Money Matters
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I've been with State Farm since I was 16 and my parents have been with them even longer. I just did a quote with Geico and they can match my coverage for $170 less every 6 months. Does anyone have Geico? How are they? I like that with State Farm I have an actual agent that I can work with locally but now sure it's worth an extra $350 a year.
Has anyone had their insurance match a quote from another insurance company?
Re: Car Insurance
It's possible he could have taken the USAA quote back to State Farm and asked for them to lower their rate, but we were combining households and when it came down to the two, USAA was better in my book.
Apples to apples USAA was slightly higher than State Farm on home insurance but with the savings we were making on auto insurance it ended up being in USAA's favor.
In every conversation I have ever had with an insurance agent, when they'd ask me who I was with and I said "USAA" their response was, "Well, I am not even going to try and convince you to switch." It is possibly that USAA might have higher rates for some makes/models of cars in some counties across the nation. I have been with them for about 15 years. My dad has been with them for like 4 decades.
Not sure if you all recall this, but a few years back, my dad got into a physical/self-defense situation outside my grandpa's dialysis clinic, in which he was defending himself and put up his hands to stop an advancing man. It was winter and the man slipped and fell, injuring himself. Police were called and my dad was put in the clear by the officers who responded. However, my dad called USAA to check on his umbrella policy about coverage for court and self-defense if this guy sued him. They were prepared to have his back as long as he was not legally at fault. Anyway, the guy who came toward my dad was at fault and he never pressed any civil charges/sued my dad.
But, USAA was right there.
Twice I have had car trouble and called my USAA Roadside Assistance. Once was after a huge snow storm in Denver. Other peoples' roadside assistance took hours to get them out. USAA had a tow truck there to my location in less than 30 minutes. The second time I was in a sketchy neighborhood along the highway when my engine over heated. Again, USAA had someone there in minutes.
I just really like them!
Have you used USAA for a home loan? We haven't bought a home yet but I've heard good and bad about them for home loans.
On the topic of car insurance... and I'm so sorry to hijack your thread OP!
When an accident occurs and the other person claims 100% fault do both insurance companies appraise the damages on the vehicles? Or does only the paying insurance company?
Also, if the vehicle is totaled do they go by the replacement cost for the vehicle or the value if you were to sell it private party? In my situation there is about a $2500+ difference between what I could sell mine for private party according to KBB (which I've been told is what they use), and what it would actually cost to replace mine buying from a dealership.
PS: I've never been in this situation before and my insurance company won't return my phone calls otherwise I'd ask them. Ugh.
ETA: I do not recommend Penn National Insurance. They have been extremely non-responsive in my situation. I've heard great things about Gieco's customer from a friend, but I've never actually dealt with them.
Thanks I appreciate the info! I have a feeling I'll be the one that gets screwed here because that's generally how my luck is. The girl who hit me has State Farm, so I'm hoping they aren't too petty being a larger insurance company. Nothing needed to be replaced on the vehicle until she ran the light, but that might be hard to prove considering the damage she did. I still haven't heard whether or not it's totaled so I'm currently just doing research and trying to piece everything together so I know what to expect. I appreciate the help!
State Farm in my experience varies by area. In my case, they would repair the area that was damaged, but in my case, the car was still essentially "mint" and I wanted them to replace the bumper cover not just mold it back in place. My body guy eventually made them see the light on that one.
I also had a friend hit by a truck. They made one claim to fix the damage. Then after that was replaced, he did a "diminished value" claim for the loss of what he could have gotten selling the vehicle before/after the accident. Not sure who he's with other than it isn't State Farm.
Alas, I've been in a number of accidents. Including totaled vehicles. I've never had the other insurance company do an inspection of my car. It's always been my own insurance.
I can't speak for other insurance companies, but my insurance (Progressive) uses the NADA excellent condition, high retail price when it totals out a car. Without any questions or nickel and diming on the condition, previous to the accident.
I'm actually surprised your insurer uses KBB. I've been told by both my insurance company and mechanics that the NADA is the industry standard for car values.
And geez! I'm sorry you haven't gotten a response yet on the "totaled"/"not totaled" question from your insurance. That's outrageous. It's been my experience a claims adjuster looks at it within 1-2 business days. The repair costs are formulated and a determination is made on the same day they look at it.
Normally I love Progressive, but I had an issue once years ago where the person assigned to my accident was not getting back to me. I sent an e-mail to the main customer service e-mail for the company. I outlined all the days/times I called, including the lack of response.
I received a phone call from the manager of my office the next business day. A new person was assigned to me and I was well taken care of after that.
To the bolded: I actually wasn't told by my insurance company that's the value they use but by someone else, who admittedly is not in the insurance industry. And I thought it would be at least a good baseline. I did look up the NADA value and it's very similar to the KBB value. I've attempted to get these answers from my company but haven't had any luck.
The fact that I don't know yet whether or not it's totaled is where my concern lies. It's been a week today and I thought that would be done by now. It seems to me that my insurance is NOT doing their own inspection of the vehicle but is leaving it in the hands of State Farm (the at fault person's insurance). I spoke to SF last week and they told me my claim was with the Total Loss Dept. So I asked if it was being considered a Total Loss and they said well no, but it might be. We won't know until the end of next week (now this week), but we'll contact you when we know. I'm just finding this process to be SO confusing and frustrating.
