_Orpheus_

Hello Everyone,

I have trawling the forums for a while now and thought it about time to introduce myself (and ask a few questions). So I currently live in the West Midlands UK (originally from the West Country) and have just finished working for a well known automotive manufacturer in the area. I have recently accepted a job with General Motors in Warren MI and am due to start December 1st. All very exciting!!

I have been very busy getting everything arranged; I have my visa interview next Friday and the moving company is coming to assess my needs on Monday. I have also just paid a security deposit on a brand new studio apartment in Royal Oak, and understand that I have to apply for my SSN as soon as I land stateside. One thing that I am looking into at the moment is insurance. Obviously I am going to need car insurance (Im not sure whether I am going to buy a car or get a cheap lease through work) as well as renter insurance. I also need to sort out a bank account of some description.

The question I put to you, the voices of experience, is what companies would you recommend for my insurance and banking needs?

Thanks guys, I really appreciate all and any help you can provide

(ps. I have done a few searches on the forum on these subjects and have looked into some of the recommended sites only to find myself more than a little confussed)

dgsyd1

As far as banking goes, my own personal opinion is to try and join a credit union. If you're working through GM then you should be able to get details from them about which ones you'll be able to join.
It's always a good idea to shop around for insurance. Progressive are actually quite good, but you might want to avoid Farmers State (the most sued insurance company in the US for non payment allegedly).
Oh, and welcome to Michigan

Duncan Roberts

Do you mean State Farm or Farmers Insurance?

NatashaB

I love Royal Oak, I am jealous We use Bank of America which have been fine. However if you are going to need to finance a car or mortgage at some point I would suggest opening a bank account with a credit union as they tend to be more flexible about who they will lend to, and at least you will have established a relationship with them if you need any other products. Bank of America gave us a mortgage but will not give us a car loan until we have been here 5 years! We finally got finance for a truck via the Michigan Schools credit union (the car dealership found it for us).

Regarding the SSN, it is best to wait until 10 days after you have come into the country before applying, this allows you time to make your way 'onto the system' apparently. If you apply earlier the application may have to be dealt with manually and will take longer.

We use Geico for insurance for our car and property - all fine. Lots of people on here have paid for paid for an AIG package which gives you access to lots of deals such as disccounted car insurance (you can get a quote before deciding whether to buy the membership) and some other benefits such as a credit card and bank account assistance. The quote we got was very expensive but lots of people find the membership fee pays for itself because of the savings they make.

_Orpheus_

Thanks for everyone getting back to me so quickly. I have looked into that AIG thing but cant make heads nor tails of it and cant find any working links to the expat deals that everyone seems to be talking of.

I am currently going through whatever car insurance companies I can find online and putting in details but I suppose it is quite awkward untill I actually have a car.

I think I am going to have to apply for my SSN as I wont be arriving untill the last week in November and will be beginning work at the start of December, as such I will be needing my SSN asap, especially to get my US drivers licence.

Yeah I cant wait to move to RO. My apartment wont be ready till the middle of December so I will be living out of a hotel for a few weeks with all my stuff in storage.

Thanks again guys, keep the advice coming

Any ideas for rental insurance or are they all pretty similar (and as such I should just go with the same as my car insurer in order to recieve a discount)?

Cheers,
_Orpheus_

amadge

Orpheus, welcome to Mi! I moved over from Derby to Grand Rapids 5 1/2 years ago and it has generally been very positive. Royal Oak is a really cute little downtown, and seems like it would be a great place to live. Just be warned, the snow is coming and it's a REAL shock to the system! I had no idea before I moved here just how cold and difficult it could be in the winter.

I have always used State Farm for insurance. I get the impression they are quite expensive, but they were very helpful. I just went into the local office and they walked me through everything. I bundled the car and renters insurance and it knocked a fair bit off the price. When my car got written-off last year, they were very quick to pay and were more than fair in their valuation.

Banking wise, I would seek out a credit union, as has been suggested. I have banked with both Chase and 5th Third, and they are both miserable in providing credit. Chase also took advantage of my naivety in international money transfers when I first arrived.

_Orpheus_

Cheers for your reply Drop but I have been specifically told by my apartment rental company that I will need rental insurance. I would have thought that I need this anyway, is it not the equivilent of contents insurance in the uk, which I think I am right in saying, you should have if you are renting somewhere.

Amadge, cheers for the help. I hate to sound like a total noob but I never quite understand what these "credit unions" actually are or how they operate. At the moment I have a few Debit Card accounts with Halifax along with a saving account with them too. Im looking for the equivilent stateside.

Cheers guys,
Orpheus

amadge

In my understanding, a credit union is basically like a building society. They are owned by the members and therefore, are less focused on profit and more likely to offer credit and loans to members. Some are based around specific professions and some are based on location - so you'll have to find one that works. I'm guessing that GM might have preferred partners or could at least point you in the right direction. They should all be able to offer you debit cards, credit cards, saving accounts etc.

I would do the renters' insurance; it's extra protection and mine is basically free because I bundled it with auto.

meauxna

The OP of this thread has requested that the discussion NOT be about the value of having renter's insurance or not. Please respect that and move on.


For those of you who want to continue to debate that topic, please move here: Landlords wants to be named on my rental insurance. It's probably already all been said anyway, but whatever else you have, put it there.

Orpheus, here is one recent thread about the AIG thing that I just tripped over; maybe it will help you or lead you to the right threads you need.
AIG Membership - your experiences?

_Orpheus_

Cheers Meauxna I appreciate you trying to pull this back on topic.

I checked out AIG earlier on and sent them an email. They got back to me with a rather expensive quote for both car and rental insurance.

I am going to have a look into HSBC due to their cross continent compatibility and the fact that I wont need a SSN to set up an account. One of the things that Im not sure of is that there isnt a branch in Royal Oak but Im starting to think, in this day and age, how often do you go into a physical bank branch? Maybe it isnt such a big deal. Im also thinking that I shouldnt need to transfer funds cross continents very often at all, so does this write off HSBC for a better American bank? If so, which one?

Cheers again everyone. I will be looking it all your sugestions, including the Credit Unions.

Orpheus

Bink

There are plenty of options for transfering money from UK to US and vice versa. Loads of currency xchange websites like xe.com that offer very good rates so I wouldn't worry too much about that, especially if you don't plan to do it regularly...

One thing to bear in mind is how often do you use cash? May sound silly but if you withdraw cash from a bank that is not your bank you'll get hit with charges from both banks (normally at least $2.50/bank). If you use a lot of cash, best to go for a bank that has lots of ATMs near where you'll live, as 5% on every withdrawl (if you withdraw $100), starts to add up...

Can't really help regarding insurance I'm afraid as I'm on a company car so my insurance is done through the company. Any chance of you doing similar?

amadge

This is great advice! Always try and avoid taking money out of a different bank.

meauxna

OK, I've moved all the renter insurance debate questions to this thread. Please, no more discussion of it here unless it's advice on where to buy it.

Sue

We use Nationwide for our car, and house insurance, and also used them for renters insurance when we rented.

meauxna

I was so frustrated that I couldn't remember the UK term for it yesterday.. thank you!
When I read that this morning, I smacked my forehead like the "I coulda had a V-8" commercials.

Yes, most similar.