AngieW in Texas Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Currently we have Farmers for our home and car insurance. Surely there is something that we can get at a lower cost though. We are currently paying $3500 every 6 months for 5 people on 3 cars. Suggestions for who I should get quotes from? I'm in Texas. I will not use State Farm ever again after the horrific experience I had with them about 20 years ago when I ended up having the regional supervisor take over as my agent after repeated issues. I kept going up the chain until I got to the regional supervisor who finally was able to get it fixed. I switched as soon as the 6 months was over and I will never go back. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Currently we have Farmers for our home and car insurance. Surely there is something that we can get at a lower cost though. We are currently paying $3500 every 6 months for 5 people on 3 cars. Suggestions for who I should get quotes from? I'm in Texas. I will not use State Farm ever again after the horrific experience I had with them about 20 years ago when I ended up having the regional supervisor take over as my agent after repeated issues. I kept going up the chain until I got to the regional supervisor who finally was able to get it fixed. I switched as soon as the 6 months was over and I will never go back. AAA. We saved almost $1000 a year when we went with AAA (two cars, two drivers, home). And AAA rates are annual, not bi-annual. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desertflower Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 We like Amica. Although I think we are paying more. But couldn't hurt to get a quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 I had State Farm Mutual for the last 20 years approximately. Sad that you had a bad agent. Previously I had Geico and Amica. The way I found them was articles in Consume Reports Magazine. I also had Homeowners insurance with State Farm. Farmers had a bad reputation in those days. I hope you find a good company that will give you a lower price for the same or better coverage. I had 2 State Farm agents in 2 different cities in TX and zero problems with State Farm. I changed agents because I moved to another area and it was more convenient for me to have an Agent whose office was in the same city. Good luck! Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 The 28 years I lived in TX the State Insurance Board wrote the wording for the car insurance policies. Possibly Homeowners also. That made it quite easy to compare prices. Same form and same coverage limits and you are comparing Apples to Apples with regards to the premium costs. What is incredibly important is how the company treats customers when there is a claim. When I was in CA and TX people joked that you are NOT in Good Hands with Farmers. That was their slogan in their advertising... Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 The question I would be asking in addition is how were claims handled at any of the cheaper companies. Sometimes you do get what you pay for. Nationwide was outstanding when we had a major claim. I have heard friends going through similar with cheaper policies not have the same support. That makes me leery of switching, but watching your thread with interest! We're adding another driver soon and not looking forward to the $$$. We currently have Farmers as well. (Nationwide couldn't write our policy on this place, so we had to switch when we moved here.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Elf Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 The 28 years I lived in TX the State Insurance Board wrote the wording for the car insurance policies. Possibly Homeowners also. That made it quite easy to compare prices. Same form and same coverage limits and you are comparing Apples to Apples with regards to the premium costs. What is incredibly important is how the company treats customers when there is a claim. When I was in CA and TX people joked that you are NOT in Good Hands with Farmers. That was their slogan in their advertising... Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk I don't know anything about Farmers but the advertising "Good Hands" is for AllState. The jingle I remember for Farmers is "We Are Farmers, bum bum bum bum bum bum". So do you mean AllState is bad, or Farmers? My dd just went with Geico because it was the cheapest she could find. We have Metlife for Home and Car, but DH doesn't remember how much we pay because it comes directly out of his paycheck. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 (edited) I don't know anything about Farmers but the advertising "Good Hands" is for AllState. The jingle I remember for Farmers is "We Are Farmers, bum bum bum bum bum bum". So do you mean AllState is bad, or Farmers? My dd just went with Geico because it was the cheapest she could find. We have Metlife for Home and Car, but DH doesn't remember how much we pay because it comes directly out of his paycheck. Sorry... I moved from the USA 22 years ago and my memory apparently got that wrong. IMO, based on what I heard and read at that time (up to February 1995 when I emigrated), BOTH Farmers and Allstate had very bad reputations. My impression is/was that Farmers was WORSE than Allstate, but that probably varies, from state to state, and over time things can change. . Consumer Reports Magazine helped me find GEICO when I was a teenager and that's always how I found ratings of car and homeowners insurance companies. Possibly there's another way to do that now, but at that time (before the Internet) I didn't know of any other way to find that information. In the 90s, a dear friend and his wife had two (2) major claims on their Homeowners insurance, in a short period of time. The first claim was because they had installed some kind of system on the roof of their house with water pipes, I assume to heat water via the sun, and the system leaked and they had major damage. Then, not long after that, possibly a year (?) later, maybe less, maybe more, her car (a Honda) was parked in the garage and it caught fire and burned their house down. She was asleep and the cat woke her up and saved her life. After that, that insurance company told them, up-front, "if you have one more claim, we will cancel your insurance". To me, they seemed outstanding. I don't know which insurance company that was. Truly excellent with my friends. Edited July 20, 2017 by Lanny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kassia Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 We switched to Geico recently because it was much less than we were paying with State Farm, but haven't had any claims yet. My three sons also all use Geico for car and renters insurance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 An independent agent can run you quotes from all different companies and find you the best deal. The insurance company pays their commission if you buy. It doesn't cost you any extra. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkyandtheBrains. Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 An independent agent can run you quotes from all different companies and find you the best deal. The insurance company pays their commission if you buy. It doesn't cost you any extra. I was going to suggest this as well. