After my last dealing with 21st Century, I'm no longer a fan of theirs and am wondering if any of you would recommend your insurance company - but only if you've filed a claim (doesn't matter whether you were at-fault or another driver was).

I'm not looking for the lowest rate, since I've always found 21st to have that. I'm looking for a good rate and friendly, efficient service.

Thanks!

 

State Farm.........

1st claim I totaled a Rabbit GTI, it wasn't a big claim, they only paid out $1750 and I bought the salvage back for $250.......

2nd claim Our '92 Audi committed suicide by drowning - water got in thru the fresh air intake plenum and got into the dash and computers - that was a comp claim so I didn't get surcharged. They paid KBB retail plus taxes and such - way more than I ever could have gotten by selling the car. I had a check in less than a week.

3rd Claim 98 Lexus I hit a little old lady who turned right in front of me - she was determined to be at fault so again I wasn't surcharged - I was down to about 10 mph when we made contact as I had hammered the brakes as soon as I saw what she was doing, but the angle of attack coupled with her forward movement across my bow did about $3200 damage. I took the car to the shop I wanted and they did a perfect job. My insurance took care of it and I assume they collected in return from hers, but they handled everything - no muss, no fuss.

Recently I asked about stated value coverage for my 69 Jag as I was considering going to Hagerty or Grundy, they actually came up with a better deal so I kept the Jag insured with them too.

They may not be the least expensive, but they're pretty close and the good claims experiences I've had make it worthwhile to continue with them........

 

I have been with Allstate for over 20 years. Great service and I get so many discounts nobody comes close to what I pay for the coverage I have. Claims for windshields when I lived in Idaho were easy and cost me nothing, about 1 a year due to chip sealing of roads there. I got rear ended in 2000 in my pickup truck I had back then and all went smoothly getting it repaired. Allstate handled everything. Never had an accident where I was at fault so have no experience with that aspect of Allstate.

 

I had a great experience with State Farm with a comp claim. They didn't even suggest a different shop when I said where I wanted to take it (I would have been willing to pay if it wasn't preffered but it was and they even complimented their work). My rates haven't changed but the normal $10 up or down every 6 months.

 

Progressive!

When in an accident, they sent the rental company out to the accident site to pick me up, towed the car to their facility, did the estimate, sent it out for repair, brought it back, did a quality check (sent it back for rework in 1 case), then called me so I could hand back the rental and pick up my car (at the same location, even). I wrote 'em a check for my deductable and it was over. They handle the entire process (if you want) and provide a single point of contact for updates... really made life easy.

I've been through this twice (once for the MINI, once for my wife's car) and the work and experience was flawless. I basically walked away from the car at the accident site and then picked it up again when it was done. They really have their stuff together.

 

Travelers Insurance has always treated us well. No questions asked. Whatever shop we want and what ever else we need. Perfect.

 

I've used SafeCo for a few years now (lightyears cheaper than State Farm was for me..) and I can't complain. They've improved their website quite a bit since I first started with them, you can do basically everything there. I submitted a claim to get my rear glass repaired and it was handled in a very quick manner.

 

Thanks for the responses so far! Anybody have any experience with Geico?

 

I used to use Geico. If you are near one of their offices, they will do the appraisal there and then send you off to a repair center. They are pretty well organized on the phone, but Progressive is much better in terms of claims service (it's been 3-4 years since I switched) and handling everything.

 

For those of you who know what I do for a living, you'll understand why I am...

 

You're with State Farm, right? You got a plug right away!

 

Allstate for about 15 years now . State Farm dropped our houe insurance because of hurricanes therefore i use Allstate for both ! Good Luck & shop around . Happy Motoring

 

I would think you of all people would have good insight on this!

 

USAA here. I've got nothing but good things to say about them. I've always gotten prompt and courteous service from them.

 

Frankly I've been with State Farm and the only issue I have with them is how they handle their State Farm "Shops" cant remember the term. The shop I dealt with committed outright fraud and State Farm did nothing. I had to go to another shop to get the work done although State Farm did repay to get it done nothing was done to punish the 1st shop. I am looking at other companies at the moment.

