Calad

Hi there,

We are trying to sort out car insurance for the beginning of March but we currently still have British driving licenses and are finding it tricky to get insurance that doesn't cost a huge amount. We've been quoted $140 a month for the two of us on a Ford Expedition by Progressive. Any thoughts on where to try next? Or should we just accept it's going to be expensive until we have been here a while?

MidAtlantic

Accept it's going to be expensive. That price doesn't seem at all bad to me, but just shop around and see what alternatives you can get. It also depends on where you are. Just be careful that you are comparing like-with-like. I started with State Farm and stuck with them because they have been excellent.

Pulaski

Yeah, that isn't too bad, in fact it's pretty good* and even getting local drivers licenses (which you need to prioritize getting ASAP after you arrive anyway), isn't going to cut the cost that much - about $2k/yr is about normal for new immigrants, and it takes 3-4 years to drop to a more normal level, though in a high cost state that could still easily be $1,000/yr or more

* Check that you are getting adequate coverage levels as there are often state minimum insurance amounts that are completely inadequate, say $25,000 for TP damage (good luck if you run into someone's Ferrari!), or $100,000 for bodily injury (good luck if you injure and incapacitate an executive, professional, or pro-athlete!). You really need to make sure that you are properly protected if you get involved in serious wreck that is blamed on you, even in part.

Pulaski

One of her other posts says she is moving to MA in March. Why do you think she's been here nearly 12 months?

Jerseygirl

I dunno...must have been a brain f*rt.

Thanks...for pointing it out.

1206butler

We are with 21st Century Insurance. They have been pretty helpful and have a good website with log-in etc; although the real test of course is when you come to make a claim. We have Georgia licenses and pay about $145/month for both of us to drive two cars (a fusion and escape). So your quote seems ok to me. What you save on gas you pay in insurance. It all balances out :-)

Wintersong

Yep, car insurance is expensive over here! We're with Geico - not necessarily the cheapest but they've been great at dealing with claims in the past whereas the other companies we've used (Farmers and AllState) didn't give the best customer service. We pay about $1200/year for 2 cars (one worth about $14K, the other about $22K).

Pretty sure I was paying about £200/year in the UK!

Pulaski

If you have made claims from three different insurers, and multiple claims from at least one, I am glad that you live on the far side of the country from me.

1206butler

Surely he'd fit right in with the Dixie dodgems? ..where most folk seem to actually drive better when they're on their smart phone

Wintersong

Well, there was the time the guy behind my husband on the freeway failed to note that he was braking and slammed into the back of him.

Then there was the time a car pulled out of a side road in front of a motorbike, hit the bike, bike driver came off and the bike continued down the road and hit the front of our vehicle.

Another time, a woman in the supermarket car park reversed out of her space straight into the side of our car.

Let's not forget the time the person in the car parked next to mine threw their door open into my car, denting the door, and then drove off without leaving a note.

11 years of driving in the US and I, personally, have never been the cause of an accident of any kind. I have, however, been forced to make numerous insurance claims.

Pulaski

14 years in the US, 13 of them in NC, 460,000 miles, zero claims of any sort. .... Rear-ended three times, two were very minor taps with no damage but a paint chip, the other was a Hyundai making "firm contact" with the tow hitch receiver on my F250.

dj6372

$160 for Lexus and a Nissan for OH and myself, with All State, I get a military discount I think its 5%, always worth asking if your ex forces (and yes UK counts)

1206butler

Yikes, i bet that made a mess of the Hyundai.

Pulaski

Not really, ..... it left a nice neat square hole (and a clean cut on three sides) in the front bumper!

We pulled into the parking lot outside a pharmacy to discuss what to do next. I couldn't find any discernible damage - to the trailer hitch receiver. The Hyundai driver asked me what I wanted to do? I told him I had no damage and was intending to drive away, and I suggested he take it up with his unsurer if he wanted to. He agreed, and I left.

Personally, I think he would have been a fool to claim on his insurance as it would affect his insurance record but that was his decision and problem, not mine.

1206butler

..nice that it wasn't any great issue. Is it the law that you have to call the police, no matter how minor the accident? It seems like an overkill sometimes that's all.