What's with all the auto insurance commercials these days?

I was just watching a show, it cut to a commercial break and there were four auto insurance commercials right in a row. Progressive, State Farm, Geico and The General and of course all claiming that they are the lowest. Is it just me or are these ads multiplying at an alarming rate?

Insurance = Big Money? It's got to be better than manufacturing.....

not sure.. but I just cut my insurance by almost half. Been with Statefarm for the past 20 years.. and in looking at my lastest bill.. they were charging me 202/month to insure my 318ti and Saab 900. Two cars that I have only liability insurance on and only do about 7000 miles a year. It's been 6 years since my last accident and 4 since my last ticket.

I phoned up New Jersey Manufactorers.. which you can only get if the company you work for is affiliated. My insurance is now 112/month.

Not sure, but I enjoy most of the commercials, they are all trying to out do each other in terms of humor. Progessive though, are just the worst, just gawdawful

This is Mayhem...

vwcorvette wrote: This is Mayhem...

those ones are awesome... but can't for the life of me recall which one it is... state farm right?... lol

tells you how effective they are...

My wife was with Farmers when we got married. We've switched everything over to EMC and the price difference is HUGE. And EMC doesn't pay for expensive TV commercials. Go figure.

I do my insurance through a broker. This way, she's on my side if something happens. That is hugely valuable - would you rather be on your own trying to get the insurance company to pay out? I can also just say "hey, can I do any better on my rates?" and she gets on it, including companies you might never have heard of otherwise.

We change companies every year or two. Basically every time the rates go up, we shop them. We are with USAA this time around and have used most of them in the last 25 years.

How much of your premiums do you think are being spent on advertising?

I was with Allstate and my rates were high. State Farm gave me better prices. Two years later it seems State Farm is getting expensive. Time to shop?

In reply to pete240z:

Absolutely. Like I said earlier, as soon as whatever company we have jacks our rates, we shop them. If we find a better rate, we call the company and tell them. If they match it, we stay. No match, no business.

We just moved and our insurance company wanted to jack the rates $100 every 6 months. Wrong. Shopped them, called them, rates ended up $10 less than we were originally paying.

I dunno but do wish more people would heed the commercials and buy insurance. In the past 2 years my cars have been in the bodyshop 4 times (Miata twice) for either hit & run or fault of uninsured motorist. There was one hit & run uninsured a few years ago also. She got caught and did 6 months in jail. Which means I pay deductible while my insurance pays. I'm getting tired of paying deductible for accidents not my fault. One of the hit & runs was in a parking lot while the car was parked, came out to the damage. And that is just the insurance claims, not counting the paint dings and small dents.

There's so much advertising because the market is so competitive. Progressive and the Lizard have shot up to be in the top 5 based solely on their advertising, and now the other big names are scrambling to regain their lost customers.

Rates are in constant flux as insurers make adjustments to 1) remain competitive and 2) make money while cutting their margins as thin as can be profitable. PIF=policies in force is what drives a lot of this. More policies = more money but also helps lower rates as the risk is spread over a larger group. Unfortunately, some companies have increased their PIFs by courting low-end customers that have more frequent claims, so upward rate adjustments become necessary (not to mention inflation, natural disasters, etc). One company may be competitive in your state but far too high in the next one over. My own employer can't beat the company I'm currently with.

Having an agent or independent broker means little when you have a claim. We adjusters generally roll our eyes and curse when an agent gets involved 'on behalf' of a customer. Agents are salespeople; they know as much about claims as a car salesman knows about the service department. They like to act like they know something to keep their client happy but all they usually do is cause more problems. There are some rare exceptions, and those agents are a joy to work with, but they may be around 10% of the total number in my experience.

wlkelley3 wrote: I dunno but do wish more people would heed the commercials and buy insurance. In the past 2 years my cars have been in the bodyshop 4 times (Miata twice) for either hit & run or fault of uninsured motorist. There was one hit & run uninsured a few years ago also. She got caught and did 6 months in jail. Which means I pay deductible while my insurance pays. I'm getting tired of paying deductible for accidents not my fault. One of the hit & runs was in a parking lot while the car was parked, came out to the damage. And that is just the insurance claims, not counting the paint dings and small dents.

