The Hunt for Cheaper Car Insurance - Part 3
A while back I decided that I should look into finding cheaper car insurance. I wasn’t necessarily unhappy with the service I had been receiving from State Farm but had wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting ripped off. After looking into the different coverages, I decided to go with minimal liability coverage with a high deductible. My car is very old so comprehensive or collision would not be worth it.
I started out by using some online quote websites. They take your information and desired coverage and give you a quick check of several companies to compare, most of which are lesser known or ones I hadn’t heard of. I also took some quotes from Allstate, Progressive, Geico, AIG, and Liberty Mutual, among others.
Overall, I was a little disappointed. Most of the popular names gave me quotes that were much higher than I currently pay. I believe AIG wouldn’t let me select the limited coverage I wanted. Although Geico has very entertaining ads, I wasn’t as enamored by the quotes they gave me.
However, USAA totally blew everyone out of the park. Their coverage ended up being almost half of what I currently pay so I jumped at the opportunity. USAA membership, and consequently its auto insurance, is only available to military members or the spouse or children of a member. If you are eligible I definitely recommend obtaining membership even if you don’t immediately get any accounts with them. I once heard someone joke that she wanted to marry a military man so she could get USAA insurance. I don’t know if its that good but it is the best I’ve seen.
July 20th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Minimum liability insurance is not a good idea. Most minimum liability won’t cover any kind of hospital stay for injuries that lasts more than a couple of days. It’s not always some stranger that might be victim of you having too little coverage. Could be a friend or relative riding as a passenger in your car.
Last time I checked around for auto insurance, all gave me higher rates than I was already paying, or equal, except one which was substantially lower. That was Costco. Costco is partnered with a subsidiary of Amex. They were quoting me $500 less a year for equal coverage. Unfortunately, I do not qualify for USAA.
August 16th, 2007 at 3:29 pm
Wawanesa Insurance is another company that has rates sigificantly lower than most others. Unfortunately, it is only avaialbe in California and Oregon, and you need an excellent driving record.
Also, I agree with Kevin;s comments, since extra liability coverage does not cost too much. I carry 250k/500k/100k (per person / per occurance / property)
August 17th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Good point. Although I do have health insurance there is some risk to keeping minimum liability. When I get a real job after college, and a car thats not over ten years old
I will probably look at larger coverage.
I heard someone else mention Costco to me too but I don’t have a membership there. Might be a good option for those that don’t qualify for USAA.