SilverGhost

Recent (November) story, a co-worker of my brudda's slammed his truck door into my brudda's stealth suzuki commutermobile. suzuki lost, by about a grand damage. co-worker left his truck parked, went back into work before my brudda found it. my brudda sees it was an obvious hit by the parked truck, so he called the plant manager. plant manager calls the other employee's supervisor and the supervisor and co-worker both come out and the Plant Manager asked the co-worker if he hit my brudda's car. other employee: " I dunno." Plant manager opens the co-workers truck door and it still fits in the groove it made in the Suzuki. Now three witness'es. So the co-worker gives my brudda his insurance particulars. Brudda gets repair estimates from body shop, sends it to co-workers insurance co. Week passes, insurance co. says it doesn't have an adjuster working that geographic area. my brudda reminds the insurance he already sent them two repair estimates. another week goes by. Other insurance company calls my brudda and says that they can't pay to fix the damages, because they can't make contact with the insured (co-worker.) Said they are gonna send the insured a certified letter and advise him that they are dropping his coverage, but so sorry, can't pay my brudda. Tells my brudda to file with his insurance. My brudda has 11 cars,(including a c7 Z06 to make this story relevant), has no intention of having his insurance rates jacked with this claim. Other insurance knows he won't sue for such chump change, so other insurance off the hook with just a so solly, goodbye.

And that is the insurance industry. The greatest pyramid scheme ever devised. Just ask Warren Buffet. (and you thought he makes his money through stock picks, haha.)

the solution, self insure damage loss'es through FU money, only insure for the liability parts required by law. And retain a bulldog SOB of a lawyer for when the other insurance co. pulls the can't pay crap.

pkincy

You don't list your or your Brother's state but many states have a treble damages plus attorney's fee reimbursement on suits naming an insurance carrier approved in the state if mal or mis feasance is proven. In those states attorneys will fall all over themselves to take those cases on contingency as they can turn a $1000 property damage claim into a $50,000 recovery quite easily and they get 40% of the $50,000.

HorsePower Junkie

MikeERWNC,

Who do you have your insurance with? Is it Amica? That sounds like an excellent insurance company to work with that you have.


.

Vetteman Jack

Will be interesting to hear how this one turns out. $23K+ for car insurance is .

pewter99

frosts my *** that I have to buy UNINSURED motorist coverage.....they need to impound these vehicles that have no coverage.....its **** like this that I 100% support LEOs using tag readers for.....no insurance? well...we are towing your **** and impounding it until you can provide proof of coverage. You can't afford it? sucks to be you....don't drive.

AORoads

The "variety" of how insurance companies. treat people state-to-state, company-to-company, almost makes me wonder if it's done on purpose. Meaning, you get praise and you get complaints from customers---who can you believe? Theory: if the insurance companies create confusion, people will stick with what they got.

For instance, I know all about Geico---they're local HQ, long-owned by warren b., and have at least a "local" and well-known reputation. I've insured w. State Farm for many years and they've been superb in five states across the country and have one, $6K+ claim. Allstate, not so good, but very long ago.

My take is, the only co. I can recall NOT hearing any negative stories about, other than good ones, is Erie. Haven't talked to them and am not switching until State Farm lets me down.

My Opinion: at least w. State Farm (and probably others, altho less so today), it does depend on the agent and their credibility with the parent company. I compare that to going to a dealer for service, building some kind of "good will" which is actually dollars you spend with them, and then when something happens like outside of warranty, or actually your fault, they cover it for nothing. May not happen a lot today, but it does happen.

MikeERWNC

I used to listen to a guy named Clark Howard on the radio. https://clark.com/
He always said Amica is the best insurance company and always rated number one in customer service. My wife and I quit our jobs and moved to NC. State Farms rates in NC doubled from what we were paying in FL.
We decided to give Amica a try. Amica is easy to set up. They are friendly and caring when you contact them with a claim.
They don't waste their money on advertising like the others. Nothing I hate more then seeing Flo and thinking how much are they paying her to do those stupid commercials.
If you are truly a good insurance company, you don't need to constantly advertise on every channel, every commercial break. Geico wastes just as much money as progressive.

