This is my own account of my car insurance experience. By sharing my experience, I hope you will be able to protect your family, save money, and make well-informed decisions on auto insurance.
For thirty-three years, State Farm had been my provider. State Farm had been the insurance provider of my parents and grandparents. When I got a driver’s license, my parents included me in their coverage. After I graduated from college, I obtained my own policy with State Farm. I believed my insurance was the best available. I was expecting exceptional treatment. I was wrong.
The cost of my insurance rose every year. I’ve never filed a claim in 33 years, my license is spotless, and I’ve never been in an accident. I made a perfect customer for State Farm. I only wanted peace of mind in exchange for paying my premium.
Over the last few years, I gradually lost faith in State Farm. As a lawyer for auto accidents, I witnessed directly how they poorly handled their customers. I witnessed a supposed “premium” business handle its customers like statistics. Nearly all of my clients who filed a claim for their injuries and carried State Farm were dissatisfied. I’m not referring to a tiny sample size either. I encounter these claims on a daily basis because State Farm is a large auto insurance provider. The number of times I had to inform clients that State Farm was treating them unfairly has always stuck out to me. Furthermore, the majority of these individuals were older. State Farm was their provider for many years, even decades. Like me, they believed that State Farm was supporting them. However, the truth was that it really didn’t matter.
I became annoyed when I watched State Farm advertising with the phrase “Like a Good Neighbor” since I knew it simply wasn’t accurate. I believed they were deceiving people based on the goodwill they had cultivated from years ago. The truth is that State Farm is no longer the gold standard. State Farm was trusted by the baby boomer generation because they had grown up with it. However, just because my parents and grandparents chose State Farm did not mean I had to follow suit forever.
I therefore made the decision to compare auto insurance. It’s a relief that I did. It made me more aware of the state of the auto insurance market and how insurance companies rely on consumers not to compare rates. This is my account of why I moved from State Farm to Geico for auto insurance, and how I was able to save more than $2,000 annually for the same coverage!
Examples of Behavior I Observe at State Farm
Simply put, State Farm has been making lowball offers and only making payments when compelled by a lawsuit. They use a computer to process your claim, and they will offer whatever the machine recommends. Offers with strange amounts like $3,805.21 are what I see. It is confusing how their computer software generates these figures and why they don’t round them off. Their lack of compassion about how the recipient of these offers feel is really frustrating.
In the event that you file an uninsured motorist claim under your State Farm policy, they will compel their customers to undergo an examination under oath (EUO) or an independent medical examination (IME). A forced examination by a doctor of their choosing is known as an IME. An EUO is essentially a deposition in which you are subjected to hours of interrogation by a lawyer. They are legally allowed to demand that you do this as part of your insurance contract. However, it’s a really aggressive move, and other insurance companies just don’t handle their own customers in this manner. It serves as an excellent illustration of why State Farm views its customers as a set of numbers. They quickly go into defensive mode instead of extending the benefit of the doubt to their customers. Instead of caring, it appears that they are searching for ways to avoid paying claims.
Another aspect of their operations that I find objectionable is how they manage medical compensation. Your medical expenses following an accident are covered by Med Pay. Let’s say your doctor receives the $5,000 you carry in medical pay. State Farm demands that $5,000 be reimbursed from the settlement of your injury case. You pay them back. Therefore, why would you pay them for a benefit that you must reimburse? Other companies waive the reimbursement, but not State Farm.
Additionally, State Farm frequently files individual lawsuits based on what’s known as a subrogation claim. This is a secret tactic. When an insurance company “steps into your shoes” and pursues a claim without your permission, it is known as a subrogation claim. It operates like this. You get injured in an accident. The at-fault driver is covered for physical injuries up to $25,000. You have a $100,000 uninsured motorist policy with State Farm. After your lawsuit is settled, you get the full $125,000 insurance payout. In order to recoup the $100,000 they paid you, State Farm will next file a personal lawsuit against the negligent driver. I constantly witness it. Even while they typically settle for less than the full sum, they are still pursuing a large number of people in secret and recouping their expenditures. Didn’t know about that clever move, did you?
