<p>DH and I have a policy with Chubb that costs us gazillion dollars a year. I just went on-line and found that Progressive will give us what appears to be very good coverage for half what Chubb charges. Geico will give us some sort of policy that costs only an eighth of what Chubb charges, so I’m skeptical. (If it looks too good to be true . . . )</p>
<p>Does anyone have any experience with these on-line quotes? And later, perhaps, a claim?</p>
<p>Are they on the up-and-up?</p>
<p>The only time I got an online quote, I suddenly found myself with TONS of spam. It wasn’t only insurance-related spam either, my email just got out there and once the door was opened there was no stopping the flood.</p>
<p>Hoping you have better luck…</p>
<p>We have Geico and I like it. I could pay and change coverage online. We had one claim since we had Geico. It was painless. They were very courteous and I was able to track the claim online. The thing to be aware of is Geico’s premium quote is for 6 months, so make sure you are comparing annual premium. I do recommend Geico. I also do not get spam from Geico.</p>
<p>We also switched to Geico after 15 years with Liberty Mutual… same coverage and we added a teen driver with an extra vehicle. Cost was actually lower with Geico even after adding new driver and 3rd vehicle. We gave our liberty rep a chance to match… he couldn’t touch it. Very easy to swith, Customer service was great. I was unsure at first… but couldn’t get past the savings! :)</p>
<p>I have gotten online quotes from several different companies – no spam, but lots of follow-up email and mail from the companies I contacted.</p>
<p>I found several other companies to have lower rates than geico and progressive – so do check around. Others to check: Nationwide, travelers, AIG, Metlife.</p>
<p>I have Amica. One day Liberty Mutual called up to try to sign me up. They gave me a quote that came in at twice what Amica was charging. I checked Geico’s prices on their website one time and prices were lower than Amica but I’ve been using Amica so long that I didn’t feel like switching. I’ve been with them for about 18 years and have never filed a claim so they probably like me.</p>
<p>BTW, Geico adds a discount if you own Berkshire Hathaway stock.</p>
<p>We have Progressive and are happy with them. In the 7 or 8 years we have been customers, we have had a couple of claims, both for large dollar amounts, and they were responsive and quick with payment.</p>
<p>I’ve not heard anything bad about Progressive or other online insurers. But we’ve had Amica for fifteen years. Gotta have a good driving record though.</p>
<p>Hi VeryHappy,
We also switched to Geico a few years ago, with considerable savings. We have had two major claims, one involving another Geico customer who hit me in an intersection and the other when DH drove into the side of a mountain while we were on vacation, (don’t ask) and of course there was a bump in premium because of that. But we just added TWO new 16 year old drivers and although the premium went up, we still seem to be paying far less than most of our friends who use other companies. We have found them to be very responsive on the phone and in paying off the claims.</p>
<p>Wow.</p>
<p>I recognized that the Geico quote was for six months only but even doubling it, it was something like $500 a year – compared to Chubb’s $4200 a year. I mean, my gosh – doesn’t that seem too good to be true? Especially when Progressive was in the neighborhood of $2200 a year?</p>
<p>One of my coworkers was either with Liberty Mutual or MetLife and he asked me about auto insurance. I found out that he was paying about $3,600 a year for two drivers and two cars. Both cars were over ten years old. I suggested he call Amica and Geico. I don’t recall what he picked but he got his insurance rate down to $1,200 after a year (there was an accident so he got it down to $1,800 immediately and then down to $1,200 when the accident was over a year old). He was a bit upset at paying the high rates for many years.</p>
<p>Insurance companies can make a lot of money. Where do you think all of those profits come from? It’s not all from investing proceeds.</p>
<p>There’s a rather nice background on Geico in the 2004 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Report. Geico still makes a good return, despite lower costs to consumers. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2004ar/2004ar.pdf[/url]”>http://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2004ar/2004ar.pdf</a></p>
<p>Some companies are better run than others and can still make a profit on lower pricing. However, never buy anything on “cheaper price” but on “value”.</p>
<p>Keep dialing for dollars and confirm the pricing.</p>
<p>We’ve had Geico forever and have been relatively satisfied (as satisfied as you can be with any insurance co.). One of the nicest things is that with both kids over 100 miles away at college with no car of their own, Geico lists them on the policy but doesn’t charge for them.</p>
<p>Berkshire Hathaway and Warren Buffett are brands. I think that Buffett really doesn’t want negative customer experiences to taint the brands.</p>
<p>BTW, Buffett does send out “ads” to shareholders from time to time. I recall something (maybe it came with an annual report) suggesting that shareholders use Geico insurance and buy jewelry from Borsheim Jewelers.</p>
<p>I think some insurance purposely price it very high to discourage people from taking out insurance with them. It pays to do some comparison shopping.</p>
<p>And Geico covers them during the summer holidays, winter breaks, all year around at no charge! We have managed to pay for only 7 months of insurance charges TOTAL (total cost - approx $600) for our two young adults due to Geico’s policy - while some friends have spent thousands of dollars in insurance costs for their kids… :)</p>
<p>Chubb is certainly one of the most expensive personal lines insurer. Usually under their Masterpiece policy they will cover your home, auto, umbrella, fine arts. If you truly have a standalone Chubb auto policy, you are certainly not being served with the best policy at the best cost. I assume that you have an independent agent that handles your auto insurance. He or she should be able to provide you with alternative quotes with other carriers that he or she represents. If you are on the East Coast, Travelers is now very competitive in many areas especially if you package the auto and the home insurance. Going from an extremely broad contract with exceptional claim handling with Chubb to an online carrier is a big change. If you have used the services of an agent, I would ask them for their opinion. Good luck and hopefully, you can save some money and keep excellent service and coverage.</p>
<p>I have used Geico for at least 15 years. I have auto & an umbrella policy with them. I had my first claim last week when a branch from my tree fell and totaled my car. I found the entire claim process to be very easy and quick, and feel that they were generous with the settlement. I also added my teen to the policy last year and there was a small increase for the added driver - maybe $60 for 6 months, can’t remember off the top of my head. We’ll see if there’s an increase after this claim. I noticed while at the body shop that progessive had a customer service car there checking on their claims. In this area, I always see a progessive car that they use for customer service. I have never used progressive, but they seem popular in my neck of the woods.</p>
<p>We tried to get a quote from Geico years ago when we had five drivers in the family and six cars. They told us that they didn’t do fleet insurance :). I guess we’ll have to give them another try now that we’re down to only two drivers and three cars.</p>
<p>My bad: The Progressive quote was for only six months, not a year, so they are virtually the same as my Chubb insurance.</p>
<p>Redondo Dave, I do have an agent who handles our insurance, and we do have the Chubb Masterpiece policy; they cover our home, some jewelry, and the autos. I always assumed that the higher the premium on the insurance, the higher the commission the agent makes. So I assumed that looking for a good deal was not in our agent’s best interest. Am I mistaken??</p>
<p>And how can Geico charge only ~$500 for a year when both of the others are ~$4200?? I still don’t get it.</p>