11
votes
Any good auto or renters insurance companies?
Well, maybe not good, but any that suck less than the others? I'm in Wisconsin if that matters.
Well, maybe not good, but any that suck less than the others? I'm in Wisconsin if that matters.
They all kinda suck in their own ways, just quote them all out and see what fits your needs best.
For me Progressive consistently gives me the lowest rates on very good insurance coverage (provided I request a new policy quote every 6 months instead of auto-renewing) with good loyalty rewards and excellent customer service.
I've never tried it myself, but I've also heard good things about private insurance brokers if you want to investigate in that direction.
I’ve been with progressive over 20 years and their rates have been reasonable, but what’s kept me with them is service after a few accidents (both at fault and not). Two claims have resulted in totaled cars, and twice they paid out more than I expected… I don’t see myself leaving them anytime soon.
I have their home insurance which has been very good to me. In 2019, they paid pretty generously for water damage in my basement caused by defective plumbing. Last year, they completely replaced my 25 year old roof after a windstorm tore some shingles off, all because the bottom layer was made of organic shingles. Despite $10,000 in claims over my 5 years of owning this house, my rates haven't really changed.
Outside of California, Progressive was great! The rewards for being a long customer are really nice. Their rates weren't too bad. Their customer service is quick and friendly. I got an awesome rental when I needed it.
But that all goes out the window in CA. No rewards. More expensive. Cranky customer service. I'm with GEICO now. We'll see how this goes!
I recently switched to Progressive as well after my previous insurance provider decided the appropriate increase was more than double what I was paying before (no changes in cars, accidents, tickets, credit scores, didn't move). I'm really hoping at the end of my six mg term, Progressive keeps my rate somewhat reasonable. I won't be upset I'd they increase my premiums but doubling my premiums as other companies seem to be doing to all their customers is just crazy.
I like Progressive's loyalty rewards as well. It's partly why I stick with them.
The new policy quote is a great idea. My buddy is an insurance adjuster for Geico and said that's the best way to get a deal anywhere. Get price quotes from different companies and your company will match the lowest.
USAA, if you or a parent served in the military, is quite unbeatable.
We stopped getting spam from GEICO when I fielded a call and said "I have USAA, can you beat their rates?"
That's surprising to me because USAA is known for higher rates with good customer service.
Just did an auto quote with Progressive, given it was mentioned elsewhere. Went as close to my USAA plan as possible, annual price.
Progressive:
$1200$1350 (edit, missed a few options).USAA: $1050
I'm sure you can get a bare minimum insurance plan for less, but this amount provides reasonable coverage at this stage in life.
This mirrors my experience with USAA vs everyone else. Got a new car in early 2023 and decided to shop around for insurance. Got quotes from over 20 insurance providers with options lining up as best I could. USAA beat them all.
USAA offers better rates for me for everything except auto. Auto came down to Progressive or State Farm being comparable for our family, and the wife is friends with an agent at State Farm so we went with them. USAA has the best customer service by far though imo.
I second USAA. They have great customer service, and I have found the rates to be quite reasonable. The entire package feels like a very nice value. I've been a customer for something like 20 years at this point. I briefly used progressive but switched back after a year because the service is just much better with USAA. They have some pretty nice banking products tied in as well, and discounts for bundling services.
I've had similar experiences with adjusters at USAA as well.
Personally I've found the lowest rates with Liberty Mutual for renter's insurance and Clearcover for auto insurance. I was paying like $40/month for car insurance but it's climbed a good but it's climbed a lot over the past few years. I got new quotes from the other companies and they were astronomical, so I'm still with them. They're newer and only are available via the app and site, which makes sense in an overhead way. But I've not had to test their claim system. I think it depends on your location and situation quite a bit.
I would recommend not using those OBD devices for the discount though. I tried that once with Progressive and the slightest braking would set it off. Absolute garbage.
I'm with Nationwide and they seem to keep going up. My price was stable for a while but it's made two big jumps in the past few years. It was like $90 just a few years ago, jumped to $110, now $130. All for the same coverage, no incidents/accidents, in fact I get bonuses because of safe driving, etc and still get punished.
This is for a decent "amount" of coverage for a 2010 car.
NOTE: I had not done a policy review or checked competitors in years. For what it's worth I just got a quote from Progressive for the same exact coverage and it's $72/month instead of $130? WTF? I need to talk with my insurance co and/or switch.
Ah yeah, the “lazy tax” — so many places have that bullshit, I hate it. The fact that I get a genuinely decent discount on my internet or utility bills or insurance is just such bullshit, I wish they’d just offer the cheapest option. I can 100% understand why they don’t do that, because it’s free money from people who don’t know about it, but it’s just such a hassle.
Insurance is always a gamble, you never know how good or bad they are until you need it.
That said, farm bureau took very good care of me in an at fault accident.
I'll throw in for Lemonade for renter's insurance, at least. They've consistently been cheaper than anyone else for the same amount of coverage, and were quick to pay out for some damaged stuff after a tree branch broke a window in my apartment during a storm, causing a lot of water damage.
They offer car insurance too, but I haven't tried that yet, so I can't speak to it. I've just been lazy and kept my policy with The General for my cheap old shitbox, as I needed SR22 insurance once upon a time, and just never switched away after I no longer needed it. I wouldn't get a new policy for a new car with them, though. I haven't had much reason to consider going through the effort to switch, plus my rates have dropped consistently with every renewal so far.
We have AAA for our bundled renters and auto insurance for two cars. My total annual premium for the policies and my AAA membership is $1000 in the Bay Area, CA. I've been with them since 2016 and haven't had any issues when making a claim or when asking for better rates or discounts (or when updating the insurance to the new car, or adding another car to the policy). It's all been really easy, and they have covered everything they need to cover. If they had pet insurance, I would add the dog's health insurance on there as well because I really like them. I know not everyone has AAA available to them, but I highly recommend looking into them.
I also recommend AAA. I got in through my grandmother's recommendation and it kind of amazes me how good they are. Every time I've tried to switch insurance providers, I couldn't find anyone who would beat their price for the coverage. This view should probably be taken with a grain of salt, though, because apparently they are very regional.
I'll give another vote for Progressive for auto. I'm a little hesitant to go with them for home insurance as it technically isn't Progressive who provides coverage for it in my state, but instead a different underwriter who has questionable reviews.
...but I think the only reviews you'll see for insurance generally are bad ones. Not many people say "wow they took care of me after a traumatic accident, let me go to google reviews right now!" You're likely dealing with a lot of other stuff keeping you busy in those situations.
I have never had to shop around for myself, but my parents had AAA for auto insurance and I have been on their plan. I don’t think it’s the cheapest I could get, but it’s reasonably cheap and for decent coverage.