Originally Posted by Brit3964

Check out weather your insurance company give you a car safety discount too. That can make a difference.

The only thing is, a newer car might not always be better. My old '98 Malibu had about a 10% discount and yet my newer '05 Honda Accord doesn't get any!

According to State Farm, it has a worse record when it comes to injury claims. I can't quite figure that out as it has front AND side airbags unlike the Malibu! However, an '05 Toyota Camry does get the discount

And yes, the credit rating does seem to affect the cost. I'm paying $582 per 6 months in SC "fully comp"

Originally Posted by ironporer

Odd that the 'unexperienced' premium is so high- our insurance is thru Geico also, and for Cathy and I we ony pay about 800/year- and she has neve had a liscense before coming here. I suppose vehicle value could be a major factor- our's only bluebooks for around 9K.

Originally Posted by NC Penguin

Since you mention State Farm, I contacted an agent when I first got my full licence in NC. State Farm is one insurer that doesn't take my kind of business because I was an "inexperienced operator".


NC Penguin

Originally Posted by AmerLisa

That's funny, they took my husband's business and he was the "inexperienced" driver.

Originally Posted by Angry White Pyjamas

And they spend to much on crap adverts.
.

Originally Posted by lee_in_nj

if you're in the area and eligible. nj manufacturers insurance... (http://www.njm.com/) will save you an absolute bundle. i was just ticked off i didnt find out about it for like 5 years in.

Originally Posted by NC Penguin

I've been living in the US now for nearly four years and I've switched auto insurers once so far because my original insurer was ripping me off (this was duly confirmed when we received a refund from the company some months later when we had moved to the current insurer).

I mad a call to GEICO, my current auto insurer to inform them that I had over three years driving experience under my belt and that I was no longer to be considered an "inexperienced driver" (in NC at least).

The woman at GEICO confirmed that I had had my license for over three years but then went on to say that my current policy did not take into account me being an "inexperienced driver". I stopped her right there and quoted from a page on my GEICO policy that had identified me as such and that this may be taken into account.

At that point, the woman put me on hold. A couple of minutes later, she continued the conversation and quoted me an updated premium.

Currently, I'm paying $1400 p/six month period because of the "inexperienced driver" penalty. Removing that from the policy lowered my premium to a little over $750 p/six months. This is for two vehicles.

The moral of the tale is that it pays to be persistent and to read back information from the auto insurer's policy. The lady at GEICO, in my opinion, was trying to fob me off with some crap but after I quoted from my policy, there in black and white, she could no longer ignore that I was indeed being penalized for being an "inexperienced driver".

However, to keep GEICO on their toes, when renewal time comes around, I shall be asking my homeowners insurance provider to quote me auto insurance. It will be interesting to see if they offer an even lower premium than GEICO.


NC Penguin

Originally Posted by AmerLisa

Totally agree with you there!

Originally Posted by Rete

And I disagree. I've had the same GEICO policy for over 30 years. I have never had a problem with them on payment of any claims and there have been many over the years because of parking lot hit and runs, vandalism, etc. Both my adult children have switched to GEICO after having been with Traveler's, State Farm and Progressive.

Yes, I will concede they are a bit more expense but for the quality of the care we receive, we won't change. At least that is our viewpoint.

Originally Posted by AmerLisa

Fair enough, but we've also had equally excellent service with State Farm and now have our homeowners insurance with them as well. When you are quoted a (in my opinion) ridiculous rate based on not only driving experience, but credit worthiness (yes I forgot they'd done that originally and since we had just moved from the UK we had no established credit) and then go to another major insurance company and they quote you half that amount - well its pretty clear to me where I'd take my business. In fact I wouldn't go anyplace else for our insurance.