Auto Insurance

[Ralph Kramden]

I'm looking to change my auto insurance company, and I'm looking for any company recommendations(good value). If not, what is a good website to do a search/comparison? Thanks.

[Den Mayer]

American Family....    If you have a 'Good record'...

  Longevity with an Ins Co & having a 'superb' claims

   record & multiple coverages opens up some discounts....

    I deal with Gary Phipps of Mequon...

[mhz40]

In the 80's my (then) wife racked up three small claims in 2 1/2 years with American Family.  All were for less than I shelled out each time on my $500 deductible.  Before I submitted the third claim, I asked my rep if there were any issues.  He told me no, go ahead & make the ($250) claim for the 3rd incident.  None of the claims were a big deal.
Four months later I was dropped.  "The company has deciced to not renew policies that have had three or more claims over the past three years."  Yes, if you are a 'good driver', go ahead and consider American Family.  Just don't let your luck run out on the roads, or you will be hunting for new insurance, explaining why you were dropped from another insurance company on every application.

[waterhead]

I had a similar experience with American, also in the '80's.

In my case I didn't even have an accident. They let my policy expire with out even sending me a notice. I was involved in a bad accident, and dicovered this when I tried to make a claim.
When I asked why they didn't notify me that my policy had expired and that I had no insurance, they replied:"It's not our responsibility, the expiration date is on the policy".

Bad, Bad,Bad! Do not get insurance with these people!

I have a home & highway policy with West Bend Mutual insurance. I went to an independent insurance agent. They can check out many companies and reccomend the best for you. American family will not allow their agents to sell any insurance other than their own.

[Talos4]

I also use an insurance broker. When my rates start increasing I call him and him to search for the best deal with the best co.

I have been with Acuity now for about 10years, and I have had absolutely no problems.  

This included totaling one car, major repairs on another, speeding ticket all in a span of 2 years. My rates didn't increase more than usual after that.  

just my $.02 worth.

[jkane]

Fnad an independent locally.  Call him/her.  You'll get the same or even better personallized service, and you'll never have a problem with the mothership dropping you without reason.

My AF story:  My wife was in the middle of an 6 car accident.  She had not even so much as a scratch.  Bumper pushed in and backout with no problems.  I didn't have a second thought about it.  A year later AF cancelled us!  I asked why.  He said we made too many claims.  When I dug into it, it turned out everyone else in the accident claimed to my wife's policy and AF just paid without even asking us what happened!  Duh!  You would think if their own policy holder didn't make a claim, and there was no one found at fault, they shold at least ask a single question before paying.  I asked why they didn't ask us about it, and the agent said too bad, they don't care any more, now go away.  I've left them and never looked back.

I get great service with All Risk (Chuck) in Thiensville.  He does a great job and always makes sure I am covered with the best possible rates.

[Matt Heebner]

Another independant insurance vote from me.
I go through Bob Johnson who is affiliated with Erie Insurance. His website is //www.bobinsurance.com if you want to check it out. He is a great guy and his rates were better than my previous carrier Sentry by about $800/year, and the coverage was better.. I also ended up going with him for homeowners as he gave better coverage, and a lower deductible than my previous insurer.
I suggest giving him a call,or visiting his website to get a quote. Like I said he is agreat guy, and have no problem refering him to someone. Actually I refered my mother to him, and he beat AARP's quote by quite a bit as well.

Matt

[picopir8]

Whatever you do, avoid State Farm like the Plague.  I gave them all my info and got stated a good price so I switched to them for both home and auto.  When I went into see the agent, she said that she entered something wrong when making the quote and that my rate would be a little higher.  Then after I signed up, I got a "rate correction" notice from the home office.  Apparently something was calculated incorrectly and I was supposed to pay more for the services that I was receiving.  Then about a month later, I got a notice of a rate increase on both the home and auto plans.  By this time, I was no longer saving money, I was paying more than I had been at American Family.  Also, State Farms policies are not that great.  American Family gave me much more coverage for less money.  In fact, I saved so much by going to them that I was able to pick up a $1,000,000 umbella policy and I still pay less than my final price at State Farm.

[oz]

Here's another vote for Acuity via an independent agent.

Acuity also has a cheap add-on where they will replace your car with a brand new one if it's totalled, regardless of the value of your current car. So if you have a 1990 Ford F150 and total it, you will get a 2006 Ford F150 with the same options as your old one.

[Ralph Kramden]

Thanks guys. When you say independent agent, you just mean a broker, correct?

[MoreTorque99]

I use Secura as an insurance broker.  I havent been able to find a better price with coverages as good.

They actually make the insurance on my GTO somewhat affordable

[Rick Sass]

They actually make the insurance on my GTO somewhat affordable

Tell me more  :cool:  Any pix?

[jkane]

Independent agent means a person who sells more than one brand of insurace.  the value they add is the research to find a better priced policy and keep doing that every year for you as part of what they offer.  The never (that I know of) sell policies with American Family or State Farm.

[StarvingForHDTV]

Acuity also has a cheap add-on where they will replace your car with a brand new one if it's totalled, regardless of the value of your current car. So if you have a 1990 Ford F150 and total it, you will get a 2006 Ford F150 with the same options as your old one.

That sounds like a nice add-on.

[Gregg Lengling]

Another thing to check out if you are over 50 years old is AARP's program with the Hartford.....I've got my auto ins. thru them and it's almost 1/2 of what everyone else quoted me....and I check every year a month or so before renewal.