Check Your Insurance Coverage

[Blade1668]

Best piece of advice for anyone dealing with an insurance company, as friendly as they seem, they want to hold on to as much money as possible. I use USAA, they are the nicest people to work and talk with but I know they will try and pay out the least amount possible. If anything happens always get a lawyer that specialized in Insurance claims. A lot if times they can get the most out of the insurance company.

Insurance company's don't get to be the top fortune 500 companies they are by giving away money, they do it with high premiums and low payouts.

I've been with USAA for a long time too. Friendly yes when it's to do with most things and has been better than a few other insurance company's I have had. Not when my LJ got "stripped" the first time. That battle was a losing position for me.


My change from GEICO to State Farm insurance in early 90s cut my cost to 1/3, if I could have used my "home address" at the time what I spent for a month would have been over 6 months of coverage. Then my change to USAA was a increase but I was going to Germany and State Farm wouldn't cover enlisted service members unless you was E-8 and up back then. "I was told by agents" not verified I just moved on to USAA and haven't looked back. A few years back USAA "dropped my RV coverage due to my full time use then said they didn't have that coverage. When I got it I informed them with full disclosure that I was going full time RVer. But it's now covered by a affiliated insurance company.
IMHO Most insurance company's are forced extortion for most part. I've seen some do really dirty things to customers especially in mandatory notification to State DMV of insurance coverage. Some of insurance company's have false notifications to DMV of "lapse in coverage" then in other cases not notified of the same. Nothing like having to tow and impound vehicle. Due to insurance company mistake or not for same reason and charge driver, (in some States 30 days later the drivers license is suspended for having a vehicle with out insurance).

My Javelins - covered "stated value". I said I wanted my 70 covered for 25K - and my 73 for 11 (about to up that due to the improvements to it lately). And they have to cover it up to that amount.

Everyone does need to check THEIR policies.
Mine are pretty generous.

Gap insurance and supplement coverage is a very good idea to have if something happens, in fact I have to update and adjust coverage on my LJ and JT replacement cost with "mods" additional equipment added.

Sponsored

 

[Rocksalt]

I hate the concept... pay for something you hope you dont need... and I hope that if /when I have a major replacement claim my ins company will do right... sorry for those who have had problems...

 

[CrazyCooter]

I'm moving to a stated value for the YJ, but seriously doubt I could get or justify the expense on the JT.

When I inquired to Farmers Insurance back in 2007 about adding accessory coverage to my 2006 Dodge 3500, It was going to double ($1400) my annual premium for $10K in assy coverage. My thought was after they got done depreciating my parts and I paid my deductable.....I was better off rolling the dice. As it turned out I never had to deal with a claim that damaged any of my accessories. I just sold this truck last week and I had a parts total of nearly $40K....Can't imagine what that would have cost to fully insure!

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I wonder of some of the insurance costs are due to LOCATION.
I mean - I see these ads on TV that say "xxxx customers saved an average of $400 by switching". And I wonder- how many vehicles are they insuring that they can save that much? My wife has full coverage and replacement cost on her GC for under $500/year!
My JT isn't much different. If I saved $400 on 3 of my vehicles, they'd be PAYING ME!
Holy crap!
What the heck are people paying that these companies can claim an average savings of what we pay per vehicle?????
We have my 2020 JT, her 2021 Grand Cherokee, my 2004 WJ, my 82 SX4 and my 73 Javelin covered for an annual $1600.
That's 5 vehicles, 2 of them 1 year old or less. Even if we were paying 500 each for the newest Jeeps, that leaves 600 total covering the other 3 and two are covered for an agreed amount.

I really wonder - WTF - average savings of 400 bucks???
We'd be paying $100 to have a brand spanking new 2021 Grand Cherokee fully covered with replacement cost.

 

[Gobi-Wan Kenobi]

I wonder of some of the insurance costs are due to LOCATION.
I mean - I see these ads on TV that say "xxxx customers saved an average of $400 by switching". And I wonder- how many vehicles are they insuring that they can save that much? My wife has full coverage and replacement cost on her GC for under $500/year!
My JT isn't much different. If I saved $400 on 3 of my vehicles, they'd be PAYING ME!
Holy crap!
What the heck are people paying that these companies can claim an average savings of what we pay per vehicle?????
We have my 2020 JT, her 2021 Grand Cherokee, my 2004 WJ, my 82 SX4 and my 73 Javelin covered for an annual $1600.
That's 5 vehicles, 2 of them 1 year old or less. Even if we were paying 500 each for the newest Jeeps, that leaves 600 total covering the other 3 and two are covered for an agreed amount.

