What do you look for in a insurance company? Is it $ or reputation?

[nater1]

What do you look for in a insurance company? Do you go solely on cost, or is it reputation?

1. How do you determine if they have a good reputation?

2. How do you know when you need to use your insurance that you will not get the run around.

I personnel do not have my insurance to deal with your minor bump, and scrap where there is material damage. To me I believe after looking at the numbers that is the low dollar cost of a accident. I am more concerned with the personnel injury part of the insurance where the medical bills, and compensation are paid out of in the case I injure someone else.

Reason I view it this way is because a guy I know was involved in a auto vs motor cycle accident. The guy I know was determined to be at fault because he was not paying attention, and ran a guy over on a motorcycle while traveling on the express way. The guy I know only had $250,000 in auto insurance to cover the guy he hit who was injured serious enough that he was award $350,000 in court. Well they guy I know is now up the creek with out a paddle having to come up with $100,000.00. He went to try to file bankrupt on the law suit, and the Judge told him no that he had to pay up.

 

[Bersquack]

I work in the insurance industry so I hear a lot of story, but the better business bureau is one place to look and I also rely a lot on word of mouth. The premium amount is one thing, but i'd rather pay a little more to get coverage from a comany I trust. But I agree with you, I do not get the insurance involved from small stuff.

In the case of the guy you know, he just did not have enough coverage and it sounds like the insurance company held its part of the deal by paying the $250,000. Believe me, I really feel bad for this guy trying to come up with $100,000.

 

[bone crusher]

Reputation trumps cost every time...you don't worry about it until you have a claim...when you get no help, you'll wish you were with Geico or one of the other major players...

I get max values on everything...some will call that a waste of money...so be it...

 

[nater1]

I personnel feel sorry for the guy he hit. He needs to pay up.

The only person I feel sorry for is the guy he hit. He needs to pay up like his Mom said the Judge told him. Of course I keep my feelings to myself. His parents own a small town gas station so everyone gets to her their sad stories when you purchase gas.

 

[Saluda]

Reputation is the main issue with me. All the companies we are with have been for long terms. Asking friends or family ahead of time to me is about the best way of checking out a company prior to switching. As the saying goes if it's cheap there is usually a reason.

 

[Smylinacha]

I like Geico - we've had them forever - good to deal with, very courteous and helpful and I like the commercials:thumbup:

 

[Roaddog2]

I like Geico - we've had them forever - good to deal with, very courteous and helpful and I like the commercials:thumbup:

:agree:They neven towed mine today no hassle :agree:With Bonecrusher also Max out.I was taken out bye a guy in 87 who only had 25k I was able to get from my Ins another 125k my bills were about 50k so it is inportant will probaly go with Formost now thrue AARP they do 500k for 90.00 less than Geico and Geico will only do 300k :ani29:

 

[Tom in NM]

Good question, but you won't like the answer.

What do you look for in a insurance company? Do you go solely on cost, or is it reputation?

1. How do you determine if they have a good reputation?

2. How do you know when you need to use your insurance that you will not get the run around.

Insurance is at it heart, a contract. You pay them money and they pay you money under certain conditions. If, after reading the policy/contract you do not KNOW what those conditions are, you are toast. Most people do not KNOW, they ASSUME they are covered. Not so. And of course, this comes at at time when usually you need help the most - so some people get pretty upset. Then you also have things like some of the insurance companies did after the hurricanes in the Gulf Coast. If you want some reputation talk, take a trip from Houston TX to Homestead FL and ask people along the way; "which insurance company has the best reputation?"

So, to specifically answer your question, NEVER go by reputation or 'brand'.
I go by COST/performance. In reading the policies and asking questions, I get the one with the most value to me - the one I can understand and can afford. I always ask for their clarifications in writing.
If I cannot get answers or figure out the policy, I do not buy.
If the policy has lots of things I do not need or want, I don't buy.

Generally, the "insurance industry" is highly regulated and they must operate under a lot of different rules, obsentibly, this is because in the past they :cus: over so many people. If the price goes up or coverage changes, you are free to change companies - with no real penalty. I think there was a time when being loyal to an insurance company for 40 years did bring you some benefits - but that all changed in the 80's and was really gone by the 90's.

For me, I like GEICO. Everything is clear and well stated. The $ value is there. And they are ( to the best of my research ) financially sound. The people I have talked to are knowledgeable ( the guy at the service center actually knew what a Spyder was and had test drove one! ), polite, helpful, professional and clear. That works for me. In my book, insurance should not be confusing - if it is, expect the worse.

In general, I do wish some of the policies terms were different. I wish I was insured, no matter which of my vehicles I was riding/driving since I only do one at a time. I also wish that vehicle depreciation was more clearly accounted for ( ever wonder why your vehicle, and even your home, gets cheaper but your insurance gets more expensive? ). That is one of the reasons a competing insurance company can say it will save you hundreds of bucks by switching - they will be insuring an old depreciated car, while you are still paying for a new car/motorcycle with your other insurance company based on when you first got a policy on it.

Bottom-line - it is a CONTRACT, make sure you know what they will do, how fast they will do it, and under what conditions they will do it.
Invest the time, brain power, and headaches to understand the policy.
Shopping around will save you money.

Well, those are my opinions (and some thinly veiled rants).
Good luck and safe riding.
Tom

 

[Oldmanzues]

Insurance Company will only pay up to stated limits of a policy. I am a Instructor at a Driving school and hear mis information all the time. A persons states they have full Coverage and the Insurance will pay off if they ordered to pay a million dollars damage. With Safe Auto ? Full coverage only means you have all of the types of vehicle policys, not the amount.

Old Man Zues

 

[Saluda]

To me "never go by reputation or brand" is poor advice. There is no room to the word never. Can't ignore what has worked for many people for a long period of time. Good luck.

 

[Tom in NM]

You are right, Never Say Never . . .

To me "never go by reputation or brand" is poor advice. There is no room to the word never. Can't ignore what has worked for many people for a long period of time. Good luck.

. . . that was poorly stated . . . . I should have said, " I do not go by reputation or brand "

I do listen to other people, but the problem is their situations (vehicles, location, age, linked insurance, etc.) have never matched mine. Also, I have noticed that while some companies are good with property or life insurance, they are no where as good with vehicles.

For me, it still comes down to the contract/policies terms and the price/performance ratio.

Tom

 

[Saluda]

Good points.