How My Auto Insurance Policy Was Purchased
Purchasing auto insurance was far simpler than I had anticipated. Since Progressive and Geico are reliable businesses and I’ve generally had positive experiences with them during my personal injury claims, I already knew that I wanted to compare them.
I only needed to visit their websites, submit details about my car, and respond to demographic questionnaires. After completing the initial questions, I was presented with a menu that offered choices for both the types of coverage and the desired amounts.
However, I was surprised by the number of alternatives on the menu. I had to take a moment to make sure I knew what each kind of coverage represented and if I actually needed it. I had forgotten all the details because it had been so long since I had changed my coverage with State Farm. In the end, I was able to verify everything by consulting my State Farm policy.
Geico Helped Me Save More Than $2,000 Annually for the Same Coverage!
My wife and I own two cars. We are both free of accidents, tickets, and claims. For the policies, we paid State Farm $3,150 every six months, or $6,300 annually. We just wrote the checks because we didn’t know any better about the price.
When I received the quote from Geico, I was astounded. For the same coverage, it was $2,200 less per year! The only modification was that Geico required our location to be monitored on their mobile app when driving. In order to save that much money, I made the decision that I didn’t care about being tracked.
The Coverages I Have:
A certain amount of coverage is required by law. However, I have the following:
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
- Property Damage
- Rental
- Comprehensive
- Collision
- Bodily Injury
- Uninsured Motorist
What Protection I Didn’t Purchase
I determined that a few of the extras weren’t essential. I didn’t require the roadside assistance perk because my car company already offered it. Since I already had health insurance and thought it would be redundant to have both, I also refused Med Pay.
I Was Unable to Cancel My Policy With My State Farm Insurance Agent
This circumstance was frustrating. The person at my agent’s office seemed indifferent when I contacted her and explained that I wanted to cancel my insurance because I had switched to Geico. The State Farm agent did not offer to lower or match the Geico rates.
But before my policy could be canceled, she stated she needed evidence that I was covered by Geico. I received an email from her requesting a copy of the Dec page. I replied with a brief email expressing my desire to revoke the policy. I assumed she was in need of written correspondence. She replied that until they got the Dec page from Geico, they wouldn’t be able to terminate the coverage.
Naturally, the Dec page contained the price I paid, and State Farm would be able to see what Geico was charging unless I went through and redacted it. Quite difficult. However, I turned it over because I didn’t care enough to complete the further work to redact prices. After that, State Farm terminated the policy.
Which Car Insurance Coverages Do I Suggest?
Rental, bodily injury, and uninsured drivers are the main issues. In the event of an accident, you are taking a chance if you lack all three. For both physical injury and uninsured motorist coverage, I suggest at least $25,000/$50,000. Your assets and budget determine how much you can afford for each.
There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding around property damage as well. Property damage covers the harm caused by your carelessness in an accident. The damage to other vehicles is covered by this policy. More than $100,000 in property damage is not necessary, in my opinion. $50,000 is sufficient in practically every situation.
How to Get Cheaper, High-Quality Insurance:
“What good is insurance if it won’t pay when you need it?” used to be my thought. I still think this, but it’s not as significant now. Great companies are extremely rare. I have worked with just about every insurance provider in existence. I have dealt with thousands of claims. Out of all of them, USAA was the only one that I ever witnessed making an overpayment to safeguard its insured. USAA is amazing. All insurance companies should be more like them in my opinion. My clients never express dissatisfaction with USAA. Unfortunately, it is only available to members of the armed forces and their families, so not everyone is qualified.
With Progressive and Geico, I have had a great deal of success. Despite their imperfections, they are typically reasonable. Mid-tier is what Allstate is. The inexpensive insurance providers are all worthless. That shouldn’t come as a surprise.
The best course of action, in my opinion, is to review different auto insurance providers every two to three years. If an insurance premium seems too good to be true, be sure you are getting the right coverage from the firm. Shopping around is all you need to do to save money without having to reduce your coverage.
I hope that by using my knowledge, you and your family will be able to save money and possibly even expand your insurance coverage..
