“Regular” insurance company reviews…?

[Nate047]

Can we talk about “regular” insurance for our daily drivers a minute? I just had a really dog shit experience with State Farm, having been a customer for like 7 years and going through 2 previous claims, they have gone from bad to worse. I’ll spare the details unless anyone wants them. Long story short, I’m looking to change my provider for my daily and my wife’s Boxster. I’m looking at Geico and Progressive currently.

NOT looking for info on Haggarty or Grundy or any other specialty insurance… Not qualified for USAA.

[fattycharged]

I've used Geico with no issue, had a total loss with no fight on payout.
Progressive now, just had to file a house claim, probably gone be SOL soon.
SF is the absolute worst, was with them for 20 years and they ended up treating me like shit as well once I needed them…


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[bagger]

I have SF for all of my insurance, and thankfully haven't had to use much of it and/or experience some horror stories others have mentioned. They all kinda stink though - seems like luck of the draw for the insurance situation you have in front of you. BUT, Just dropping a note here to say that SF recently switched my m3 to a Hagerty classic car policy of some sort. Something about it being over 20 years old and they have some partnership now. I was fine with it because I got an absolute ridiculous amount for a total loss insured value during the swap over. Not sure what other companies are doing now that our cars are 20 years old, but might be similar and something to pay attention to while shopping. Have fun.

[Keith_MN]

I use Farmers for auto/home/umbrella and have been with them for probably over 10 years now. We work with a great agent and have had no issues - but also lucky enough to have no claims. I used a reference from my financial advisor to work with a State Farm agent for a full quote last year and it was about the same cost as my current policy so I stayed put.

Farmers also uses Hagerty for anything classic so that's what the M3 gets. No issue going that route with me, cost is reasonable but it's not a primary car policy.

[bigjae46]

There are no good insurance companies except for Chubb which is for high-net-worth people. USAA is awful. Some of the smaller ones are a little better - Liberty Mutual for example.

I think it really comes down to the field adjuster. If that starts off bad with that person then it will only get worse from there. In my area, State Farm is horrible, Used parts on 1 year old cars. Really? But go to a different part of Houston State Farm is excellent. GEICO was the best in my area but then you hear other people complain in other areas.

They all suck. At least I assume they do because I really want to avoid filing a claim in this day and age. I just shop on price.

[nahvkolaj]

I have the whole SF package. I've only ever had to use it once, where I ended up $500 out of pocket for a new front left fender when I got too close to a pillar in the parking garage. Not much of a fight, got to choose my body shop. Curious to see if they'll try to offer me a Hagerty thing on any of my cars, we probably drive them too much though.

Edit: Premiums have been going up sharply though. 50% on the M3 and house over the last year.

[adr_M3]

I have AAA and have had nothing but positive experiences: great customer service, wide branch network in Southern California and fast claim processing times. I was able to get paid out on my totaled G80 earlier this year in roughly three weeks from the date of the incident, even though I was at fault.

[SQ13]

Porsche Insurance. Guaranteed value, no usage or parking restrictions, pay per mile or go with their unlimited plan, and fair pricing.

[DepthPatrol]

I have had USAA for many years and no issues they were fair for past deer accidents and a total loss (not my fault). But I put a new to me purchased m3 on the plan and may end up switching it to Hagerty for a higher value. USAA only insures for their version of KBB + 20% if you pay to add that, which is still less than what I paid for the car lol. Hagerty experience anyone? Ideally I would only be insuring for the weekends since my car lives in the garage during the week. If that exists out there, I'm all ears!

[Nate047]

Went with Progressive.

I can't comment on Hagerty but I don't think any insurance company will only do days of the week. Some will do certain months ie summer use only.

[bmw m3 s50]

I think that most people have nailed it. Since the early 2000s, insurance companies have shifted their focus from supporting policyholders to minimizing costs and maximizing profits. One of the most noticeable changes is how they handle car repairs. They used to cover brand new OEM parts, but now they routinely opt for used or aftermarket parts.

Labor costs have also been squeezed. Where they once paid fair rates to body shops, they now lowball repair estimates, forcing shops to cut corners or make the customer pay out of pocket. Many shop owners I know prefer working with cash paying customers but are stuck dealing with insurance claims due to volume.

Total loss valuations have also taken a hit. Insurers used to use fair comparable vehicles and occasionally offered more than expected. Now, their strategy seems to be starting with a lowball offer and making you fight for a fair payout. I once had a clean, manual Honda Accord that was totaled. The comps they offered had much higher mileage, automatic transmissions, and visible damage. Their first offer was about $2,900, which I laughed in their face. After months of back and forth, they finally paid around $6,800. The point isn’t just the amount of money of the claim, it’s that they originally offered half of what they ended up paying, clearly hoping I’d accept the first number.

