they are going to tell you State Farm is the best insurance there is in the world - since that is all they have to sell.

jrw1621 wrote: How is your credit score? Your credit score has a huge bearing on your rates. Poor credit, higher rates.

Is this legal?

Poor credit ...... = bad driver?

Credit is good, last I checked around 750

+1 for the shopping around part (says the person too lazy to do that right now). As to who is good and offers good prices also seems to depend on where you are, we changed from a lizard with an annoying accent to Great Charm and saved money, yet I know a few people over the hills to the West whose experience was the exact opposite of ours.

I would also check if you somehow meet the eligibility criteria for USAA as they seem to have a very good reputation.

In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:
Yes, it seems to be legal. I think in short it is risk assessment. I think they make the connection that reckless with your credit is akin to reckless behind the wheel.

In addition, you are typically entering in a contract to make payments to the Insurance company. I think your credit is reviewed as an assessment of how likely you are to pay effectively.

Have you talked with the agent your parents use? If they are happy with that person I would start there.

jrw1621 wrote: In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac: Yes, it seems to be legal. I think in short it is risk assessment. I think they make the connection that reckless with your credit is akin to reckless behind the wheel. In addition, you are typically entering in a contract to make payments to the Insurance company. I think your credit is reviewed as an assessment of how likely you are to pay effectively.

Weird. Doesn't really make sense to me, but i guess it is what it is. They aren't issuing anything "on credit." With insurance, if you don't pay, they cancel. The end.

My premiums are paid in advance.

Either way, i appreciate the explanation, gives me something to ask about when i'm shopping this week. (Farmers is screwing me pretty hard.)

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

jrw1621 wrote: How is your credit score? Your credit score has a huge bearing on your rates. Poor credit, higher rates.

Is this legal? Poor credit ...... = bad driver?

Yep. Statistics (here we go again, statistics made up blah blah blah) have shown that those with poor credit tend to be worse drivers.

mtn wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote:

jrw1621 wrote: How is your credit score? Your credit score has a huge bearing on your rates. Poor credit, higher rates.

Is this legal? Poor credit ...... = bad driver?

Yep. Statistics (here we go again, statistics made up blah blah blah) have shown that those with poor credit tend to be worse drivers.

Mostly rhetorical (though my credit score is not great)... How many "accidents" is a bad credit score "worth?"

I've never been in an accident, and have zero points on my license. I'd be pretty E36 M3ty if i found out that my rates were being jacked up because of credit that has nothing to do with the insurance industry.

Yes, it's legal to use credit score as a factor in rate determination. But to my knowledge, no insurance company uses it as the sole factor. It's a piece of the "puzzle". Much like living in a large city is going to have higher rates than the suburbs. Statistical risks. If you live in the country with a very clean driving record, your credit score may not have a big effect. However, if you have bad credit, live in the inner city and have had prior at fault losses, expect to pay through the (insert body part here).

Shop around, but once you pick a company, keep your eye on rates. As time goes by, if you have a clean record, they may give you discounts nobody else can match. I've been with the same company for 20 years now, and have multiple policies with them (home, auto, life, etc...). No way on earth another company could match the prices I get from them based on all the discounts I get.

Looks like I need to call around! Thanks folks! Probably will post back with what you guys think I need for deductibles/ coverage.

Just looked at my bill and realized my parents were charging me way less than I was giving them. Here is the breakdown

Bodily Injury Liability - Each Person/Each Occurrence $25k/50k

Property Damage Liability - $50k

Personal Injury Protection - Non-ded/Insd&Rel

Uninsured motorist - Each Person/Each Occurence $25k/50k

Comprehensive - $500 ded

Collision - $500 ded

Emergency Road Service - I has it

Rental Reimbursement - $30 per day 900 max

This is costing me$657.10 every 6 months. Way higher than I thought. Do these other numbers seem good?

Also, it has a list of discounts we get, are those numbers included in the 6 mo rate or is that after? My car is a 2000 Jetta TDI.

discounts should already be applied to that 6 month total you see. as far as coverage limits, I think those are the minimum required in my state fwiw.

Really hard to say if it's a good price or not, because there are so many variables. On the surface, it seems OK, but again I'd say shop around.

Liability limits are low for my taste. I'd look at 100/300 if you can swing it. 25k disappears real fast, especially if there's an injury more than soft tissue.

Klayfish is right. The agency that employs me will not quote lower than 100/300.

Exactly the info I am looking for. Thanks guys! I'll see what I can come up with. Also interested in maybe not covering my car at all since its worth so little and everytime I get damage I end up going to the junkyard and getting what I need to keep it on the road and my rates low.

pilotbraden wrote: Klayfish is right. The agency that employs me will not quote lower than 100/300.

Actually, now that I think about it. Does the 25/50k and the 100/300k only come into play if they don't have health insurance? Or is the whole point to circumvent their insurance and go after mine because I was at fault?

Keven wrote: Exactly the info I am looking for. Thanks guys! I'll see what I can come up with. Also interested in maybe not covering my car at all since its worth so little and everytime I get damage I end up going to the junkyard and getting what I need to keep it on the road and my rates low.

The way I look at covering my own car is that I wouldn't claim on it if I dented the fender, but if I totalled the car it'd give me some money towards a replacement. The coverage is pretty cheap compared to fun stuff like uninsured motorists coverage which tends to be quite expensive (and IMHO necessary) so it might knock a few bucks off, but not necessarily enough to actually make a different.

I'm also in the "coverage too low" camp. You might find that higher coverage limits may not be that much more expensive.