I often feel word of mouth is the best form of advertising. Most people don't shop for insurance. It is just too much of a hassle. We had been with State Farm for twenty years. They didn't care when we left.






https://clark.com/insurance/best-aut...nce-companies/

From his site and this will help the OP:
"if you live in Pennsylvania or New Jersey, he also likes NJM Insurance Company (NJM) because of their proven track record."

Clark Howard is an awesome guy. Always looking for ways to save consumers money.


A lot of good info in the link above:

Consumer Reports: 10 top-rated auto insurers

One of the annual studies that Clark watches closely is the Consumer Reports rating of auto insurers.

The most recent survey, conducted in late 2017, asked nearly 24,000 readers about their satisfaction with the claims process, the cost of premiums and the overall customer experience with a number of insurers.

Here are the winners and losers, according to the magazine:

(#1 is best)

1. Amica Insurance
2. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance Company
3. USAA Property & Casualty
4. Auto Club Group
5. Erie Insurance Group
6. PEMCO Mutual Insurance Company
7. The Cincinnati Insurance Company
8. Auto-Owners Insurance Group of Companies
9. Auto Club Enterprises Insurance Group
10. Travelers Group

4thC4at60

I dropped Geico in 1965 and have never looked back....

I insure 3 cars with USAA: Vette, FerrarI, Pontiac Vibe - about $2400 a year....

Corgidog1

Now that is great advice-don't insure the high cost items like a house which could bankrupt some people if lost. Insurance is for those items that you cannot self fund.

Patman

I'm not surprised that you are once again giving bad advice on this forum, but this one is the most insane yet. You truly are a few sandwiches short of a picnic!

John Harry

Their quote was 50% higher than my current State Farm.

hope2

As a general guide. If they advertise on TV, you're paying too much.

V1lla1nous

Good lord, I'm in the wrong state if those are PA rates.

KnightDriveTV

Problem with this theory is the lack of functionality in the system. When I lived in Pa and worked for PD, we had the "f stop" system, which indicated no insurance, due to the company reporting. The system relied on companies reporting practices, based upon computer generated letters, based upon the customers pay history. MANY...and I mean, MANY people we'd come across and cited for an f-stop and suspended reg had actual insurance and could prove it. For low income people, who did indeed have insurance, were faced with lost work going to the magistrate, loss of vehicle use due to tag seizure, etc. For people living on a tight budget, or paycheck to paycheck, a disruption like that can put them down a hole thats deep, and in some cases unrecoverable for a long period.

In concept, I'd agree with you, but in practice, based upon my experience, the system isn't reliable because it's stacked with variables that are uncontrolled by the state database.


To the OP and people reading; having lived in Pa, I know for certain the Philly region has insurance rates that are FAR beyond that of the rest of Pa, and far beyond that of the rest of the country even.

Based upon 2018 statistics, Michigan ranked highest in car insurance, with avg vehicle insurance premiums at 2239.00...that's the top spot. Pa, as a whole, avg's under 1100....some of the lowest on the list. BUT...Philadelphia specifically, for 2018, had the avg vehicle insurance premiums at 2807.00. That's WELL above Michigan which tops the country. So, NCM's insurance partner isn't the problem, Philly's risk factor is the problem.

MOVE....

V1lla1nous

USAA and MetLife are both great options in North Carolina, especially for service men and women

Flame Red

The way it works, at least here in Florida, is that if you have more cars than drivers, you can give permission to a third party, like a relative visiting for example, to borrow your car.

hope2

Here in good old Georgia you better have really good uninsured motorist coverage. Lax.

Phanni

Possibly true that you may never need it. But a disaster if you should need it.

Stupid advice.

rrsperry

449er

Skip insuring your home? You have to be kidding, right?