Yeah but then you are going to a new company who will pull you up & see that you filed a claim UGH its such a terrible game. I think insurance companies scare people into not using their insurance kinda ironic huh

 

I think your being alarmist and overreacting. What does you auto insurance policy say about accidents and tickets. I believe in ours the first one is free ... then the rates go up

People who have say a $500 deductable and put in a claim for $800 just need to read the fine print ....which, of course, most don't.

The whole point of it is to use it judiciously for major claims ... $10K accidents, totaled car, etc. not on trivial stuff. Same on your house. If you need to find out the actual facts of how many people are REALLY cancelled for one claim ...

 

Just speaking from personal experience

 

So your insurance company dropped you after one claim?

In that case, something smells rotten in Denmark

 

I'm going to go read another thread.......see ya!

 

FWIW I've been very happy with State Farm for my insurance. I've been with them for 20 years. I've had 8-10 tickets in the first 15 years I was driving and they didn't raise my rates once. The only time they raised my rates was about 14 or 15 years ago when I let a friend borrow my car and he ran someone off the road. They tacked on a surcharge to my premiums for a year or two, and then lowered my rates back down.

The only other time I have made a claim was when my car was broken into at work 5 1/2 years ago. $2100 claim, and the $250 deductibles (each) applied from my auto comp policy and my homeowner's policy (for theft of contents). They didn't raise my rates for that claim.

We currently have $250/$500 deductibles for comp/collision on both of our vehicles. I've gone $500/$1000 deductibles on several vehciles in the past. I've had to replace windshields twice in the past 20 years and had to replace side windows three times due to break-ins. In each case the cost of the windshield was $200-300 and I paid it out of pocket. I would have paid much more than that in premiums if I had really low deductibles. I'll probably raise the deductibles on my MC to $500/1000 when I pay it off in another year and a half. That way I'm covered for anything catastrophic, but my premiums will be lower. If you are the kind of person who makes frequent claims (I'm not), than lower deductibles may be a good idea, but hopefully you have a good relationship with your insurance company (I do) because some will raise your rates or drop you with a lot of claims filed.

-Keith

 

If you qualify for USAA, go with them as they're the cheapest. Just out of curiosity I got a quote from Geico and it was $100/six months higher than USAA.

Don't forget daytime running lights. That can save you a little money as well.

Paul

 

DRL's on US MINI's? Since when? My '05 doesn't have them, and I can't recall seeing any other MINI's on the road with DRL's. Frankly, I hate DRL's and wouldn't have bought the car if it had them.

-Keith

 

I think I read somewhere that DRLs are a programmable option.

 

DRL's are a programmable option. I had mine programmed to not come on

 

Why do you hate DRLs so much that they would keep you from buying a MINI? Were you traumatized as a child by a car with them?

Paul

 

Lets see, when I was a child we didn't have DRL's, air bags, or a lot of the "safety" features that exist now. I don't care for a lot of the safety features that are forced on us (like air bags for instance). If you want to keep your lights on for "safety", turn them on, but don't force me to have them because a certain manufacturer has them o ntheir entire line. There are numerous reasons why DRL's aren't necessarily a good idea, the motorcycle issue for one.

-Keith

 

So you don't like DRLs:

1. Because studies show the probability of an accident is reduced so manufacturers are putting them on more cars.

2. The "motorcycle issue"

What is the "motorcycle issue"?

Paul

 

How do DRLs reduce the probability of an accident? And what is this "motorcycle issue"?

 

Increased visibility...other drivers are better able to see you. Your car stands out against the background more. As for the motorcycle issue, I'm curious as well.

Paul

 

I've heard numerous motorcycle riders complain that they used to be the only vehicles on the road during the day with their headlights on for increased visibility. People used to notice a vehicle with headlights on during the day. Now it is commonplace. People don't look twice any more or tend to pay attention to vehicles with their lights on during the day.

There have also been cases of accidents caused where people didn't turn on their lights at dusk because their DRL's provided some light and thus their taillights weren't on.

I am softening on the issue somewhat compared to a few years ago when VW and GM started putting DRL's on all of their cars. My next vehicle will probably be a C6 Corvette, despite the DRL's.