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I think the UK is a totally different animal indeed, although I'll admit the only thing I know about car insurance and the UK are various car FB groups I am apart of and the Top Gear car for a teenager challenge
Our fleet is insured by State Farm with the exception of the E-Type. I moved it to Hagerty a few years ago to reduce the cost for the agreed value. Yes, there are use restrictions, but the restrictions had no real effect on the current use anyway. So far, I'm a happy camper who has yet to go through the claims process.
Have had Hagerty Insurance on several cars now and find it to be the most economical program out there for collector cars only driven a few miles a year. You get your normal liability coverage and the vehicle is insured for an agreed upon value.
am a veteran, they won’t let me have a policy.... wrong army.
am ex British army :-(
Originally Posted by tampamark
I also have USAA. You can also be a relative of a veteran, or in my case married to the daughter of a veteran. They have become very liberal in who they allow into the USAA fold. It was simple for us, my Wife's father established his account, defined his daughter (my wife) in their system, once that lineage was established she was able to start an account and define me as spouse. Boom badda bing, you are in.
For several years they were higher than Liberty who I had prior, I always keep my carriers honest by quoting every couple of years. Then finally USAA came in significantly lower, I moved my insurance, after going through the long and horribly laborious process (hours of questions) they were ready to write my policy and it came in just slightly less than what I was paying. WHAT??? The guy tells me the quote is just an estimate, the real price is determined when you bind it, after wasting that much time I was just beat down!!! So I went with it even though the savings was quite a bit less, still a savings. Not worth the time I spent though.
As if that wasn't bad enough, let me tell you how ridiculously stupid the process to quote my home insurance was with USAA, since they don't write policies in Florida right now they offer to act as a broker and find some high rated companies that can write my policy. So I say yes, an hour and a half later and they come back and the partner companies can write, however no wind coverage but hey they can get a separate wind coverage quote. Another hour and come back, "gee, they still won't allow for wind coverage" and ask if I want to explore the next level. I told the guy thanks for being a nice person, I didn't blame him and I am never rude to the people who are just doing their jobs, but their system BLOWS and no way would I continue another minute with that debacle of a process!!! The person I wanted to tell off was the architect of the system, not the poor users.
I also have USAA. You can also be a relative of a veteran, or in my case married to the daughter of a veteran. They have become very liberal in who they allow into the USAA fold. It was simple for us, my Wife's father established his account, defined his daughter (my wife) in their system, once that lineage was established she was able to start an account and define me as spouse. Boom badda bing, you are in.
For several years they were higher than Liberty who I had prior, I always keep my carriers honest by quoting every couple of years. Then finally USAA came in significantly lower, I moved my insurance, after going through the long and horribly laborious process (hours of questions) they were ready to write my policy and it came in just slightly less than what I was paying. WHAT??? The guy tells me the quote is just an estimate, the real price is determined when you bind it, after wasting that much time I was just beat down!!! So I went with it even though the savings was quite a bit less, still a savings. Not worth the time I spent though.
As if that wasn't bad enough, let me tell you how ridiculously stupid the process to quote my home insurance was with USAA, since they don't write policies in Florida right now they offer to act as a broker and find some high rated companies that can write my policy. So I say yes, an hour and a half later and they come back and the partner companies can write, however no wind coverage but hey they can get a separate wind coverage quote. Another hour and come back, "gee, they still won't allow for wind coverage" and ask if I want to explore the next level. I told the guy thanks for being a nice person, I didn't blame him and I am never rude to the people who are just doing their jobs, but their system BLOWS and no way would I continue another minute with that debacle of a process!!! The person I wanted to tell off was the architect of the system, not the poor users.
I am a long-time USAA member. Began with auto insurance in '84 while a cadet. Customer service is always top-notch. When we purchased a home, it was a no-brainer to combine auto and home owners - every time I priced elsewhere, the costs were always higher. During this time period you had to be an officer in the military (any branch) to qualify for membership. Gradually the membership was expanded - first to NCO's, then any enlisted, and ultimately to anyone with any affiliation - honorably discharged from any time period to family members. This changed the risk pool dramatically. What previously had been a very select risk pool (with seemingly low incidence of claims relative to the general public, and therefore correspondingly low rates) expanded to become more similar to the general public, with corresponding claims and rates rose to being very similar to other insurers. Then one year my home insurance jumped 15% for seemingly no reason. Same house, no major general calamities, etc. So now, when I competitively price insurance, USAA is not the best deal and they have lost my business. btw- they also have gotten out of the investment business (I used to have mutual funds and IRA's with them which have been divested to others), so I am down to a checking and savings account. Not sure how they can spend so much money on TV commercials by losing so much business.
Some more info on USAA: They have different “levels” for various member groups and those levels have different rate structures. They used to only insure military officers, then a few decades ago, they lost some kind of law suit which required them to insure others. I’m a retired officer, so not only do I get the best rates, but USAA actually returns a decent chuck of money to me at the end of the year. My daughters can have their own policies, but at a lower level; my ex-wife can as well, but at an even lower level. Rates increase and benefits diminish with lower levels and for a normal civilian, they may not be competitive to other companies. They do offer collector car coverage through Progressive, but it was more expensive and more restrictive than Hagerty. I love USAA, and have all my other policies with them, but I’m also in their top tier. If you’re a military officer they can’t be beat, but if not, it’s worth the effort to shop around.
