They also likely have far fewer clients....whats the complaint/client ratio - thats whats really important.

 

True, thats because they ONLY insure good drivers. That's how they keep their rates so low, because they only insure those who are not likely to make a lot of claims, not because they are a shoddy ins company

I did my research before I switched, trust me. They are also quite cheap for additional coverage for mods

 

I wasn't so lucky...

After I bought a home in SJ and called State Farm to get homeowner's insurance, they forced me to move my car out of my parent's policy (who coincidentally live in Cupertino). As a result, my premium went up because they consider SJ to be higher risk than Cupertino. I hadn't been living with my parents for a while but I was reaping the benefits of having my car tied to a Cupertino address.

Anyway, yes, definitely go with multi-line/multi-car coverage if you can. What's weird about my policy is that the price to insure my car by itself is about the same price as it is for me to insurnce both the car and the home. So I'm basically getting free homeowner's insurance!

 

+1 for Wawanesa. And it is true that they only insure good drivers with clean records, otherwise you will be paying a lot more. They could have more policy holders but that would mean taking on higher risk customers and therefore probably more complaints. Most all of the paperwork they do is through the mail or it takes time. Same with Mercury Insurance too but both of those have lower rates than any other company I've been with. It pays to shop around every once in a while. I've been with Safeco, Esurance, Mercury, 21st Century, Progressive, AAA. Out of those, I know that AAA and Progressive has a $50 cancellation policy so be sure that you are saving at least that much if you are planning on going to another provider during your term.

 

hmm, I'm surprised at how much cheaper they are compared to _everyone_ else. $600 cheaper than my current esurance policy.

What's with their lack of convenience though? Payment through check or money order, no credit cards. I don't know about you guys, but I haven't had a checkbook in many, many years. And to sign up, you have to print out paperwork and mail it. It seems like they're in the dark ages... almost no online functionality.

Has anyone had to deal with them after an accident? Are they 24/7 for claims?

 

they have an online pay service, you just sign up and pay directly from your checking account

I think only the first payment has to be a check or MO, after that (even renewals) can all be paid online

I'll gladly send in 1 measly check to save hundreds (for me it was actually THOUSANDS)

 

ucb... thanks for the heads up on Wawanesa. I called them and got a different quote and it was awesomely cheaper than even esurance.

I have a checkbook. Believe it or not I still write a fair amount of checks. I'm old.

 

Yup, my rate is really like $1000 or so cheaper than I found online, and that includes higher coverages and lower deductibles

Im at 100/300/100, $500 collision deductible, $100 comp deductible

 

wtf... I pay $2500/year.... wtf. Yea I use AAA and under 25 but jeezes. Anyone recommend a better company? I really am super happy with AAA but it's just too much money

 

You might want to try reading this WHOLE thread, if you want info on a good insurance company that is cheap

 

Wawanesa is well respected in the industry. I'm not sure who mentioned Mercury is selective w/ their clients because they most certainly aren't, they insure complete morons....

AAA is ok as well and their cheapo division (Western United) is pretty inexpensive.

The bigger companies will rarely have the best rates (unless you have multiline like the guy with SF mentioned) since they naturally insure more drivers and have to assume more risk than the smaller, more selective companies. The upside is that you know they have the financial backing to handle pretty much anything.

 

as a broker, i am an agent for most of the comapny's that have been mentioned so far in this thread. and to the original poster, you said you "just got back and restarted your insurance" your total premium will have gone up if you werent continuously insured for the past few years or if you were living out of state and had a non california license. anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

 

who's best in service after wrecks, etc?


I have mercury and am thinking of switching. Esurance was like $650 cheaper every 6 months... savings of $1300 a year on 2 cars... ummmm...yeah.

 

i have to give ups to wawanesa as well...

my uncle works for the state and does research on insurance cos. he was the first to tell our family about wawanesa and it's more or less his job to know who is best. as ucbsti mentioned they are picky about their drivers... my dad has never had a ticket in his life so that most definitely works.

as an insurance company they're great. cheap rates and more than willing to pay out and help out. every incident my family has had they've taken care of promptly and have never raised our rates afterwards (not-at-fault accidents, hit and run to our miata, my civic stolen twice). i got caught doing 90+ when i was 17 (stupid kid) and our premiums didn't go up a penny. we've had to total two cars (one from an accident and one from my theft recovery) and their payouts have been timely and generous. covered my car rental immediately when i found out my car was stolen and also covered it completely (enterprise's jetta had 40-something miles on it when i got it... over 1400 when i gave it back a week later).

 

I think I may think about switching. It still seems to good to be true. Its over 50% less than any other insurance company out there.