What’s the best auto insurance?

[richard80]

Hi everyone. I currently have State Farm and cannot keep up with these increasing prices. I’ve been shopping around for a new auto insurance, and found Geico to be $70 cheaper than my current monthly insurance. I talked to my insurance agent through State Farm and it seems that not much can be done with them due to CA inflation, but after having my insurance increase how many times in the last year, I want to see if there are better rates out there.

I’m young so I’m not all that knowledgeable about auto insurances and want to make sure I’m making the right decision before doing so. I also know that being young and driving a newer car is the reason behind all this, but any advice/tips about all this is much needed! Is the monthly rate really normal for someone my age?

Here’s some information about me:

Age: 23
State: CA
Yrs w/ License: 5 years
Car: 2022 Honda
Current Insurance Rate: $229/month

 

[thetruthseeker1983]

@richard80 You've, likely, been paying artificially low prices for car insurance thanks to your commissioner.

Rates are only going to go up.

 

[wahyubudhi]

@richard80 What coverage are you getting? Comp/Collision? What deductibles? Rental? What are your liability limits?

 

[richard80]

@wahyubudhi 15/30k coverage, $500 comp deductible, $1k collision deductible, $50/day with $1.2k limit occurrence for rental, $25k for property damage so the minimum for most coverages.

 

[brendang]

@richard80 I mean, you’re in California, which has had artificially low insurance rates for years and is finally catching up, which means you guys are going to overpay for a while until it moderates out.

Also, you’ve only had your license for five years and you’re in your early 20s. I would say you insurance rate is pretty good.

 

[robertbelmes]

@richard80 There is no "best" blanket insurance. Insurance should be tailored to your needs and every company has a sweet spot. Call some independent agents and ask them to shop you around.

 

[bygracethroughfaith]

@richard80 As a claims professional, I can say that GEICO's service when it comes time for a claim is unmatched. They always answer the phone immediately, their representatives are very polite, knowledgeable, and they tend to work at a very fast pace. If GEICO's giving you a better rate, there's no reason not to go with them (just make sure you're getting the right coverages).

All of the other major carriers are good too (Allstate, Progressive, Travelers, Nationwide, Farmers, Liberty Mutual), and there's no shame in changing carriers every 2 or 3 years to whoever gives you the best price. Since you brought up State Farm, I should say that they have the worst claims service out of all of the major companies. I've called State Farm probably 18,000 times in my career. Every single time, I'm put on hold for 10+ minutes, and then I speak with someone who doesn't know what they're doing, and then they transfer me to someone slightly more knowledgeable, and then I'm lucky if they actually provide any useful or coherent information. With any of the other companies, it takes far less time and effort to get a knowledgeable person on the phone. There's no "best", but IMO State Farm is the worst out of all the major carriers.

 

[thoublu]

@richard80 Shop around. 5-10 quotes.

 

[shaunga]

@richard80 I switched to Geico from Progressive and I am now paying half of what I was paying for Progressive for a much better coverage. Go figure