Insurance??

we were also paying ~$790/6mo for our two cars through allstate. i got quotes from geico and progressive in the $580 range... we're no longer with allstate.

watch out though, we learned one thing about how badly insurance in nc sucks and i don't know if it applies elsewhere. insurance companies can charge you a percentage of your premium in "cancellation fees" here, which for us added up to nearly $100. i was highly irritated.

 

Check with Travelers. They provide a small discount for hybrid owners.

EDIT: Here's more.

 

The cancellation fee is a state thing. When a policy is cancelled in NJ the prorated premium is refunded.

 

We're pretty much in the same boat as you demographically and I just wrote the 6 month check last night to American Family for $598 (that's for an 08 Prius and an 06 Corolla).

Part of the dreck that came with the invoice was a brochure on how you can pay less for insurance, and besides all the obvious points, 'Choosing a safer car' was one of the sections. "Insurance losses for injuries, vehicle damage and theft vary widely, depending on the vehicle. Vehicle size is also strongly related to injury and collision loss, but those losses also vary among vehicles similar in body style and size. Other cars are expensive to repair because of their design and construction materials." The brochure refers to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which I checked briefly. They classify Prius as a "small car," which kind of makes me wonder, but anyways it appears they crash-tested two 2006's and for that model year (and presumably later) gave Prius their highest rating ("good") for frontal crashes, and side crashes with the side airbags ("poor" on side crashes without the side bags). I didn't see anything on repair costs per model but I may have missed it in my cursory check. I don't know a lot about this group or who is funding them (insurance companies, I assume), but you can see more at: IIHS-HLDI: Crash Testing*&*Highway Safety

Other things go into our insurance rates as well, but I'd say Prius is pretty much theft-resistant. Haven't had to have body work done (knock wood) so I wouldn't know about that!

I had enough of Allstate myself a few years back.^_^

Jim

 

geico also gave us a ludicrous renters quote.

i made a typo earlier- we're paying under $500/6 mo for our insurance through them.

 

Amica has a very good reputation, suggest giving them a try if you are looking for a new company. The key to low insurance costs (car and house) for me has been high deductibles, however you if your car isn't payed for your finance company may object. Also in this state, and others, having a high credit score can save you a lot on insurance.

 

We found our Prius to be cheaper to insure than an equivalent normal car. We are with Horrace Mann, but they serve a limited group.

Tom

 

We are with Safeco, and the rates are very nice.

Beware of Lizard insurance... if you ever have to make a claim, that is.

 

From what I can tell insurance companies give good initial quotes/rates and then increase the rates on each renewal. From a cost viewpoint, seems best to change insurer on each renewal period.

 

I have had the opposite experience. I got Geico when I bought my first car in 1998, and the rates decreased over the years since then. They went up last year when I bought the Prius because I was replacing an old car with a new one.

 

Premiums go down as vehicles depreciate in value. The trick is to compare it with other insurers. We bundled our autos and home insurance and it's consistently been true for us. We've tried American Family, Allstate, an online insurer I can't remember, and AIG. They're all there to make a profit and they all do! I recall American Family juicing us on our home insurance after one year. We dumped them. Allstate did the same thing so we went with AIG. AIG was hurting after an infamous audit review a couple of years ago and was giving great premiums. It's jumped substantially every year since then.

 

State Farm just lowered mine to $86/mo AND cut me a check for $100. I've had the car since Oct 31

 

I have Travelers insurance for both home and car. Just renewed for my 2nd year, and my 6 month premium went down, from $500 (which was reasonable enough) to $460. Previously, I had Progressive, which was decent.

 

State Farm blows if you ever have to make a claim - they try to force you to their repair shops and use non-oem replacement parts wherever they can.

I currently have insurance through AAA, and it runs $520 / 6 mos. I had a quote from Travelers for around $460 but have never had any experience with them. I've only had one glass claim, but overall have been happy with AAA's service. They will use genuine Toyota parts if you ask for it.

 

I live in Pittsburgh PA and have travelers. With the surcharge for 1 accident I pay 295 ever 6 months. Allstate wanted 650 and Liberty Mutual was charging me 1400 every year. Nationalcity.com has a link on their web sight for comparing car insurance quotes. That is were I found Travelers.

 

PRICE PRICE PRICE...

Not any different than any other American talking about insurance. However, not ONE, not ONE single post regarding what amount of coverage anyone has on their vehicle. I'm not here to solicit business, but as someone in the insurance industry I highly recommend you evaluate what coverage you have with YOUR agent. "Full Coverage" is the most vague term in the industry. Everyone has it, it really has NO meaning.

Most online/tv hyped companies are teaching you to look at price only. As a sacrifice to that LOW price, you virtually have NO protection if you cause a wreck. The difference between state minimum coverage and "appropriate" coverage is only a few dollars a month.

I promise, it's worth your time to actually sit and ask your agent about what each coverage means and the difference in premiums between "I can legally drive" insurance coverage and ""I don't want financial ruin" insurance.

One last tidbit of info...if you don't have enough liability insurance to cover a claim, your wages can LEGALLY be garnished for 10 years at a rate of 25%/check. Imagine going to work every day for 10 years and working for someone else for 2 of the 8 hours because you didn't want to spend $10/month more for enough coverage. This is not the place to be cheap with your money.

Do you know if you have the state minimum coverage and you wreck someone's car, your insurance company will cut them a check for $10,000? What if you wrecked a car worth more than $10k? Mercedes? BMW? Audi? any others you can think of?

Ok, I'm off my soapbox.

 

I agree that higher (than legal minimum) coverage should be carried especially since it usually doesn't cost very much more. I also believe that competing quotes for identical coverage should be solicited. Some companies are run more efficiently than others which allow them to make the same profit at a lower price to the consumer. Premiums also pay for all of the ads and executive compensation.