Insurance companies

[RockChalk]

This is a spin-off of Treb's thread. He got me wondering while reading everyone's opinion of how insurance companies should handle things.

Who do you use? Why do you like/dislike them? Do you feel you're getting good value?

Personally, I have used State Farm (Berquist's office in Lenexa) for almost 12 years now. My parents use him, so naturally, I went the same route. I'd say my rates are pretty decent, but I've never really had to use them for a claim. I know my dad has a few issues with him (recent development) but that's another story altogether.

[jjjayb]

They're a bunch of greedy profit driven bastidges. The government should take over.

Oh, wait. This is car insurance. Nevermind. :D

[Old Dog]

USAA - haven't had any issues (knocks on wood).

[Frosty]

USAA - haven't had any issues (knocks on wood).

This.

[pr_capone]

USAA - haven't had any issues (knocks on wood).

Double This

[Frazod]

I have State Farm. Haven't filed a claim since 1988. They sure have made a lot of money off me.

[BWillie]

Contrary to popular belief, MOST of the larger insurance companies are better. They have the ability to move the claims process faster and won't try to lowball you as much. They have the ability to stretch their costs out on a larger scale, and in turn can make your premiums lower as a result.

[sparkky]

over the years I have determined that about any brand of insurance is only as good as your agent.

when we moved down here we went with Farm Bureau. we seemed to see lots of their stickers and signs on homes, autos and farms.
I really didn't want to go with a "major" brand that was big in hurricane or earth quake prone areas that would raise MY rates for others' disasters.

while Farm Bureau is nationwide pretty much, each state acts pretty independently the agent told me when I specifically asked him if Florida hurricanes would raise MY rates.

haven't had a claim yet so we shall see.

[rockymtnchief]

I have Allstate and they've been good to me.

I hit a deer two years ago and had everything worked out within a week, even though my agent is 150+ miles away.

[Saulbadguy]

Contrary to popular belief, MOST of the larger insurance companies are better. They have the ability to move the claims process faster and won't try to lowball you as much. They have the ability to stretch their costs out on a larger scale, and in turn can make your premiums lower as a result.

I take it both you and CoMoChief work for insurance companies. Explains quite a bit.

[Mr. Kotter]

USAA - haven't had any issues (knocks on wood).

Double This

Any veteran who is not using USAA....is completely out of their mind.

It's the best insurance company in the country--hands-down.

[BWillie]

I take it both you and CoMoChief work for insurance companies. Explains quite a bit.

I'm tellin' ya. When I did regular auto liability, God help you if you were in a wreck w/ a company that I haven't heard of. They take their sweet ass time. Our insured's always would complain to us about these rinky dink companies and the time it took, and how they never wanted to pay out enough. That is not representative of all smaller insurance companies, but for most of them it is.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

I've been with Geico for years, and the one time I needed them they took fantastic care of me.

USAA has been trying to get us to switch and we're considering it. They've been offering us lower rates and my understanding is you have to be military related to even go with them. My wife's father was military and they've been using USAA for years. They've also had worse luck with car accidents than we have and USAA has always been golden to them.

[Frazod]

I wouldn't switch to Geico for anything, primarily because their endless stupid commercials annoy the shit out of me.

Ever wonder how much your premium would drop if they dumped about half of that shit and returned the wasted cash to their customers? And the remaining half would still be too much.

I'd like to stuff that fucking gekko in the microwave and set the timer for an hour and a half. :#

[CoMoChief]

USAA - haven't had any issues (knocks on wood).

No offense .....but these fuckers are horrible to deal with. Hope you don't have any problems in the future.

[CoMoChief]

I take it both you and CoMoChief work for insurance companies. Explains quite a bit.

Well this post just proves you're an idiot.

WTF does my job have anything to do with what I post on here?

[CoMoChief]

They're a bunch of greedy profit driven bastidges. The government should take over.

Oh, wait. This is car insurance. Nevermind. :D

Yet I dont think anyone would be surprised if the govt DID try to take over the auto insurance industry. It's something that majority of the people MUST have whether its legally or financially.