Rebuilt or salvage title vehicles used to receive fair payouts. Today, insurers reduce the value by 30–50%, even though premiums remain the same as for clean title cars. So, you pay full price for coverage but get less if something goes wrong.

Rental car coverage used to be simple, you’d get a rental for the full duration of your repair, no questions asked. Now there are strict limits on both daily rate and total rental period. To stay within those limits, you’re often stuck with a compact car, even if your damaged vehicle was full-size.

Finally, getting dropped from coverage is now much more common. It used to happen only in extreme cases like fraud or repeated claims. Today, people get dropped after just one or two accidents, regardless of fault, and are left scrambling for new insurance.

In short, the entire industry has become profit-driven at the expense of service and support. They’ve mastered the art of charging more while giving less. Your best bet is to hope you never have to use your insurance at all.

[oceansize]

I think that most people have nailed it. Since the early 2000s, insurance companies have shifted their focus from supporting policyholders to minimizing costs and maximizing profits. One of the most noticeable changes is how they handle car repairs. They used to cover brand new OEM parts, but now they routinely opt for used or aftermarket parts.

Labor costs have also been squeezed. Where they once paid fair rates to body shops, they now lowball repair estimates, forcing shops to cut corners or make the customer pay out of pocket. Many shop owners I know prefer working with cash paying customers but are stuck dealing with insurance claims due to volume.

Total loss valuations have also taken a hit. Insurers used to use fair comparable vehicles and occasionally offered more than expected. Now, their strategy seems to be starting with a lowball offer and making you fight for a fair payout. I once had a clean, manual Honda Accord that was totaled. The comps they offered had much higher mileage, automatic transmissions, and visible damage. Their first offer was about $2,900, which I laughed in their face. After months of back and forth, they finally paid around $6,800. The point isn’t just the amount of money of the claim, it’s that they originally offered half of what they ended up paying, clearly hoping I’d accept the first number.

Rebuilt or salvage title vehicles used to receive fair payouts. Today, insurers reduce the value by 30–50%, even though premiums remain the same as for clean title cars. So, you pay full price for coverage but get less if something goes wrong.

Rental car coverage used to be simple, you’d get a rental for the full duration of your repair, no questions asked. Now there are strict limits on both daily rate and total rental period. To stay within those limits, you’re often stuck with a compact car, even if your damaged vehicle was full-size.

Finally, getting dropped from coverage is now much more common. It used to happen only in extreme cases like fraud or repeated claims. Today, people get dropped after just one or two accidents, regardless of fault, and are left scrambling for new insurance.

In short, the entire industry has become profit-driven at the expense of service and support. They’ve mastered the art of charging more while giving less. Your best bet is to hope you never have to use your insurance at all.

Having worked in a body shop for a good chunk of time this is mostly spot on. The best thing people can do is to have zero loyalty and constantly shop around.

I'll say this too, since I actually worked in a high volume stupid busy shop. The notion that there are differences between insurance companies is incorrect. You might get a better insurance adjuster/facilitator who is better and therefore makes your life easier within that time, but all in all, at scale, they are all the same. Every single one of them will push aftermarket parts. Not some, not a few, read these words, all of them. Doesn't matter. So if you have a good relationship with a person within the insurance industry then that is far more important than which company you choose.

[bigjae46]

Having worked in a body shop for a good chunk of time this is mostly spot on. The best thing people can do is to have zero loyalty and constantly shop around.

I'll say this too, since I actually worked in a high volume stupid busy shop. The notion that there are differences between insurance companies is incorrect. You might get a better insurance adjuster/facilitator who is better and therefore makes your life easier within that time, but all in all, at scale, they are all the same. Every single one of them will push aftermarket parts. Not some, not a few, read these words, all of them. Doesn't matter. So if you have a good relationship with a person within the insurance industry then that is far more important than which company you choose.

Agreed...spot on. I found it came down to the individual adjuster and less the company. GEICO and State Farm were the worst ones to deal with because the adjusters were dicks. Then I had a different State Farm adjuster come in and he was very fair.

This is also Houston where people who want a new car but can't get out of their current car will wait for a heavy rain and drive the car into the biggest puddle they can find. Then gap insurance covers the rest. The stealership I used to work at used to see well over a hundred flood BMWs a year. Mostly late model cars. I knew of a customer that flooded 3 cars in 3.5 years. I'm like...how the hell do they get insurance? And it was one of those people that can only afford the car because of free maintenance.