I really wonder - WTF - average savings of 400 bucks???
We'd be paying $100 to have a brand spanking new 2021 Grand Cherokee fully covered with replacement cost.

Listen more closely to the wording of the commercials. It's customers who switched saved an average of $xxx. Now of course you aren't going to switch if it costs more, so anyone that would have gotten a rate increase is excluded from that statistic. Also most people won't bother switching for a small amount unless they are mad at their current company, so most of the small savings people are also excluded from that statistic.

Every insurance company has their own formulas, they tend to look at the same things but group or weigh them differently. So usually you will find that most companies come in at around the same rate for you but there might be one or two noticeable higher or lower. When that rate is lower you switch and become part of the magical +/-$400 that all insurance companies claim to save customers who switch statistic.

Also most people think of monthly costs for insurance but all of those commercials are referring to savings over the 6 month policy term (or occasional over a whole year). Also the $400 savings in the adds is across the whole policy not per car or driver.

Any yeah rates vary greatly from place to place.

 

[CrazyCooter]

I could save at least $300yr on my 3 vehicles by switching from Farmers to Progressive and get lower deductibles with comp/collision on our older vehicles which we don't have now.

I don't switch because I had a bad experience with Progressive on a motorcycle claim where they fought me every step, treated me like a criminal, and in the end didn't pay out enough to make the bike 100%.....They won because I gave up due to so many other struggles in our lives at that time.

I've had 3 claims with Farmers for deer and hail with the pickup and hail damage to our home's roof........All easy and smooth. They gave me enough to easily make it all right in the end without any resistance.

My wife was also in a collision with a person insured insured with Progressive 100% at fault......They jerked us around for almost 2 years where my wife had to take them to court. We won hands down, but non the less, they took it all the way to court and made us work for the fair settlement.

I think the cut rate guys are always going to work and angle to get out of paying. Sure wish I knew for sure, cause I'm willing to pay for a quality product in any case if I know there is a difference! I sure don't go to Taco Bell expecting great Mexican cuisine, I got to the good guys and pay the asking price!

 

[PyrPatriot]

Adding accessories added $50/6mo to my premium. It was worth that, at least in the first year or two of coverage, to have $2000 in accessories covered. This is for damage that is MY fault because Geico only would pay for what they insured: a stock off the lot JT. If someone else hit my vehicle, then they'd pay for it. If they didnt have insurance and my insurance company didnt know about the bumper winch fender flares and rails, then they still wouldnt pay for it. The general principle is: if it would have affected the premium then it isnt covered.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I could save at least $300yr on my 3 vehicles by switching from Farmers to Progressive and get lower deductibles with comp/collision on our older vehicles which we don't have now.

I don't switch because I had a bad experience with Progressive on a motorcycle claim where they fought me every step, treated me like a criminal, and in the end didn't pay out enough to make the bike 100%.....They won because I gave up due to so many other struggles in our lives at that time.

I've had 3 claims with Farmers for deer and hail with the pickup and hail damage to our home's roof........All easy and smooth. They gave me enough to easily make it all right in the end without any resistance.

My wife was also in a collision with a person insured insured with Progressive 100% at fault......They jerked us around for almost 2 years where my wife had to take them to court. We won hands down, but non the less, they took it all the way to court and made us work for the fair settlement.

I think the cut rate guys are always going to work and angle to get out of paying. Sure wish I knew for sure, cause I'm willing to pay for a quality product in any case if I know there is a difference! I sure don't go to Taco Bell expecting great Mexican cuisine, I got to the good guys and pay the asking price!

My son tried Progressive for a while, dropped them and called my agent and went back to him until they moved to Korea for a few years. They they moved back, he tried Geico and was jacked around and again, called my agent and got a quote - and went back to him.
Not the cheapest, yeah, you can save money, but zero hassle, etc. was worth worth it in his opinion.
Geico was the other kids insurance company - the one that fell asleep and killed our father - and they were not nice to deal with being on this end of things. Of course the kid was driving his dad's car and his dad bought the cheapest he could possibly get by with - minimum coverage. But Geico from our point of view was totally unwilling to even discuss or talk about anything, period. This is it, take it or leave it and sign this and sign your rights away or you get nothing. One of my brothers has been a professional in various sides of the insurance industry for decades and he was HOT about it.
Those are two companies that I, personally, due to family having had dealings with them I will never deal with. (also not good to deal with - the company my father used based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

