I feel like I am paying an insane amount of money for auto insurance and am looking to lower my bill. My current provider is USAA. I've been with them since I was 16 under my folks policy, eventually moving to my own (I'm now 49). Admittedly, I own several cars (more than the average Joe, probably fewer than the average GRMer), but I am looking for advice on lowering my monthly outlay. Here are some details:
Perfectly clean driving record for all 3 drivers (me, my wife, my daughter)
We live in north Florida (Gainesville)
One recent claim for me (fall of 2017, other driver was 100% at fault)
Current fleet
2015 BMW i3 (wife's DD)
2012 VW GTI (primary driver is our 18 year old daughter)
2009 BMW M3 (one of my cars)
2006 Toyota 4Runner (one of my cars)
1999 Miata (up for sale right now)
Our son is 14, so he isn't far away from being of driving age too.
I work from home, which means I *rarely* drive and that small bit of mileage is split between the M3 and 4Runner.
One thought I've had is to put the M3 on a collector car policy, but am not sure I want to live with the fairly onerous rules regarding how and when I drive the car.
Any experts out there that could help me pay less? I'm all ears!
Have I ever mentioned that USAA IS THE WORST berkeleyING INSURANCE COMPANY IN THE WORLD? Just curious.
How much is "an insane amount"? I pay under $130/mo to GEICO for full coverage on 2 LS400's, 1 LX470, a RAV4, and liability only on a RN Truck. 3 Harleys cost me $180/year liability only.
Wally
MegaDork
11/27/18 8:14 p.m.
That seems high. Try calling a local insurance broker and see what they can do. A good broker will shop a number of lesser known companies and can help save money.
One of the main issues is the 18 year old female driver on the policy. Her record is great, but, man, they rake me over the coals for her.
dyintorace said:
Right now? $419/month :(
That's much lower than I anticipated. This is very location specific, you really cant compare prices with someone somewhere else.
In SFl I pay $300/month for a 2004 M3 and a 2014 328d wagon, w/300k liability. I have another policy with Hagerty for an '87 e30, a '97 M3 and an '06 S2000 for $1000 all in, all three of them have agreed value on them.
What kind of liability do you have? Maybe you can lower your liability and get an umbrella ... of course, if you have low liability on the car, the umbrella will have a higher premium.
Very location dependent. Even different zip codes in the same city can have very different rates.
The best thing you can do is call different brokers, and the big companies who only sell through contracted agents and compare.
The same way if you were looking to buy a new car you'd shop the dealers against each other.
For example, I'm 36 with a clean record, good credit, but with 1 at fault, single car accident. No tickets since it was out of town, no other cars and no law showed before I had the car towed.
In Oklahoma, I pay $171/month for my '13 135i.
But there is also the very real possibility of Thunderstorm with hail totalling the car 10 months out of the year if I can't get home from work in time.
Nearly ever car dealer in OKC parks the new cars under huge canopies to protect against the possibility of hail damage.
Yeah it has to be very location dependent. For a 90 ranger with comp, a 12 escape with full coverage and my 78 zephyr on a stated value (10k) coverage I pay 792 for 6 months. With the zephyr on storage I pay 631. This is through a company that uses driving record, credit scores and average yearly mileage too calculate rates. We were at 1040 ever 6 months on progressive without the escape.
Call a good local broker and look at options
Slippery said
I have another policy with Hagerty for an '87 e30, a '97 M3 and an '06 S2000 for $1000 all in, all three of them have agreed value on them.
Slippery
does hagerty have very strict driving limits ? I would like to switch 3 of my cars to them with agreed value if possible
appreciate the help
dropstep said:
Yeah it has to be very location dependent. For a 90 ranger with comp, a 12 escape with full coverage and my 78 zephyr on a stated value (10k) coverage I pay 792 for 6 months. With the zephyr on storage I pay 631. This is through a company that uses driving record, credit scores and average yearly mileage too calculate rates. We were at 1040 ever 6 months on progressive without the escape.
Call a good local broker and look at options
All companies use driving record, credit score, zip code, mileage, is the car garage kept, etc.
In reply to mr2s2000elise :
They asked me how many times a week I would drive the car to work, I dont so it did not matter. I did ask them if I drove to an event 1000 miles away (ie tail of the dragon) and they said it was fine.
A few years ago they wanted my daily driver to be insured with someone else and for it to be newer than my other cars. The S2000 did not qualify even though I rarely drive it. A year ago I called them again and they agreed to insure it even with me having an older daily.