We have been with USAA for @35 years, starting with an auto policy in early 1980's. Currently we have auto (including two low mileage first generation XKRs which are not yet classic cars), homeowners, boat, and umbrella policies. Rates and terms of coverage are competitive. I found it is relatively easy to add additional lines of coverage as needed--such as when i added a homeowners policy for the house in a FL beach community with recent history of storms. I have to agree with the prior observation that the level customer service slipped a few years ago seemingly coincidental with the rapid expansion of the membership pool to include anyone who knows anyone who was or has been in the military/DoD. No complaints with service over last several years. I should like to highlight a couple of features which USAA provides to its members which were not referenced in prior posts. First, USAA maintains a Subscriber Savings Account to which a portion of the company's annual favorable claims experience is credited. The member's subscriber account is refunded when and if the member leaves the company. For long-haulers, this annual credit can become essentially a $20k bonus payable if and when you transfer all your business to another carrier. It was a tempting offer but we stuck with USAA and still have no regrets. The other feature not mentioned in prior posts is company's practice of rebating a portion of the company's annual excess reserve to the member. This year's rebate was just over $900 which translates to @ a 20% discount against the total premiums paid in 2020. Past performance is no guarantee of future rebates/credits, but USAA's rebates and credits have been pretty consistent over the past umpteen years. So these elements of a USAA membership should be factored into the equation when comparing the overall cost of insurance.
I also have USAA. You can also be a relative of a veteran, or in my case married to the daughter of a veteran. They have become very liberal in who they allow into the USAA fold. It was simple for us, my Wife's father established his account, defined his daughter (my wife) in their system, once that lineage was established she was able to start an account and define me as spouse. Boom badda bing, you are in.
For several years they were higher than Liberty who I had prior, I always keep my carriers honest by quoting every couple of years. Then finally USAA came in significantly lower, I moved my insurance, after going through the long and horribly laborious process (hours of questions) they were ready to write my policy and it came in just slightly less than what I was paying. WHAT??? The guy tells me the quote is just an estimate, the real price is determined when you bind it, after wasting that much time I was just beat down!!! So I went with it even though the savings was quite a bit less, still a savings. Not worth the time I spent though.
As if that wasn't bad enough, let me tell you how ridiculously stupid the process to quote my home insurance was with USAA, since they don't write policies in Florida right now they offer to act as a broker and find some high rated companies that can write my policy. So I say yes, an hour and a half later and they come back and the partner companies can write, however no wind coverage but hey they can get a separate wind coverage quote. Another hour and come back, "gee, they still won't allow for wind coverage" and ask if I want to explore the next level. I told the guy thanks for being a nice person, I didn't blame him and I am never rude to the people who are just doing their jobs, but their system BLOWS and no way would I continue another minute with that debacle of a process!!! The person I wanted to tell off was the architect of the system, not the poor users.
Here in California USAA is double what GEICO is for both home and auto. I’d prefer to use them but not with those prices
Here in California USAA is double what GEICO is for both home and auto. I’d prefer to use them but not with those prices
Yep, for a long while they were quoting higher prices so I did not use them. The lesson from this thread is what myself (and many others) have done over the years, you have to shop them periodically and when your incumbent gets prideful with their rates switch to a rival.
For every positive statement about a companies rates there is a negative, so it is very subjective with no answer, just plenty of good suggestions.
Last edited by tampamark; Dec 31, 2020 at 01:09 PM.
With Grundy you are only allowed to use you car for car related events. So if you go to Albertsons for groceries and have an accident, you are not covered. If you take your car out once a week and drive say 20 miles just to keep everything operating, you are not covered.
I have American Modern and have been very pleased. I have a 2004 Jaguar XKR Coupe with a 5,000 mile/yr limit with full coverage for $318.00.
You (US) should try J C Taylor. In have 7 cars insured (stated value)with them (3 Jaguars (MX 9, E Type, XJS) a Bentley T1 and 3 MB SL 500s all for less that Hagerty insured 3 of them.
USSA has gotten more expensive due to getting so liberal in letting anyone it. It started as a group pf military officers self insuring.
Taking your advice, I started an online quote with Taylor. However, I quickly ran into this apparent requirement:
Unless there is some way around this, or I've done something wrong, that's a show-stopper for me. Thanks.
Sorry that will be the same for all stated value insurers, State Farm, Hagerty, etc. Limited driving, etc. I did find State Farm fairly liberal. Hit a deer 200 miles from home. Did not ask why I was there (was actually coming back from auto even but they did not ask).
Got a F-Type 2016. Was paying $1,600 Farmers. With Allstate Milewise program I'll probably pay a little under $1,000 as they charge by day and miles. (Sunday go to meeting car). Main problem is when putting Milewise device in ODB port, it drains the battery dead in 4 to 5 days. Answer via Forum is to disconnect and reconnect negative connection in trunk after use. Don't even open car door until next drive. Indicator is red Triangle on dash. Normally goes out after 15 minutes. If not, you have a drain. LOVE my car!.
Sorry that will be the same for all stated value insurers, State Farm, Hagerty, etc.
Hagerty does not seem as restrictive as Taylor. There is a mileage limitation, but the car does not need to be a show car. I am about to bind coverage with Hagerty. State Farm has confirmed that moving the XK to Hagerty will not affect the balance of our policies with them, except of course to eliminate the XK premium.
My policy with Taylor does not require my auto to be show coveragers, just antiques or collector. 2 of my Mercedes are 1998s. I think you would do a lot better if you just talked with them. I had State Farm and Hagerty for my 7 autos or over 2000 a year. Same coverage with Taylor was just over 1300. Also Taylor is once a year (Hag same) policy vs 2x with State Farm.
