Vehicle Insurance in Georgia

[GAFarmer2]

Definitely shop around. Also, ask the insurance company what is driving your rates.

Just a couple of things to consider your age (and to some extent your wife's age) maybe on the big drivers for the rates. Males under 30 are at the highest rates for accidents.

For the new Camry, another contributing factor is that it is always in the top five for most stolen vehicles.

That is what really bugs me. My agent tells me he has no explanation for my rates going up. My truck insurance for the Ram has gone up each period since I've had it...with no explanation. The Camry insurance was quoted to me in the middle of May for one price, went up when we bought the car, and has now gone up again for the next six month period. Something is amiss...

 

[GAFarmer2]

And they choose the lowest rating they can find. Our Farm Bureau went up on us claiming a lower credit rating. If I want to borrow money they always tell me my rating is the best they've seen in a while at over 800. It worries me because I expect my credit rating to go down as I age due to a lower income in retirement.

We also went through years of rates increasing with Allstate and when I finally price shopped them our rate was cut in half.

In spite of it all the last time I attempted to price my insurance around I was blown away at how much higher the quotes were than what I was paying with Farm Bureau. We have our home and vehicles through them.

All these insurance companies keep a common record on you they can all access. I wouldn't be surprised if the record keeping company didn't alert your present company any time you go shopping. In fact my last increase was shortly AFTER I went shopping. I was alerted to the data sharing company when I requested a quote from Geico one time. The data company sent me a notice alerting me that they had all my data and WOULD share it. They had me with an accident that occurred on a car I purchased and that accident was from the previous owner. I about lost it when I read that. How can you pass fault on an accident with a car that changes hands?

That is unreal! I think I'd have my lawyer involved!

 

[GAFarmer2]

Also , insurance companies take your credit rating into account when quoting .

Understood. My question to my agent has been what score are you looking at that has changed? No answer as of yet.

If anything, our scores are headed the proper direction. The only payments right now are on my wife's medical bill from a CT and MRI last year, and her student loans. Both paid on time, in full, each month. I guess it's time to go check again...I think I'm due for my annual "free" one.

 

[M5farms]

credit karma , you can check it anytime , I also have a credit check with my business CC that I can check anytime

 

[GAFarmer2]

When comparing policies from different companies, one has to also compare what is covered, the amounts covered, and the price.

As mentioned, lowering the deductibles can help lower the premium price but lowering the liability and other coverage amounts is risky. After we got hit by a women who drove through a light, I got us an umbrella policy that is dirt cheap for the coverage. My wife had injuries that cost $45,000 to fix but which was covered by insurance for the most part. This was NOT a serious accident though it took two surgeries to fix the damage. :shocked:

Even though we were not at fault, I got the umbrella just in case one day it was our fault. In hindsight, I was pretty daft for not having the umbrella policy years prior to the accident.

Later,
Dan

Dan, so far I have "matched" everything policy to policy. GEICO actually seems to be giving me a little better coverage.

If you don't mind me asking...how did you go about getting that "umbrella" policy? I've never heard of such...guess I'm just dense.

Definitely something to look into.

 

[dmccarty]

Dan, so far I have "matched" everything policy to policy. GEICO actually seems to be giving me a little better coverage.

If you don't mind me asking...how did you go about getting that "umbrella" policy? I've never heard of such...guess I'm just dense.

Definitely something to look into.

If'n my memory is correct, in NC many insurance policies are the same from company to company, one just has to compare/verify the policy coverage/amounts.

Your agent can get you an umbrella policy. Ours is around $300 a year for $2-3 million in coverage. Pretty cheap all things considered. On another forum, there is a much respected member who is in the insurance business. He once said that insurance companies like people who hold lots of policies. Well DUH! They are making money off the policies! :laughing: Well, they are really making money because the real reason they like to see a bunch of policies is that people who have a bunch of coverage, have very low claim rates. So the insurance companies make out on both ends. Now that is fine by me because that means I will have a lower chance of having a claim. I hope. :laughing::laughing::laughing: We also get a multi policy rate discount so the insurance company does give some back.

As others mentioned the age of your wife and you might be can impact but at 25 the cost used to go down. Also if one is married that drove down the car insurance cost too. At least it did when I was 25. When I was that age I was living in South FLA and car insurance was VERY EXPENSIVE because half of the drivers did not have coverage, there were lots of accidents, and car thefts. So maybe your rates are going up because of similar issues. :confused3:

Later,
Dan

 

[Sigarms]

Insurance company = state / federal sanctioned organized crime.

Don't get me going

 

[JRobyn]

It sounds to me like your agent is just lazy, or maybe even crooked. Whenever I've talked to our State Farm agent about premiums, they have been willing (and sometimes successful) to try to LOWER my premiums by making adjustments in coverage or deductible or by some sort of discount.

 

[TractorGuy]

That is what really bugs me. My agent tells me he has no explanation for my rates going up. My truck insurance for the Ram has gone up each period since I've had it...with no explanation. The Camry insurance was quoted to me in the middle of May for one price, went up when we bought the car, and has now gone up again for the next six month period. Something is amiss...

You need to call Farm Bureau and request a new agent.

The newer cars will have an impact as will accident ratios where you live. Too many factors to consider but if your agent can't sit down with you and explain you need to first replace the agent and go from there.

FYI my new policy declaration just arrived.

We have a 2011 Kia Sorento and my 2003 F150 on full coverage. I also have a 99 Mustang with liability only. I thought I had liability higher but I'm seeing we only have 50,000 property and 100,000 bodily injury. We are both retired so we changed status on all vehicles to recreational. Our deductible on the full coverage vehicles is 100.

We are paying 275 each for the full coverage cars and 157 for the liability car every 6 months. Total is 706 so I am NOT shopping.

 

[wrb752]

I was in the insurance business in GA for a "few years". My sister is a senior VP for the largest insurer in the world. My first advice is this. The comments here are generally correct or pretty close, just take everything with a grain of salt. Honestly, it doesn't matter if someone on here insured 4 houses, a horse and buggy, and a Ferrari for $12 dollars a month.

An umbrella policy can be beneficial, but it would not solve your problem at all. An umbrella is only written to provide additional liability ON TOP of your existing policies. Additionally, insurers generally require you to carry higher levels of liability on your current policies before they will write an umbrella policy.

Despite the fact that everyone is trying, nobody can say that your insurance rates are high without knowing your levels of coverage. I would investigate exactly what you are paying for. You admit to not knowing much about insurance, so is it possible you are paying for extremely high levels of coverage, that you don't need?.

I'm not trying to discourage you from shopping an independent agent, but insurance is one of those things where you get what you pay for. Cut- rate insurance companies are great when you get the monthly bill, but suck when you actually need insurance. Generally, they are very reluctant to pay a claim, especially one that might be on the edge of your coverage. Remember, at it's most basic level, insurance is a guarantee against a risk. I like my guarantee to be rock solid and not questioned when you need it. Independent agents also deal with large insurers, so an independent agent doesn't mean you will have bad insurance in any way. Just buyer beware. You said you got a quote from Geico and they are generally considered a very good company. If you need some examples about how different companies handle claims, Google "Atlas Chalet Shingles".

As several have mentioned there are many things that drive your rates. Yours and your wife's credit are significant factors. So is market share. State Farm rates in the SE are very competitive because State Farm owns the SE market. If you went to New Hampshire, it is likely you would find big insurers cheaper that State Farm.