American Family keeps raising rates (car insurance, driving record, vehicle, credit)
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We have always been 100% happy with American Family. We have been with them for over 30 years for our vehicles and home. Every claim we have ever had has been paid.
At one point we switched to Farmers insurance and soon after had a big ice storm that damaged our roof. Power was out for a week and we lost everything in our refrigerator and freezer. The freezer was full of meat. A tree smashed our basketball goal into one of our vehicles. The power line was ripped from the house. Farmers didn't pay one cent for anything. Everything we wanted to claim, they had a reason that it wasn't covered.
We switched back to American Family.
After seeing the renewal rates, I got some quotes from other companies. Our vehicle insurance with American Family is going up to $3668. Geico gave us a quote for the same exact coverage, but lower deductible, for $1127 for a year. And Travelers insurance through our credit unit gave us a quote of $2397, but that's for a lower level of coverage (100/300 instead of 250/500).
I asked American Family for a quote for 100/300 coverage and it's just a few dollars less than we are paying for 250/500.
My husband has several speeding tickets on his driving record; my driving record is clear.
Because of our experience with Farmers I am hesitant to switch from American Family only to find another company that doesn't pay when you have a claim. But I can't see paying $5312 a year in vehicle/homeowner's insurance, especially as we near retirement. And that doesn't even include insurance on my husband's Harley.
I'm guessing the Geico rate is too good to be true.
I pay $320 a year to Geico for minimum coverage. They paid a $900 claim, where I was at fault, without my doing anything other than notifying them of it online. They handled all the details and did not increase my premium afterward.
My husband has several speeding tickets on his driving record; my driving record is clear.
Maybe if your husband learned to drive better your rates wouldn't be going up. I heard that American Family is like Amica where they provide good rates until bad driving behaviors makes a person too much of a risk so they raise rates high enough so they go elsewhere.
I pay $320 a year to Geico for minimum coverage. They paid a $900 claim, where I was at fault, without my doing anything other than notifying them of it online. They handled all the details and did not increase my premium afterward.
No one should have minimum coverage. If for no other reason, minimum coverage does not allow you to have high limits of uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage which pays YOU when and if you are injured in an accident with a driver who has low limits of insurance or no insurance at all. That is probably the biggest reason to have car insurance. Its not to replace a fifteen year old jalopy with a 150,000 miles on it that gets banged up in a fender bender.
The fact that GEICO paid your $900 claim means nothing at all in terms of judging their responsibility as an insurance carrier. Nine hundred dollars is nuisance value to an insurance company. They will pay it simply because fighting the claim costs more. The real test of a good insurance company is whether they pay total loss claims and personal injury claims fairly.
My experience as an attorney dealing with GEICO has been a mediocre one at best. They pay less than other insurance companies do and I have had to file more lawsuits to collect money from them than most other insurance companies.
I disagree that the Geico rate sounds too good to be true. It's not uncommon to see car rates varying widely. For example, yesterday I renewed with Sublimity (an Oregon insurance company) for $971 for 12 months. State Farm quoted me over $3,000 for a 6-month policy, and Amica wouldn't quote me at all. Allstate quoted me $864 for 6 months.
J.D. Power ratings for claims satisfaction and customer service for Geico are about average. It's neither amazing nor terrible. By way of comparison, Amica consistently scores the highest honors in J.D. Power studies for customer satisfaction. But, price will always be an issue.
Geico rates ahead of Farmers, Esurance, Progressive and Liberty Mutual. It ranks behind Nationwide, State Farm, American Family, and Travelers.
Maybe if your husband learned to drive better your rates wouldn't be going up. I heard that American Family is like Amica where they provide good rates until bad driving behaviors makes a person too much of a risk so they raise rates high enough so they go elsewhere.
They don't want us to go elsewhere. We have been with our agent for 30 years. They want to keep us. He didn't get any additional tickets when the rates went up. And in fact, our agent told us when he gets a speeding ticket to just pay a lawyer to have it lowered to a non-moving violation so it's not on his driving record.
They don't want us to go elsewhere. We have been with our agent for 30 years. They want to keep us.
Sure the 'Agent' wants to keep you, that's his commission (pay) potentially flying away. But the insurance company itself is sending you a message with the rate increase.
No one should have minimum coverage. If for no other reason, minimum coverage does not allow you to have high limits of uninsured motorist coverage and underinsured motorist coverage which pays YOU when and if you are injured in an accident with a driver who has low limits of insurance or no insurance at all. That is probably the biggest reason to have car insurance. Its not to replace a fifteen year old jalopy with a 150,000 miles on it that gets banged up in a fender bender.
The fact that GEICO paid your $900 claim means nothing at all in terms of judging their responsibility as an insurance carrier. Nine hundred dollars is nuisance value to an insurance company. They will pay it simply because fighting the claim costs more. The real test of a good insurance company is whether they pay total loss claims and personal injury claims fairly.
My experience as an attorney dealing with GEICO has been a mediocre one at best. They pay less than other insurance companies do and I have had to file more lawsuits to collect money from them than most other insurance companies.
I guess that is the reason we would keep American Family. When my son was still on our policy he wrecked my Jeep, total loss. Well, the accident wasn't his fault but the person who hit him had insurance that had lapsed and American Family met us at the Jeep dealership the Jeep was towed to and wrote us a check. I don't think they have ever collected from the person who was at fault.
When my daughter was still on our policy, her car was vandalized overnight while it was at a transmission shop waiting for service. Again, American Family immediately wrote us a check.
Sure the 'Agent' wants to keep you, that's his commission (pay) potentially flying away. But the insurance company itself is sending you a message with the rate increase.
There was no additional speeding ticket when the rates were raised. They just go up each time it's time for renewal, with no additional moving violations. If American Family wanted to get rid of us, they could have canceled our policies any time in the last 30 years. But they haven't. But thanks for your commentary.
Last edited by luzianne; 06-21-2019 at 01:27 PM..
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