tamms_1965

STATE FARM

I know my situation is different but when I added my UK hubby to my insurance they did not charge me anything extra as long as we still had one car between us. They had a copy of his UK license also. When he got his EAD, SSN, and bought a new car, they ran a credit check on him. His rate as the main driver of the new vehicle is comparable (if not lower because he's older) to what I would pay if I was the main driver.

I had a good driver discount and we have our house and my daughter's car insured with them also which may have something to do with his low rate. I also know that my agent had a lot of experience dealing with European driving licenses too. We live in area with an above average number of international workers. I've always dealt with a local agent versus an online company.

AlexJB

Is there such things as multi car policies in the US?
Once I've been in Chicagoland for 6 months my wife will be over and I will be relegated from the new car to an older second hand buy but we will need insurance on that too.

scrubbedexpat099

Rates vary by State.

There is no US equivalent of the NCB, and all an Agent can do is make sure that you are getting the best deal out of their companies rating structure, they do not and can not modify rates.

Most companies look to cross sell, and dicount accordingly to make it attractive.

AlexJB

Hi,
can you explain what cross selling is?
Prob a dumb question I know

lisag8070

when we came to NC we were lucky as we came from Florida and already had a US Driving Licence so all we had to do was take the written test and voila, we had a NC driving licence.

Apparently with Geico you have to have been driving in the US for about 3 yrs (we fell short of it by 1 month) even though we'd had a UK insurance for over 10 yrs with no claims....after many phone calls they said they would accept a letter from our UK Insurers so we phoned AA and they sent us a letter saying how long we had been driving and had 10 yrs no claims bonus.

Geico accepted this and we got a really good rate, although by the time we messed around with Geico and AA back home, we had reached the 3 yr driving history mark. We pay about $350 every 6 months.

NC Penguin

... for how many cars and how many drivers? Just curious 'cos I live in NC too.

Sue

We are in NC and have only every used Nationwide so can't compare their service with another company. However, we have no complaints and we've got an excellent agent who is very helpful and knowledgeable.

lisag8070

2 cars and 2 drivers for Greensboro, NC.... (2007 SUV and 2004 car)

and I've just double checked and we're paying $375 every 6 months.

Rete

I'd be interested to learn those specs as well. Here just outside of New York City (by 10 miles) we pay over $1200 every 6 months to GEICO for insurance. We have one 2007 truck and one 2005 car and one motorcycle. Of course there is a surcharge of $250 on the insurance because of an accident I had in NJ three years ago so it will that way for another 2 years.

My Canuck was placed on the policy the moment he landed in the US even with his Canadian license. Probably differs because it was an existing policy and I've been a member of GEICO for over 35 years now.

Dan725

Absolutely, its standard form to have a multi driver, multi car policy.

Re the no claims talk, no matter what they say, they generally will not take it into account, but if you are lucky, you'll find some that will take into account the length of time you have been driving - and not just in the US (as others stipulate).

People sometimes seem shocked to find that insurance is much more expensive than the UK......thats just life, welcome to the US - not everything is package tour cheap here - insurance (in its many guises) especially falls into this bracket.

What makes the insurance doubly expensive is when you consider the limitations on cover.....it really is such a convoluted process compared with good old Max No Claims and Fully Comp as per the UK.

scrubbedexpat099

Selling multi lines to the same client.

NC Penguin

For those living in NC, the NC Dept of Insurance has a rate calculator. You'll need your current policy to enter data and you'll get a ballpark figure for insuring your autos:

http://www.ncdoi.com/Consumer/consum..._calc_auto.asp

lisag8070

....thanks..NC Penguin..

Big D

It obligatory isn't it rather than just the norm? Not sure if its all states but in some places you have to insure all people of driving age on your policy as the assumption is they will or could drive it!

Rete

No, it isn't norm. That is what uninsured motorist coverage is for.