Date:         Thu, 20 May 2010 11:26:25 -0700
Reply-To:     Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stephen Grisanti <bike2vcu@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: Insurance suggestions
Comments: To: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <4bf560e1.9653f10a.1913.01e3@mx.google.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

We attempted to get USAA, but to get it for the cars meant we had to get it for the house (no objection to that if the rates and coverage are good) and our 1924 house did not qualify because we had not replaced ALL the knob-and-tube wiring in it.  Mind you, much of it had been replaced during the years of renovation, but we had not gone into every single wall and do not intend to do so for the sake of their policy.
 
Stephen

--- On Thu, 5/20/10, David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET> wrote:


From: David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject: Re: Insurance suggestions
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Date: Thursday, May 20, 2010, 12:17 PM


At 11:03 AM 5/20/2010, Don Hanson wrote:
>  But I will say  "due diligence' is called for when you go to get insurance.

Agreed.  That being said, in past years when Consumer Reports has
checked out insurance companies, there's been a strong tendency for
either USAA or State Farm to come out on top, with the other one
second.  Allstate has had miserable ratings.  Last time I looked at
this stuff was probably ten years ago, but the above had been true
for a number of years before.

USAA only sell to people with some present or prior family connection
with the military.  I have been their customer since 1976 and they've
always treated me fairly, including fixing my Westy instead of
totalling it, essentially because I pleaded with them.  Pleaded isn't
the right word, but I made the point as well as I could over the
phone that I simply wanted to be "made whole" and that their
cash-value appraisal of the vehicle wasn't going to do it.  They
essentially said "we'll think about it" and came back a day or two
later with approval to fix the thing (sideswiped by an out-of-control
uninsured sliding down an icy hill -- nothing structural but all the
left-side body panels and the service inlets were ruined).

They also later agreed to insure the thing as an RV even though it
didn't have a fixed toilet.  A bit cheaper and covered all factory
equipment and furniture.

Yours,
David