 

+1 for USAA

 

Yeah usaa rawks as far as I am concerned... my mini was hit about 8 weeks after it was shipped to me from Germany... the Grand Vitera(sp) that hit my husband towed.. mine.. driven to the dealerships bodyshop.. USAA dealt with everything.. including dealing with the other guys insurance.. who miraculously stopped paying the rental.. halfway through repair.. but they called me within an hour of reporting the accident.. to check on my husband and his mom.. they were there every step of the agonizing way.. +200

 

Same here. USAA handled the claim when I totaled my Rav4. Other driver's fault (no one hurt). They dealt with the other driver's insurance. Fair settlement. Paid quickly and provided great service. Now they are insuring my replacement, a MINI clubman.

They also send your vehicles to approved and reputable body shops that do excellent work.

Two lessons learned from other claims with USAA: 1) Get witness contact information! One person who hit me told their insurance company a different story and I was out my deductible for an accident that was their fault. (He said/She said). Police report failed to indicate it was her fault, even though she admitted it to the Deputy on the scene. 2) If the Deputy gives you his card with his badge and phone number on it, he will NEVER return your call. Get supporting witness information to avoid mediation.

Sadly, USAA is only available to veterans and their dependents though.

 

Allstate.
I totally my Mini. Their fair market value estimate was low and I provided my own estimate. I had many options and aftermarket parts so it was a difficult vehicle to estimate. They hired a third party estimator. The 3rd party estimate was still low and Allstate still listened to my concerns with the estimate. I was able to negoiate a very fair price. They also let me bring the car home to remove aftermarket parts before they took it to their yard.

 

That's right, I am.


I have a lot of insight into claim handling, yes. I deal with all the big insurance companies' claims departments and some companies nobody on this board ever heard of.

But I'm going to stay out of this conversation and just observe... even when someone speaks a mistruth about my employer.

That way, the thread won't turn into an argument and it will be more interesting to me.

 

Yeah, that's not an option for me.

Based on the quotes I got from sites this morning my cost options are:

• Geico for about $200 less per year than 21st (Yes, that's 15%, just like their slogan promised!)
• State Farm and Progressive are both about $150 more per year than 21st. That's tolerable, but it's about $350 more per year than Geico.
• I'll check Allstate to see how they compare, too.

Has anybody dealt with more than one of these companies? 21st just frustrated the beejeezus out of me when I tried to get roadside assistance/report an accident in December, and I need to escape their phone trees of death. State Farm, or any agent-based (or whatever it's called) company accomplishes that, right? But is that easier than Geico or Progressive?

(I should add that 21st was fine to deal with when my car was backed into and needed $4000 of body work last spring, but a lot changed between then and December.)

 

No insurance company is going to do you any favors. They are in business to make money. You pay in, they hope they don't have to pay out.
Make sure your car is fixed right even if you have to fight for everything you have coming.

 

We have CSAA (California AAA), I've been very happy with their claims people.

 

You got lucky about them haggling over the value of the car. Aftermarket parts play no role into the value of the vehicle. They are not insured unless you have a rider on your policy.

 

I too am shopping for a new insurance company. I have been with Geico for 18 years and have always had good service and (what I thought was) good rates. In Feb. I hit a re-tread in the middle of the interstate at 11:00 at night which broke my front spoiler/lower half of bumper and punctured the radiator, intercooler and washer tank. Car was towed 120 miles back to Global Imports Mini, they fixed everything like new. Geico was great, paid everything with OEM parts, no problem.

Then I get my semi-annual renewal statement and my premium jumped 30%! I called and they said it was because I lost my 5 year good driving discount because my accident was classified as "loss of control." That doesn't seem right, it was an unavoidable road hazard, but maybe I don't understand how these classifications work. So I started looking around for new companies and got quotes from Progressive, Nationwide and Allstate. So far all have been much lower than even my old rate with Gieco (before the 30% increase). I haven't looked into State Farm yet.

It has been a long time since I have shopped for car insurance. My question is, do any of these companies lure you in with a low quote and then jack up the rates as soon as they can?