New insurance company, young driver questions

[swimmermom3]

Please don't quote.

 

 

I started with State Farm insurance in 1983 with my first car.  Thirty three years later, I still have the same amazing agent with an umbrella policy, homeowner's insurance, 2 life insurance policies, and five cars.

 

I think I am going to have to change.

 

We have had minimal use of any of our insurance in all of that time.  DH and I both have safe driver discounts and all of the kids have been through driver's ed.

 

In the last 18 months, our 20 yo son has had 2 speeding tickets and scraped a BMW in his work parking lot. I understand State Farm's desire to drop our son. He has two cars and a couple of tows on the Roadside Assistance for his Firebird. :tongue_smilie: His rates would go from $2400 to $4000 a year. Please keep in mind that the $2400 rate was already adjusted to reflect his recent claims.

 

I need a separate insurance company for him.

 

The straw that is breaking the camel's back is that State Farm is threatening to move our three other cars to a standard policy which would significantly increase our rates.  For those three remaining cars, there is one claim.  Our dd's car was hit in a parking lot and the driver ran. Witnesses took down his license and the police were involved.  Dd was not at fault. The remaining four drivers have excellent records. They won't downgrade us, if our 20yo son moves out of the house.

 

So State Farm is basically dinking us for using the insurance we have paid for over all of this time. Using Roadside Assistance for a tow due to mechanical issues counted against us.

 

I could really use some recommendations for good insurance companies that cover the range of products that we need. We'll leave the life insurance with State Farm because it wouldn't make sense to get new policies.

[Alessandra]

I don't have advice, Ds is not old enough for learners permit -- yet. I would be interested in any ways that parents can keep teenagers from affecting car insurance rates. Having the teen move out of the house seems extreme, lol. If your kid is old enough for a DL, but does not have one, do they still "count" as possible drivers in the eyes of the insurance company? I am scared to call my insurer to ask. I understand it varies by state We are in NJ.

 

OP, I don't want to derail your thread. I hope my questions are reasonably related to yours. And I wanted to say that I feel for what you are going through.

 

ETA

 

That is a good tip about roadside assistance. I presume it only counts against you if you use insurers roadside assistance, and AAA doesn't count?

Edited February 19, 2016 by Alessandra

[zoobie]

State Farm is horrible to insureds. They're called Snake Farm by attorneys. We told our agent not to even bother getting quotes from them. Anyway, ask for recs for an independent agent in your area. We saved so much money when we got one. Better coverage for significantly less. Different companies charge very different rates for the same cars and drivers.

[Kim in Appalachia]

Wait, they counted using roadside assistance against you?  That's unreal.  I would be switching for everything.  That's really awful.  

 

We have Allstate, and we have used roadside assistance, (purchased through them) for my dh's truck.  It had to be towed an hour away, then they covered part of the rental that he needed for his trip.  (He broke down on the way to a conference).  

 

If that would have counted against us, I would have dropped them, plus gone back to AAA. 

[swimmermom3]

State Farm is horrible to insureds. They're called Snake Farm by attorneys. We told our agent not to even bother getting quotes from them. Anyway, ask for recs for an independent agent in your area. We saved so much money when we got one. Better coverage for significantly less. Different companies charge very different rates for the same cars and drivers.

 

What do you mean by an "independent agent"?  Obviously a woman who hasn't shopped for insurance for 33 years is going to have to bring herself up to speed. :tongue_smilie:

[Lanny]

For the Towing coverage, I would get that from AAA.  Your agent has been warned, by the insurer, to warn you about this.  The Insurer sees risk and they are not willing to accept the risk as they see it in 2016.   The best thing for your family, IMO, would be to spin off your son's insurance coverage to another company. If you do that, hopefully your current insurer will keep your other cars at good rates.   I had State Farm insurance for many years, and they are not perfect, but were probably as good or better than the competition at that time.  To get back to your quest for another insurer,  I subscribed to Consumer Reports Magazine, for many years, and that is how I found GEICO when I was a teenager.

 

You might look to see if     Consumer Reports has rated automobile insurance carriers recently. Other than that, I don't know where you would find Consumer Ratings of Insurance Companies.  Possibly from your State Insurance Commission.

 

OT: About 10 years ago, I spoke with a man who is an Orthopedic Surgeon in IL, across the   river from St. Louis. He had *never* had a claim or the threat of a claim against him. His insurer notified him they were raising his Malpractice Insurance from $100K a year to $200K a year. He retired, as did many other  M.D.s he knew.  So, the insurer does not need to have coverage on someone with claim activity or speeding tickets, they only see the risk ahead.

 

OT:About 15 years ago, my (now Late) best friend and his wife had their home burn down.  My friend was not home. His wife was home and was asleep. Her Honda (automobile) was in the garage and it caught fire. Their cat saved the life of my friends wife.  Prior to the fire, they'd had a claim on their Homeowners Insurance policy, because they had some kind of a Sprinkler (?) system on the roof and it leaked and they had a lot of water damage. After the fire, they were told, "if you have one more claim, we will cancel your insurance".    I think it is a combination of past events and risk the insurance company sees in the future and they want/need to protect themselves. They have Actuaries who figure out what to charge people and who not to cover.  

 

GL

[Pen]

I don't know if having roadside assistance count against is common, but I use AAA for roadside assist. I have had some troubles with it in recent years, but over all it has been okay enough, I guess. They also have their own insurance I think, though I have never used that. I think there are some online sites like maybe bankrate.com that give some into about insurance companies, in addition to consumer reports,  and consumer search.

[zoobie]

What do you mean by an "independent agent"? Obviously a woman who hasn't shopped for insurance for 33 years is going to have to bring herself up to speed. :tongue_smilie:

Someone who is an insurance agent not affiliated with any particular company. The agent does the legwork of shopping for the best deal for you, and his commission is paid by the insurance company (similar to a travel agent). You call one guy, he emails you a bunch of quotes from several companies. Done!