Here in Michigan it's a no fault state which basically means you only pay your deductible if you are at fault. Everybody has to carry insurance here. The flip side of that is our insurance rates are some of the highest in the country.........so you end up paying either way.

vwcorvette wrote: This is Mayhem...

I love those commercials. Couldn't tell you which company makes them though.

Insurance ecompanies go where the money is. Back in the '70's Nationwide didn't want anything to do with anything related to racing. They even wanted me to not allow a young fellow who worked for me to drive my sevice truck because he drove a race car on Sat. nites. Now look.

ddavidv wrote: Having an agent or independent broker means little when you have a claim. We adjusters generally roll our eyes and curse when an agent gets involved 'on behalf' of a customer. Agents are salespeople; they know as much about claims as a car salesman knows about the service department. They like to act like they know something to keep their client happy but all they usually do is cause more problems. There are some rare exceptions, and those agents are a joy to work with, but they may be around 10% of the total number in my experience.

My experience has been good. I've seen a friend get royally screwed over by an adjuster playing games (low-ball offers with only hours to respond) and I've had a broker walk me through the process. Very different results.

A good car salesman still knows more about the service department than someone who isn't sure if their car is FWD or RWD - which is a pretty good analogy the level of expertise most of us have with insurance.

Feedyurhed wrote:

wlkelley3 wrote: I dunno but do wish more people would heed the commercials and buy insurance. In the past 2 years my cars have been in the bodyshop 4 times (Miata twice) for either hit & run or fault of uninsured motorist. There was one hit & run uninsured a few years ago also. She got caught and did 6 months in jail. Which means I pay deductible while my insurance pays. I'm getting tired of paying deductible for accidents not my fault. One of the hit & runs was in a parking lot while the car was parked, came out to the damage. And that is just the insurance claims, not counting the paint dings and small dents.

Here in Michigan it's a no fault state which basically means you only pay your deductible if you are at fault. Everybody has to carry insurance here. The flip side of that is our insurance rates are some of the highest in the country.........so you end up paying either way.

Here in Alabama is a insurance mandatory and no fault state. Amazing how many don't have insurance in an insurance mandatory state. Now when they get in an accident they do get arrested and cited for not having insurance. But doesn't help us that have insurance. Use the uninsured insurance claim and get the car fixed and insurance company goes after the at fault uninsured but that's like squeezing blood from a turnip, these folks don't have insurance because they can't afford it. Every time a claim is made deductible is in affect. Sure I can go through small claims court for the deductible amount. Probably win and still have nothing to show because they can't pay it. A do-loop if you will.

A canoe load of insurance

HappyAndy wrote:

vwcorvette wrote: This is Mayhem...

I love those commercials. Couldn't tell you which company makes them though.

Allstate

Feedyurhed wrote: I was just watching a show, it cut to a commercial break and there were four auto insurance commercials right in a row. Progressive, State Farm, Geico and The General and of course all claiming that they are the lowest. Is it just me or are these ads multiplying at an alarming rate?

I like the claims. "70% of buyers who switched, saved money with Geico!"

One, duh, if your sample group are the people who left your competition, I bet you can cite some reason like a lower price. Two, I think the other thirty percent who switched to Geico in spite of it costing more are more interesting. I mean, why switch to a more expensive insurer? Is it a love of talking reptiles?

don't they all say you can save when you switch?

Keith wrote: I do my insurance through a broker. This way, she's on my side if something happens. That is hugely valuable - would you rather be on your own trying to get the insurance company to pay out? I can also just say "hey, can I do any better on my rates?" and she gets on it, including companies you might never have heard of otherwise.

I agree with Keith on the broker thing, at least for cost-savings. We saved quite a bit without lifting a finger. No input on the claims process yet, thankfully. I have been screwed by an provider/shop relationship though without advocacy.

Feedyurhed wrote: Here in Michigan it's a no fault state which basically means you only pay your deductible if you are at fault. Everybody has to carry insurance here.

Minnesota is a no fault state as well, and everyone is supposed to carry insurance but that doesn't mean they all do...both times that I've been hit by another driver they didn't have it.