Date: Sun, 30 Dec 2007 10:16:23 -0500
Reply-To: Mike <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mike <mbucchino@CHARTER.NET>
Subject: Re: Insurance
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The real issue is the fact that with a single relatively small claim that
the insurance company is so quick to raise your premium. They can't stand
to be out any amount of money, I guess, or they might not make a 100 percent
profit! You should always ask your insurance company what kind of claim(s)
it would take to trigger a mark-up in your premium. I did, and was
pleasantly surprised by thier answer. I'm with USAA (military only) and have
been with both State Farm and GEICO (G-overnment E-mployees I-nsurance
Co-mpany). State Farm had very low rates and was excellent with claims, and
didn't raise your premiums for a couple of small claims. I needed a
windshield a year when I was living in Phoenix, AZ; typical there, so they
don't penalize you personally for it. GEICO sucks in my opinion, I dropped
them shortly after they pulled some crap on me regarding a small claim and
involuntary annual surveys that required answering many pages of private,
personal, un-related questions to maintain a policy with them. I love USAA,
they send me check every year, returning excess profits to each of their
insured customers. How many companies do you know that do that? None, I'm
sure. Cheap rates, no mark up for small claims, flexible payment plans,
fast claim payouts, no time-wasting jerking you around crap. It's too bad
everyone can't use them, but I guess that's why their rates are so low. They
ONLY cater to a relatively small group of mostly trustworthy people, not the
general public. I've heard some others on my various listgroups say that
they have USAA too, and that they have a division that caters to antique and
special interest vehicles. I even keep storage insurance on my
non-registered, parked cars because it's so cheap. If I couldn't be with
USAA, I'd probably choose State Farm (who up 'til recently has been
unavailable in the state of Massachusetts, due to boycotting our wonderful
'regulated' insurance rates). I definitely don't recommend GEICO, or
Progressive (just try to settle a claim with those yahoos!) for many reasons
stated by both myself and many others with bad experiences. It's not all
about the cheapest rate. It's more about, what are you actually getting for
your money, and how do they treat thier insured?
HTH,
Mike B.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vdub Guy" <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2007 9:10 AM
Subject: Insurance
> <have my motor home insured with Progressive. Great insurance as long as
> you do not need it. I struck an on object and cracked the rear cap.>
>
>
> Insurance companies are so despicable, it makes me sick. I have insurance
> with Geico, never had a problem, but then my last claim was in 1991 for a
> rock to the windshield. I have NO tickets and NO accidents, yet I pay a
> ridiculous amount. I also have my motorcycle insurance through Geico, and
> I recently sold my old Suzuki GS850G (1981) and bought a 1994 Yamaha
> Virago 1100. A newer and more powerful bike, yet the premium dropped by
> $10.00/year! Go figure. My former neighbor worked for State Farm, and one
> time we got into a huge debate when she said that knock off parts were
> every bit as good as OEM parts. As a former owner of a 1967 Mustang, and
> having purchased both OEM Ford parts and foreign made repro parts for
> that car, the OEM parts were far superior-and usually 3-4 times as
> much-but they FIT. I told her to save her State Farm training propaganda
> for some one else, I'll never believe it. Jeff
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