I don't really understand why I pay for insurance (other than the legal obligation to carry insurance, obviously) if my insurance company is not doing their own evaluation of my car and the damages. I called on the day of the accident to see if I should give SF permission to move my car to a SF certified lot and they said yes, so I guess I made a mistake releasing my car to SF (with my insurance company's agreement) and not having my company handle it.
Lessons learned. I will definitely be shopping new insurance when this is over. I don't care if I pay more, it's worth it for good customer service when you need it.
DISCLAIMER: I am so sorry this turned into a huge vent and I hijacked this post. I just have no idea how this process typically goes and what the norm is.
Also I REALLY appreciate everyone's insight! It's been extremely helpful.
You CAN file a claim under your own insurance, but then they have to go back on the person who was at fault and open a suit to get that money back from their insurance company. If they are deemed 100% at fault then it's easier/better to handle everything through their insurance.
Main reason being, until their insurance pays your company back, you have a collision claim open and on your record. If you have a renewal during that time, your premium can increase for an accident you weren't at fault with. So that's usually where they advise you not to file a claim under your insurance when it's obvious the other person was at fault.
As for releasing your car to SF, that is normal procedure. If they find it not totaled, then they will tow it to the repair shop of your choice (at least what I've experienced), and they cover that cost.
If they have already deemed the other person at fault, then be sure to have them covering the cost of your rental car. Even if it takes them a couple extra weeks to get a value determined, they should cover the cost of your rental for however long you need it for.
TTC since 1/13 DX:PCOS 5/13 (long, anovulatory cycles)

Clomid 50mg 9/13 = BFP! EDD 6/7/14 M/C 5w6d Found 11/4/13
1/14 PCOS / Gluten Free Diet to hopefully regulate my system.
Chemical Pregnancy 03/14
Surprise BFP 6/14, Beta #1: 126 Beta #2: 340 Stick baby, stick! EDD 2/17/15
Riley Elaine born 2/16/15
TTC 2.0 6/15
Chemical Pregnancy 9/15
Chemical Pregnancy 6/16
BFP 9/16 EDD 6/3/17
Beta #1: 145 Beta #2: 376 Beta #3: 2,225 Beta #4: 4,548
www.5yearstonever.blogspot.com
Thank you @brij2006! I was hoping you'd weigh in on this. I appreciate the input. Glad to hear it's easier to just have them handle it and that I went about that the right way.
I was finally told last night that my car is in fact totaled.
I am getting a decent amount back which is helpful, they're using the dealer value which was unexpected. They are taking my rental on Monday and not sending the check for 8-10 days. I'll be without a car for a few days and need to figure that out, but I am happy to finally have an answer.
But we have used USAA's home circle. If you use one of their pre approved REAs, then they pay you cash as a bonus. The amount of cash you get is determined by how much money your home buys or sells for. For the recent buy/sell we did in this past summer we got around $2k from USAA for using an agent approved by them. She ended up being with Sotheby's Real Estate but when we bought our first house in MN our USAA approved agent was with Coldwell Banker. They give you a list of agents based on your geographic area and you get to select the one you want.
I know SF is stingy with their rental car coverage during claims. It makes zero sense, but they seem to think people should buy a replacement vehicle immediately once the check is in their hand. We've had to fight with them on behalf of our clients many times to cover a longer period of time.
But definitely fight it. Pull the card of "this accident was not my fault and I should not be out money or time without a vehicle due to your client." That usually gets them to add at least a few more days. I know I've had to call in and pull this every 3 days with an adjuster before because they would only authorize extra usage in 3 day increments.
TTC since 1/13 DX:PCOS 5/13 (long, anovulatory cycles)

Clomid 50mg 9/13 = BFP! EDD 6/7/14 M/C 5w6d Found 11/4/13
1/14 PCOS / Gluten Free Diet to hopefully regulate my system.
Chemical Pregnancy 03/14
Surprise BFP 6/14, Beta #1: 126 Beta #2: 340 Stick baby, stick! EDD 2/17/15
Riley Elaine born 2/16/15
TTC 2.0 6/15
Chemical Pregnancy 9/15
Chemical Pregnancy 6/16
BFP 9/16 EDD 6/3/17
Beta #1: 145 Beta #2: 376 Beta #3: 2,225 Beta #4: 4,548
www.5yearstonever.blogspot.com
I'm worried about your situation happening to me though. My car is booked to go into the body shop in mid-March, and I'm leaving for a 11 day road trip on April 1. I'm worried, because it's a new model, that it'll take a long time to get parts etc., and that I'll have to fight with the other person's insurance to 1) give me an SUV that's comparable to mine (necessary for my drive back with my mom's dog and a whole bunch of stuff), and 2) give to me for a period long enough to take my trip in case my car isn't done. Part of me wants the rental for my trip though, so I'm not putting a ton of miles on my car haha!
Ugh good luck. My car was considered an intermediate but they didn't have any available at the rental place so I got stuck with a compact. They're supposed to give you a car comparable to the one you currently drive thou, so you should get an SUV. That being said they told me I was not allowed to have my dog in the car, so you may want to check on that.
I think if I was going thru my insurance and they were going to fight for the money after the fact it would be easier to get an extension until the check came, but since it's her insurance I don't think they're required to give me any additional time than they have. I'm going to ask for it thou and see what happens.