I am not sure that anyone else's insurance experience will be all that helpful in determining what your experience will be. I have been with State Farm for 30 years and every car I buy costs almost exactly the same amount to insure. My Prius is replacing an Acura TL (2000 model) and the insurance is within $18 annually. My most memorable State Farm quote was when I bough a midlife crisis car, a Porsche 930 (turbo 911) back in the mid 80s. It cost exactly the same to insure as my Honda Accord I have a spotless driving record (25 years no tickets or at fault accidents) and USAA quoted me a premium that was over 3 TIMES what I was currently paying for my Acura several months ago. Every year I shop about to make certain I am getting competitive rates and I always find that State Farm is giving me the best deal I can find, when you factor in the renewal credits, multi line discounts, etc. Oh, I got my 05 Salsa pkg 6 on Friday and I am loving it. I think I have sold one to everyone I have shown it to...ages 19 to 85!
Yeah that has been weird with USAA. I have had friends with USAA, same car, same driving record, but their rate is double mine. I am not sure and I am asking no questions in case they say "Hey wait we need to double your premiums. " You pay $18 or $180 or $1800? If $18 sign me up. I have never been able to get to $180 even with every discount in the book and perfect driving record. Not even from State Farm. Unless I said I drive recreationally (under 6k miles a year).
I too have State Farm Insurance and have been quite happy with them over the years. State Farm, as I'm sure with most insurance companies, also applies discounts by having multiple cars, homeowners, umbrella, or other policies with them.
When I started driving, State Farm was always higher than anyone. When I asked why, they would state "because you are under 25". No, I didn't ask why insurance would be higher in general for me, I asked why YOU quote me higher than anyone else quotes me, based on same criteria. I am glad I am way past that age 25 boundary.
Yeah USAA is not exactly know for their lowest prices but their service is exceptional. When I file a claim or have to change something it gets done fast with no hassles. They are also used to dealing with military so know how to handle our specific (constantly traveling problems). For my stolen F250 they said they have to wait 2 weeks to give the police a chance to find it. Then it took 2-3 days to process and put the money in my bank. They also pay you what your car would be worth in that particular area not by blue book. So I basically got everything back for my truck and a little extra (trucks are popular here). The GPS tracking discount is if you buy that service like Lo-jack. USAA also gives a multi-car discount, less drivers than cars discount, recreational driver discount. etc.
State Farm gave me a modest reduction of about 20 bucks annually with my renewal. Apparently, they've noticed a statistical reduction in claims on the Prius over what they estimated. Bob
Hmm, maybe that's more the reason my renewal rate dropped than my accident clearing. I had found it strange when my rate went up quite a bit when I switched from my Saturn SL2 to the '04 Prius. Same coverage, same accident.
In Virginia, State Farm, $1,000 deductible, drivers 61F and 60M accident free, no points, premium is almost the same (cheap) as the 1992 VW Golf 4-door we are giving away now.
I'm with Progressive too... $795/6 months. I got my license last March and so don't have much of a driving record. As soon as I get married, I'm switching over to State Farm. I'm told my payments will decrease by almost half. I'm not holding my breath.
From a friend who insures with USAA, my understanding is that they receive a "dividend" (return in premium) of a large portion of what they paid for coverage. If this is true then the effective cost is much lower than the initial charge(s).
