5 ms·

I stopped using Allstate years ago -- I mentioned to my agent (this was back when it was still common to actually go see an agent in person to get insurance) th

I stopped using Allstate years ago -- I mentioned to my agent (this was back when it was still common to actually go see an agent in person to get insurance) that I had a chip in my windshield from a rock and I had to pay to fix it. He said "No, don't pay for it, just make a claim and we'll pay for it no deductable for glass fix since we want you to have a clear windshield". So I made the claim. Then made 2 more claims through him that year (major road construction meant lots of debris on the highway I commuted on). And then I got my premium notice and they increased my premium by 5X (something like $300 every 6 months to $1500) due my claim history -- I had no accidents, just $120 in window repair claims. I immediately switched insurance companies and never went back. It was a good lesson for me -- don't use insurance if you can avoid it. So now I run $1000 decuctables when I can since I really don't want to make an insurance claim unless it's catastrophic.

bonestamp2 7y ago
We've also switched to higher deductibles since we have only ever made claims when it was a major accident. When I had a chip in my windshield, my agent didn't even know that they covered that "for free". I had to tell her, so I guess it's not widely know. It makes sense though -- it is in their best interest to pay for chip repair without any reason for the customer to avoid it (deductible) since it can avoid a costly windshield replacement if that chip enlarges or if there are greater injuries in an accident due to the weaker windshield. I haven't seen any major rate increases on our car insurance, but our umbrella policy premiums went 4x this year (and we switched companies too). We're with Farmers for nearly everything now, but comparing rates with other agencies is on my to do list in case anyone has done the homework and has a recommendation.
- uberduber 7y ago
  A sizable portion of the car washes in Los Angeles have an aggressive chip repair salesman who will circle all the chips and aggressively try to sell you on free windshield repair. Guy was always confused and upset about why I wouldn't want to buy something that was free. Finally one day my windshield had enough chips to be replaced. Guy sees me pulling out my insurance card and goes "Mercury? They don't cover anything!" so now when the guy starts walking over I say "I'm with Mercury" and he immediately moves on.
  - Consultant32452 7y ago
    I was in my front yard performing an oil change when one of these window chip sales people started bothering me. I literally had to threaten violence to get her to leave my property.
  - bonestamp2 7y ago
    Is this a recommendation for Mercury? :D
wpietri 7y ago
I think high deductibles are an excellent choice for those of us who do well financially. I do that myself. But I should note that 40% of Americans can't handle sudden a $400 expense, so it doesn't work well for everybody: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nearly-40-of-americans-cant-cover-a-surprise-400-expense/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nearly-40-of-americans-cant-cov...
- exabrial 7y ago
  Oddly enough, high deductibles also work well for those people who maintain their health and prioritize it financially.
  - Johnny555 7y ago
    But the penalties for deferring maintenance/repairs on your car are less severe than deferring maintenance for your body. No matter what happens to your car, you can throw enough money at it to fix it, or at the very least, replace it with something comparable. If you get into an accident you can tape the bumper back on until you get it repaired (or never repair it) But if you decide "I can't really afford this $1500 colonoscopy this year, and honey if we defer that $3000 MRI for your abdominal pain to next year too, then we can do them both in one year and hit our deductible"... if you wait too long, something that would have been easy to treat may no longer be easy... or even possible to treat. People shouldn't need to prioritize health care due to financial reasons.
  - rebuilder 7y ago
    And don't have freak accidents, children with disabilities or other unforeseeable health-related issues.
    - exabrial 7y ago
      That's exactly what they're for actually
      - wpietri 7y ago
Sherl 7y ago
I also discovered that if you claim the car towing assistance/emergency roadside assistance, they insurance would file as claim and that might be possibly considered as proper paid out claim and affects your insurance premium. You can get your lexisNexis report every year that corresponds to your driver profile based on SSN https://risk.lexisnexis.com/products/clue-auto https://risk.lexisnexis.com/products/clue-auto
perl4ever 7y ago
You made three claims that averaged $40 each? And you weren't aware until your agent told you that you were paying for full glass coverage? The lesson may be that insurance agents are terrible people. I've heard plenty of FUD about Geico, but I wonder if it's really just because they sell direct.

bonestamp2 7y ago

We've also switched to higher deductibles since we have only ever made claims when it was a major accident. When I had a chip in my windshield, my agent didn't even know that they covered that "for free". I had to tell her, so I guess it's not widely know. It makes sense though -- it is in their best interest to pay for chip repair without any reason for the customer to avoid it (deductible) since it can avoid a costly windshield replacement if that chip enlarges or if there are greater injuries in an accident due to the weaker windshield. I haven't seen any major rate increases on our car insurance, but our umbrella policy premiums went 4x this year (and we switched companies too). We're with Farmers for nearly everything now, but comparing rates with other agencies is on my to do list in case anyone has done the homework and has a recommendation.

uberduber 7y ago
A sizable portion of the car washes in Los Angeles have an aggressive chip repair salesman who will circle all the chips and aggressively try to sell you on free windshield repair. Guy was always confused and upset about why I wouldn't want to buy something that was free. Finally one day my windshield had enough chips to be replaced. Guy sees me pulling out my insurance card and goes "Mercury? They don't cover anything!" so now when the guy starts walking over I say "I'm with Mercury" and he immediately moves on.
- Consultant32452 7y ago
  I was in my front yard performing an oil change when one of these window chip sales people started bothering me. I literally had to threaten violence to get her to leave my property.
- bonestamp2 7y ago
  Is this a recommendation for Mercury? :D

wpietri 7y ago

I think high deductibles are an excellent choice for those of us who do well financially. I do that myself. But I should note that 40% of Americans can't handle sudden a $400 expense, so it doesn't work well for everybody: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nearly-40-of-americans-cant-cover-a-surprise-400-expense/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nearly-40-of-americans-cant-cov...

exabrial 7y ago
Oddly enough, high deductibles also work well for those people who maintain their health and prioritize it financially.
- Johnny555 7y ago
  But the penalties for deferring maintenance/repairs on your car are less severe than deferring maintenance for your body. No matter what happens to your car, you can throw enough money at it to fix it, or at the very least, replace it with something comparable. If you get into an accident you can tape the bumper back on until you get it repaired (or never repair it) But if you decide "I can't really afford this $1500 colonoscopy this year, and honey if we defer that $3000 MRI for your abdominal pain to next year too, then we can do them both in one year and hit our deductible"... if you wait too long, something that would have been easy to treat may no longer be easy... or even possible to treat. People shouldn't need to prioritize health care due to financial reasons.
- rebuilder 7y ago
  And don't have freak accidents, children with disabilities or other unforeseeable health-related issues.
  - exabrial 7y ago
    That's exactly what they're for actually
    - wpietri 7y ago

Sherl 7y ago

I also discovered that if you claim the car towing assistance/emergency roadside assistance, they insurance would file as claim and that might be possibly considered as proper paid out claim and affects your insurance premium. You can get your lexisNexis report every year that corresponds to your driver profile based on SSN https://risk.lexisnexis.com/products/clue-auto https://risk.lexisnexis.com/products/clue-auto

perl4ever 7y ago

You made three claims that averaged $40 each? And you weren't aware until your agent told you that you were paying for full glass coverage? The lesson may be that insurance agents are terrible people. I've heard plenty of FUD about Geico, but I wonder if it's really just because they sell direct.