Slippery said:
In reply to mr2s2000elise :
They asked me how many times a week I would drive the car to work, I dont so it did not matter. I did ask them if I drove to an event 1000 miles away (ie tail of the dragon) and they said it was fine.
A few years ago they wanted my daily driver to be insured with someone else and for it to be newer than my other cars. The S2000 did not qualify even though I rarely drive it. A year ago I called them again and they agreed to insure it even with me having an older daily.
Thank you. I just did a online quote with them for 2 MR2, 1 07 s2000, and a Lotus Elise, and their rate was much higher than what I currently have.
In reply to mr2s2000elise :
Keep in mind theirs is an annual quote and not a 6-month quote. It’s also highly dependent upon the value you state so make sure you’re not overstating the values. I’m at $200/yr for my 1970 Ford F-250 with them.
dculberson said:
In reply to mr2s2000elise :
Keep in mind theirs is an annual quote and not a 6-month quote. It’s also highly dependent upon the value you state so make sure you’re not overstating the values. I’m at $200/yr for my 1970 Ford F-250 with them.
Yeah. They are saying $1650 a year. I am currently paying $1100 a year for those. I will give them a call tomorrow and talk to a live person
Thanks
dyintorace said:
Right now? $419/month :(
Holy ball sacks. I pay $90 for 3 cars a month 2 (13 vw golf and 02 zx2) have full coverage on them thru Progressive
dyintorace said:
One of the main issues is the 18 year old female driver on the policy. Her record is great, but, man, they rake me over the coals for her.
The fact she’s in a 6-year old GTI is what’s really flaming the fire.
The best thing you can do is shop around independent agents. When you find one who isn’t as scummy as the average car dealership, have them give you quotes. I bet you could save 10%-20% if you find someone who’ll really work for you.
Shop around. Nobody here, including me, can really give you advise that's worth much of anything. Your rates are based on so many different variables, many of which are 100% unique to you. So what one person gets with insurance company A has nothing to do with the rate you may get.
Call the big companies, then also shop with independent agents and see what you can get.
docwyte
UltraDork
11/28/18 8:32 a.m.
Put the M3 with Hagerty. There really aren't any onerous rules other than they want it to be garaged and they want you to have another vehicle to use as a DD.
Other than that, I've found USAA to be the BEST insurance company in the world! Deal with our claims quickly, don't fight with us about stuff, etc. They took care of a $100k hail damage claim to my house without any problems.
Pete Gossett said:
dyintorace said:
One of the main issues is the 18 year old female driver on the policy. Her record is great, but, man, they rake me over the coals for her.
The fact she’s in a 6-year old GTI is what’s really flaming the fire.
The best thing you can do is shop around independent agents. When you find one who isn’t as scummy as the average car dealership, have them give you quotes. I bet you could save 10%-20% if you find someone who’ll really work for you.
How so? I'm not asking in a smart ass fashion either. Is it that the car is too new? Or too old? Too sporty? I probably wouldn't force her into a different car, but I'm very curious how different car choices impact the insurance cost (other than driving something ludicrously expensive).
Klayfish said:
Shop around. Nobody here, including me, can really give you advise that's worth much of anything. Your rates are based on so many different variables, many of which are 100% unique to you. So what one person gets with insurance company A has nothing to do with the rate you may get.
Call the big companies, then also shop with independent agents and see what you can get.
Will do. I'll shop a few brokers in town and see what I can get. My goal is to sell the MIata ASAP so it's off my policy, with whatever carrier I end up with.
docwyte said:
Put the M3 with Hagerty. There really aren't any onerous rules other than they want it to be garaged and they want you to have another vehicle to use as a DD.
Other than that, I've found USAA to be the BEST insurance company in the world! Deal with our claims quickly, don't fight with us about stuff, etc. They took care of a $100k hail damage claim to my house without any problems.
I use Heacock already. I'll call them about the M3. It sees VERY little use, so a low mileage collector policy shouldn't be a problem. As for USAA, I've had good experiences with them on the home front and a poor experience with them recently when my e46 wagon was totaled, after only owning it 51 weeks.
Would it help if dyintorace had his daughter buy her own policy and remove her from his? You can always reimburse her.
I will be in this situation in a couple of years and always wondered if its best to have my son buy his own policy or if it makes no difference.
Insurance is highly regulated and has different laws in different states making it very difficult to get applicable advice on a global forum. Having said that (or typed it) I'm now going to try and give applicable advice on a global forum.
I've been happy using an insurance broker. If they're good they'll shop rates for you and know the answer to the question about the possible benefits of having your daughter on her own policy.