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 If you are eligible through a parent or on your own, USAA. The next one down in the CR ratings is Amica. Then 2 out of three of the AAA insurances. Only USAA group got good ratings in all three categories-claims satisfaction, price satisfaction, and service satisfaction. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Is there a reason for higher rates? Car accidents? Traffic tickets? With Liberty Mutual, our "at fault" accident stayed on our record for a much shorter time than my speeding ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 The 28 years I lived in TX the State Insurance Board wrote the wording for the car insurance policies. Possibly Homeowners also. That made it quite easy to compare prices. Same form and same coverage limits and you are comparing Apples to Apples with regards to the premium costs. What is incredibly important is how the company treats customers when there is a claim. When I was in CA and TX people joked that you are NOT in Good Hands with Farmers. That was their slogan in their advertising... Sent from my SM-G355M using Tapatalk Are you maybe thinking of Allstate? Because I remember commercials ending, "You're in good hands, with Allstate." Not with Farmers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarlaB Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Currently we have Farmers for our home and car insurance. Surely there is something that we can get at a lower cost though. We are currently paying $3500 every 6 months for 5 people on 3 cars. Suggestions for who I should get quotes from? I'm in Texas. I will not use State Farm ever again after the horrific experience I had with them about 20 years ago when I ended up having the regional supervisor take over as my agent after repeated issues. I kept going up the chain until I got to the regional supervisor who finally was able to get it fixed. I switched as soon as the 6 months was over and I will never go back. My DH is an independent agent (but not in your state so he can't help you) and typically he can get quotes from multiple carriers and so comparison shopping for the customer...and it's cheaper (most times) than getting a direct quote. So find an independent agent. Personally we love Liberty Mutual/SafeCo- and have been with them for 15+ years- albeit without a claim. We needed roadside assistance 2 weeks ago and now have our first claim as well, so we will see. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 Are you maybe thinking of Allstate? Because I remember commercials ending, "You're in good hands, with Allstate." Not with Farmers. Yes. As I posted upthread, I associated the Jingle with Farmers, by mistake, but it has been MANY years since I heard those commercials. I mixed them up. IMO Farmers and Allstate both had TERRIBLE reputations at that time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyLiberty5013 Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 I ditto USAA. If anyone in your immediate family is retired or active military. Any branch, you're eligible. It's like a credit union. I've always had them for renters, auto, and now home. As well as valuable property and now umbrella. They also do roadside assistance. They offer life insurance. Maybe even health and dental?? I may have read that somewhere but don't quote me on the health and dental. I have talked to agents who ask "Who do you have?" I say, "USAA." They say, "Oh, I won't be able to beat them." Their customer service is outstanding. We use the roadside nearly once per year (super quick). If you can, I'd join. There are other perks like discounts on travel, flowers, and car rentals (sometimes as high as 25%). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted July 20, 2017 Share Posted July 20, 2017 I called Farmers last time I was comparing and they were higher than State Farm. Farmers required us to put our highest risk driver on our most expensive car. State Farm allowed us to have the 16 yo on his beater which is worth... about nothing. I keep comparing because everyone says State Farm is so expensive but we have yet to find cheaper for our situation. I know that isn't an option for OP but for anyone else that is interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngieW in Texas Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 My online quote on Geico is about $1100 less at $2320 than my current price at Farmer's. I do plan on actually meeting a Geico agent to see if I have the coverage listed the same on Geico as it is on Farmer's. It isn't a fair comparison if the terms aren't the same. It looks like I have everything listed for the same amount, but I could have missed something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunshine State Sue Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 I switched from Allstate to Geico probably 5 years ago. Allstate kept raising the rates for no reason. After I left, they tried to win me back by matching the Geico rate. I wondered why they kept jacking my rate up if they could match Geico after I left. I've been happy with Geico. Dh drove into water that was too high one tropical storm day and ruined his vehicle. Geico was quick about replacement. No rate change either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaVT Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 My DH is an independent agent (but not in your state so he can't help you) and typically he can get quotes from multiple carriers and so comparison shopping for the customer...and it's cheaper (most times) than getting a direct quote. So find an independent agent. Personally we love Liberty Mutual/SafeCo- and have been with them for 15+ years- albeit without a claim. We needed roadside assistance 2 weeks ago and now have our first claim as well, so we will see. We love Liberty Mutual as well. They've been great - had them for 7 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 If you are eligible through a parent or on your own, USAA. The next one down in the CR ratings is Amica. Then 2 out of three of the AAA insurances. Only USAA group got good ratings in all three categories-claims satisfaction, price satisfaction, and service satisfaction. I live in FL and USAA charges us $6000 per year for just our 16 year old..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 We switched from Farmers to Mercury for car insurance and the savings were significant. But I cannot speak to how they handle claims as fortunately I have not had one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 I live in FL and USAA charges us $6000 per year for just our 16 year old..... Oy! $500 a month for one teen driver? Your teen may be better off with Geico separately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 I live in FL and USAA charges us $6000 per year for just our 16 year old..... Holy.Cow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lawana Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 (edited) After 12 years of Liberty Mutual, we switched to GEICO. We did the comps when we were shopping for a separate policy for dd, who was moving to another state. We haven't had a claim in over 20 years, but Liberty Mutual was raising our rates every 6 months. Dd has had a claim (uninsured drunk driver ran into her parked car), but so far no increased premiums. ETA USAA was a good deal for dh and me, but for the teen drivers? Holy cow. Edited July 22, 2017 by Lawana Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.