 

[PyrPatriot]

But Geico from our point of view was totally unwilling to even discuss or talk about anything, period. This is it, take it or leave it and sign this and sign your rights away or you get nothing

I have had the told to me from every insurance company. The reality is you need to sue them to get their attention. Not unlike fighting over warranty work with most dealerships (I seem to hear more bad cases than good)

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I have had the told to me from every insurance company. The reality is you need to sue them to get their attention. Not unlike fighting over warranty work with most dealerships (I seem to hear more bad cases than good)

The other party's limits were 20K - so you can't sue to get more than the insured contracted for.
Sue the other party? Yeah, looked into that. They owned NOTHING, not even the house they lived in and made minimum wage, had zero savings (and now not even a car since his was totaled, too)
We had a decent attorney - but when there's no blood in the turnip, no use squeezing it.
We did the discovery thing, as did Dad's insurance company. There was nothing to go after.
Get a judgement? Yeah, at what cost, and how long would it take to recover the costs? Years? Decades? Ever? Been all through that. Sometimes a law suit isn't even a good course of action.
The law protects certain assets, some things you can't touch, ever, period. House, one reasonable car, etc. and they didn't even own a house - they rented.
That's where you make sure you have a big uninsured/under-insured part in your own policy. You may get hit by someone who literally has zero assets and a minimum wage job.

 

[PyrPatriot]

The other party's limits were 20K - so you can't sue to get more than the insured contracted for.
Sue the other party? Yeah, looked into that. They owned NOTHING, not even the house they lived in and made minimum wage, had zero savings (and now not even a car since his was totaled, too)
We had a decent attorney - but when there's no blood in the turnip, no use squeezing it.
We did the discovery thing, as did Dad's insurance company. There was nothing to go after.
Get a judgement? Yeah, at what cost, and how long would it take to recover the costs? Years? Decades? Ever? Been all through that. Sometimes a law suit isn't even a good course of action.
The law protects certain assets, some things you can't touch, ever, period. House, one reasonable car, etc. and they didn't even own a house - they rented.
That's where you make sure you have a big uninsured/under-insured part in your own policy. You may get hit by someone who literally has zero assets and a minimum wage job.

Which is why I have large limits on uninsured/underinsured.
Also I bumped up my Personal Injury Protection (the first thing that pays for your own medical costs regardless of who is at fault) up to $50k because I have seen $10k go QUICK

 

[Gobi-Wan Kenobi]

My son tried Progressive for a while, dropped them and called my agent and went back to him until they moved to Korea for a few years. They they moved back, he tried Geico and was jacked around and again, called my agent and got a quote - and went back to him.
Not the cheapest, yeah, you can save money, but zero hassle, etc. was worth worth it in his opinion.
Geico was the other kids insurance company - the one that fell asleep and killed our father - and they were not nice to deal with being on this end of things. Of course the kid was driving his dad's car and his dad bought the cheapest he could possibly get by with - minimum coverage. But Geico from our point of view was totally unwilling to even discuss or talk about anything, period. This is it, take it or leave it and sign this and sign your rights away or you get nothing. One of my brothers has been a professional in various sides of the insurance industry for decades and he was HOT about it.
Those are two companies that I, personally, due to family having had dealings with them I will never deal with. (also not good to deal with - the company my father used based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa)

Yeah unfortunately most states have pretty low required liability limits. Like they set the limits low and then didn't touch them for decades so now they are insanely low in some places. There's like one state where you only need $5k in coverage to be legal. And no insurance company will pay out more then the liability limit on the policy. That means your only option is to go after the at fault driver personally and while it's easy to win in court its often near impossible to actually collect the money.

This is why I would highly recommend high limits on your policy's uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage to avoid this issue.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Yeah unfortunately most states have pretty low required liability limits. Like they set the limits low and then didn't touch them for decades so now they are insanely low in some places. There's like one state where you only need $5k in coverage to be legal. And no insurance company will pay out more then the liability limit on the policy. That means your only option is to go after the at fault driver personally and while it's easy to win in court its often near impossible to actually collect the money.

This is why I would highly recommend high limits on your policy's uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage to avoid this issue.

Exactly. You nailed it. Personal experience there, unfortunately.

 

[StingGrayJT24]

This has been a great thread to follow with A LOT of good points think about and consider. Lots of great info here!

 

[hjdca]

If you qualify, check out USAA. I found them to be the best insurance for me.

Sponsored