[Old Dog]

No offense .....but these fuckers are horrible to deal with. Hope you don't have any problems in the future.

Horse Shit.
Have had them settle 5 different auto claims (one was our fault). Had a tornado do some damage a couple of years ago, that all settled quickly.

On the tornado claim I did part of the demolition and reconstruction myself and they told me that I didn't charge them nearly enough for labor and ended up writing a check a hell of a lot higher than I thought they should have.

[Old Dog]

In all fairness I would imagine if I were someone who worked for another insurance company USAA might be tough to "deal with", but as a customer, I couldn't be happier.

[Mr. Kotter]

In all fairness I would imagine if I were someone who worked for another insurance company USAA might be tough to "deal with", but as a customer, I couldn't be happier.


That's my thought. Their customer service/customer satisfaction rankings are always at the top of the industry--which is impressive in light of the fact that most folks outside of Texas are not dealing with local service centers.

[alnorth]

I've been with Geico for years, and the one time I needed them they took fantastic care of me.

USAA has been trying to get us to switch and we're considering it. They've been offering us lower rates and my understanding is you have to be military related to even go with them. My wife's father was military and they've been using USAA for years. They've also had worse luck with car accidents than we have and USAA has always been golden to them.

My advice: do it. At least get a quote.

I work for a big evil insurance company that competes against USAA. When my brother (he was in the military) asked me about insurance, I told him to go to USAA.

USAA isn't as profitable as a lot of the other companies, but they are utterly un-touchable when it comes to claims and customer service. They blow everyone out of the water every year on the JD Powers surveys. (They arent eligible to receive the JD Powers award because they dont allow everyone to buy from them)

Any time my insurance company (and probably all the others) starts talking about the importance of customer service and how can we improve, USAA inevitably gets mentioned. Speaking as an insider, they are basically the gold standard of claims service in insurance. If you are lucky enough to "qualify" to be a customer of USAA, you should think about it.

[BWillie]

My advice: do it. At least get a quote.

I work for a big evil insurance company that competes against USAA. When my brother (he was in the military) asked me about insurance, I told him to go to USAA.

USAA isn't as profitable as a lot of the other companies, but they are utterly un-touchable when it comes to claims and customer service. They blow everyone out of the water every year on the JD Powers surveys. (They arent eligible to receive the JD Powers award because they dont allow everyone to buy from them)

Any time my insurance company (and probably all the others) starts talking about the importance of customer service and how can we improve, USAA inevitably gets mentioned. Speaking as an insider, they are basically the gold standard of claims service in insurance. If you are lucky enough to "qualify" to be a customer of USAA, you should think about it.

We tend to talk about State Farm. I would not have assumed that about USAA....not that they are bad, but they just similar to alot of other insurance companies as far as their service in my experience.

[KCChiefsMan]

been with progressive for a few years. I've never in my life needed car insurance.

[RJ]

That's my thought. Their customer service/customer satisfaction rankings are always at the top of the industry--which is impressive in light of the fact that most folks outside of Texas are not dealing with local service centers.


When I was in Texas I did a lot of USAA flooring claims - flood or fire damage, etc.. They took excellent care of their customers and paid fair rates for products and services to vendors like ourselves. Also, having visited the corporate offices in San Antonio, they appear to treat their employees quite well.

[DanT]

If USAA's auto insurance is anything like their other products, then it must be great. It's a real pleasure being one of their banking customers.

[Tylerthigpen!1!]

How do you qualify for USAA?

[alnorth]

How do you qualify for USAA?

I believe you either have to be in the military, or be a military veteran (honorably discharged), or spouse of a USAA member, or if your parent is a USAA member.

[CrazyPhuD]

Personally I've have state farm. They give reasonable rates and their customer service has been great. People were saying never report a claim to your insurance agency even if you get hit, but probably 6 years back I got rear ended by an uninsured driver. They took care of everything and didn't raise my rates a bit. Had to pay out deductible at first but state farm sued the fucker and we got a check for that a few years ago. I've had no reason to switch.