Before we were married, I had State Farm for both house and auto and she had Mercury for her auto and home. She sold her home and moved in with me.
After we married, I took the same criteria to both companies for their quotes...house and two cars plus the same coverage.
Mercury was just a bit more than half of State Farm, so I switched my house and car to them. That was 15 years ago and we're still with them.
Premium prices are also based on zip codes among other things (or so I've been told).

 

it was twice Costco

 

Just so your guys know, the California minimum coverage for my 2012 Jag from AARP was $209 a month or $2508 a year.

The exact same coverage from Costco (Ameriprise) was $473.87 semiannually, or $947.74 a year. We are talking almost a third of AARP (Hartfords) rate - given the senior pool discount!

We can debate coverage amounts all day/every day, but the point that should be gotten is that Costco crushes even AARP by a mile, let alone Allstate, Geico and all the other basic carriers. Costco offers adjustments to the coverage based on ones needs that takes the rates up a few bucks but at the end of the day, if you compare apple to the apple, I am certain you'll find Costco the best value by far... Just as I tried to convey as the purpose of this thread when I started it.

I know as fellow Jag owners some have homes, multiple cars, businesses etc and all our coverage needs vary quite a bit, but I can almost promise you that, unless California is some rate anomaly, if you compare your policy to Costco's, you will find you are paying far more.

The only other issue is whether the service is up to par (accident forgiveness, for instance). For me, at this discount, $1600 a year would really add up and I'd like the choice as to whether I wanted to pay for a fender bender out of my own pocket as opposed to filing a claim that could change my rate.

As one poster said earlier, "They're no free rides as it relates to insurance, you get what you pay for" Although that is true, however, we should reserve the right to deal with our loss the way we see fit (even or win) and not have to pre-pay the insurance companies in case we need to file a claim thats a (even or lose) situation every time.

Another thing to remember is: Getting your Jag repaired by Jag. In what twisted world would you get your car repaired by those rip-off artists that disguise themselves as a dealership?

Someone recently backed into my rear a few weeks ago when I was parked as they were leaving a parking space behind me. Apparently they hit me so hard that they knocked a sensor loose in my bumper. I would get these constant random warnings that there was an object behind me because the sensor was sunken into the bumper. Since I had a service due, while my car was at the dealer, I asked the service manager to quote the repair. The guy had the nerve to give me a $5480 estimate which, of course included a new bumper, paint, brackets, labor etc etc etc. He told me the sensors aren't sold separately and are part of the entire rear bumper system. I simply chuckled.

After I got my car out, I took the car to my guy whose doing my mods and he fixed the bumper sensor in an hour. He had to remove my bumper and fish out the sensor and silicone it into the seat. I gave him a c-note and saved myself enough to buy myself a used Acura. Sometimes, a car is just that, a car.

Get a quote.

 

I just got a quote from Costco. For the same coverage levels I have (actually less, Costco wouldn't let me do up to $250k/500k/$100k for under/uninsured motorists), the quote was $91.62 more every 6 months than what I pay now with State Farm. Oddly, enough, lowering the coverage to the state minimums on Costco doesn't even get the quote down to what State Farm gives me for much more adequate coverage (still about $30 more every 6 months than State Farm).

A fender bender is not the worst case scenario here. If an underinsured driver kills or injures another driver, pedestrian or bicyclist, the victims are the ones that are going to get screwed, regardless of whether or not the underinsured driver meets the state minimums. Some might be able to afford paying hundreds of thousands out of pocket, but I sure couldn't!

 

I haven't checked Costco, but Mercury is the best I have found in California. State Farm is not competive in CA.

 

That's akin to saying that I haven't needed major medical treatment in 35 years so I really don't need much health insurance. It's not what has gone before, but what may happen in the future.

I realize that you're confident in your own driving abilities, but what happens if you're hit by some drunk or some other person who also doesn't believe in carrying much, if any, auto insurance because they don't want to "waste" money on insurance premiums? California has the highest percentage of uninsured drivers in the entire country. Do you really understand what you're risking by only carrying $15k/$30k uninsured motorist? Do you even know what that coverage is or when it kicks in?

How far do you think that $15k is going to go if you get injured in a car accident caused by someone who is uninsured? I was hospitalized for just 3 days a couple of months ago for a medical issue and my bill was over $24k, and that didn't even count all of the individual doctors' bills.

I would strongly suggest that you have a long talk with an insurance agent about increasing your coverage.

 

Tons of great input and feedback, but to get back to the original post, thanks for the suggestion. Whether or not Costco offers a better deal is a case-by-case question and answer.
But regardless, your consideration to give us the idea is appreciated.

 

What would be very helpful and what we all need to know here is: "Is Costco cheaper or not?" The focal point of the post.

By all means, get a quote based on what you already have and publish your findings.

It's not hard to call and gather a quote, you don't even need to be a member just say you lost your card and awaiting a replacement.

Getting the correct coverage for myself can also be based on what I am willing to pay for the insurance. At this point, what I'd like to definitely know is how Costco compares to the other carriers. Perhaps the said savings will afford me the extra coverage everybody's suggesting.

My quotes from every carrier that you guys are saying are cheaper turn out to be triple my quote. There seems to be a disconnect here.

 

The disconnect is most of us aren't willing to underinsure to save money on premiums. There is no comparison to be made here!

 

"...By all means, get a quote based on what you already have and publish your findings...."

Please pay attention. This post wasn't meant to evoke emotion. We're trying to get back to comparing premium pricing, apples to apples, whatever that night be. I am going to make a big assumption in that if minimal coverage is cheap at one carrier, that their max coverages are equally as affordable. If this isn't the case, the data we all bring to the table will tell us that and we can all make our own intelligent decisions based the facts we discover here. I mean who knows, based on some of the previous comments, we may learn that perhaps increasing coverages by ten-fold may be only a few hundred dollars more per year at the end of the day....right? First we need to get past the white-noise so we can gather some data we can actually analyze. This is too difficult for just one person to do so we need everyone to participate.

It may be helpful to designate where you live and your age and driving record or any other variable that may throw the quote out of the mainstream. If you have an umbrella policy then it also probably won't apply to most of us.

Once we determine who has the best rate, we can all opt the best coverage for our own needs on a personal basis.

Thanks for understanding.

 

To find out the "best" rate, someone needs to detail all factors in a policy, coverage must be identical so fair comparisions can be made.
Age, marital status, zip code, driving record, etc. are all factors that are normally taken into consideration by the insurance company.

 

"It may be helpful to designate where you live and your age and driving record or any other variable that may throw the quote out of the mainstream. If you have an umbrella policy then it also probably won't apply to most of us.

Once we determine who has the best rate, we can all opt the best coverage for our own needs on a personal basis. "

 

Out of curiosity I checked out the Costco insurance. It wouldn't give me a quote and came back with this:

"We regret that we are unable to fulfill your request for coverage because it does not fit our eligibility criteria. More specifically, we are declining coverage because the value of your vehicle is higher than our guidelines allow."

I'll stick with USAA, not the cheapest but the customer service they offer exceeds most.

 

Still waiting to see what my new XJS does for my insurance rates. Currently have farmers.

 

Speaking from Blighty, I'm awfully sorry to hear that and hope it doesn't detract from the enjoyment of your car.

 

Just got my quote back from Farmer's $157 more than I was paying for my LS 460. I think that is not too bad.