This is my account of my auto insurance experience. By sharing my experience, I hope to safeguard your family, save you money, and help you make well-informed decisions about auto insurance. For 33 years, I had been a State Farm customer. State Farm was used by my parents and grandparents. When I obtained a driver’s license, my parents added me to their coverage. I got my own policy with State Farm after I graduated from college. I believed that my insurance was the best available. I believed that I would receive special treatment. I was a sucker. The cost of my insurance rose every year. I have never been in an accident, have no penalties or points on my license, and have never filed a claim in thirty-three years. I was the ideal client. Other than comfort of mind, I never requested anything in exchange for paying my premium. Over the previous few years, I gradually lost faith in State Farm. As a car accident attorney, I witnessed directly how they handled their clients. I witnessed a purported “premium” business treat its clients like numbers. Nearly all of my clients who had State Farm and filed an injury claim were dissatisfied. I am not referring to a limited sample size. I see these claims every day because State Farm is a major provider of auto insurance. The number of times I had to inform customers that State Farm was not treating them fairly is beyond counting. Additionally, the majority of these individuals were older. For years or even decades, they owned State Farm. Like me, they believed that State Farm supported them. However, it didn’t really matter. I became enraged when I saw State Farm advertising with the phrase “Like a Good Neighbor” since I knew it was untrue. Based on the goodwill they had cultivated and the fact that they were no longer the same company, I thought they were deceiving people. The baby boomer generation trusted State Farm since they had grown up with them. However, I didn’t have to follow my parents’ and grandparents’ lead just because they used State Farm. I therefore made the decision to compare auto insurance rates. I’m glad I did. It made me more aware of the state of the auto insurance market and how the insurance companies rely on consumers not to compare rates. This is my account of why I moved from State Farm to Geico for my auto insurance and how I was able to save more than $2,000 annually for the same coverage!

Examples of Behavior I See at State Farm

State Farm has been making lowball offers and only making payments after being sued. They use a computer to process your claim, and they will offer whatever the machine recommends. Offers with absurd amounts like $3,805.21 are what I see. It’s confusing how their computer software generates these figures and why they don’t round them off. Their lack of compassion about how the recipient of these strange proposals feel is really frustrating. Talk about poor emotional intelligence. Next, if you file an uninsured motorist claim under your State Farm policy, they will compel their customers to undergo an examination under oath (EUO) or an independent medical exam (IME). An IME occurs when you are compelled to see a doctor of their choosing for an examination. In essence, an EUO is a deposition in which you are questioned for hours by a lawyer. They are legally allowed to make you do this as part of your insurance policy. However, it’s a really forceful tactic, and other insurance companies just don’t treat their own customers this way. It is an excellent illustration of why State Farm views its customers as a set of numbers. They go straight into defense mode instead of offering their customer the benefit of the doubt. Instead of taking care of their clients, it appears that they are searching for ways to avoid paying claims. Another reason I dislike their operations is the way they manage medical pay. After an accident, Med Pay covers your medical expenses. Let’s say your doctor receives $5,000 from your medical pay. State Farm demands that $5,000 be deducted from your payout when you resolve your injury claim. You reimburse them. So why pay for a benefit that you have to pay back? Additionally, State Farm frequently files individual lawsuits based on what is known as a subrogation claim. It’s a filthy little secret. When the insurance company “steps into your shoes” and pursues a claim without your permission, it’s known as a subrogation claim. This is how it operates. In an accident, you sustain injuries. The bodily injury coverage for the at-fault driver is $25,000. Your uninsured motorist coverage is $100,000. When your lawsuit is settled, you get the full $125,000 insurance payout. After that, State Farm will file a personal lawsuit on your behalf against the negligent motorist to recoup the $100,000 they gave you. I frequently witness that occurring. Even though they now typically settle for less than the full sum, they are still pursuing a large number of people covertly and recouping their expenditures. Didn’t know about that clever move, did you?

How I Purchased a Policy for Auto Insurance

It was considerably simpler than I had anticipated to shop for auto insurance. Because Progressive and Geico are reliable businesses and I have generally had positive experiences with them during my personal injury claims, I already knew that I wanted to compare them. All I had to do was visit their websites, supply details about my car, and respond to demographic questionnaires. After completing the initial questions, I was presented with a menu that offered me choices for both the types of coverage and the desired amounts. However, there were more alternatives on the menu than I had anticipated. I had to take a moment to make sure I knew what each kind of coverage represented and if I really needed it. I had forgotten about all the bells and whistles because it had been so long since I had changed my coverage with State Farm. In the end, I was able to match everything up by consulting my State Farm policy.

With Geico, I Was Able to Save Over $2,000 Annually for the Same Coverage!

In our home, my spouse and I own two cars. Neither of us has any accidents, tickets, or claims. For the insurance, we paid State Farm $3,150 every six months, for a total of $6,300 annually. We just wrote the checks because we had no idea how much it would cost. When I received Geico’s quote, I was taken aback. For the same coverage, the annual cost was $2,200 less! The only modification was that in order for Geico to provide us with a driving score, we had to be tracked via their mobile app. In order to save that much money, I made the decision that I could not give a damn about being tracked.

Which Coverages I Have:

Certain coverages are required by law. However, the following is a list of what I have:

• Personal Injury Protection (PIP)
• Comprehensive
• Collision
• Rental
• Property Damage
• Bodily Injury
• Uninsured Motorist

Which Coverage I Didn’t Purchase:

I concluded that some of the additions weren’t really necessary. Since my car dealership already offers roadside help, I didn’t need that coverage. Additionally, I declined Med Pay because I already had health insurance and thought having both would be redundant.

My Agent at State Farm Insurance Refused to Cancel My Policy

This circumstance was frustrating. The individual at my agent’s office seemed unconcerned when I contacted her and said that I wanted to cancel my insurance because I had switched to Geico. No one offered to match or even lower my rates. However, she stated that before my insurance could be cancelled, she wanted documentation proving I was covered by Geico. She emailed me to get a copy of the Dec page. In response, I sent a brief email expressing my desire to terminate the policy. I assumed she required a written document. In response, she said that until they received the Dec page from Geico, they would not terminate the policy. Naturally, the price I paid was on the Dec page, and State Farm would be able to see what Geico was charging until I went through and redacted it. Quite challenging. However, I sent it over since I didn’t care enough to put in the extra effort. The policy was later canceled by State Farm.

What Kind of Auto Insurance Do I Suggest?

The three main issues are uninsured drivers, bodily injury, and rental. You are taking a chance if you don’t have all three and you are involved in an accident. For both bodily injury and uninsured motorist coverage, I suggest a minimum of $25,000/$50,000. How far you go for each depends on your assets and budget. I also observe a great deal of misunderstanding around property damage. In the event of an accident, property damage covers the harm caused by your carelessness. Damage to other vehicles is nearly always covered by this item. I don’t think anyone should carry more than $100,000 worth of property damage. $50,000 is usually sufficient.

How to Purchase High-Quality Insurance at a Lower Cost

“What good is insurance if it won’t pay when you need it?” was my previous thought. Though it isn’t as significant now, I still think this. Great companies are hard to come by. I’ve worked with every insurance provider out there. Thousands of claims have come across my desk. Out of all of them, USAA was the only one that I ever witnessed paying more to safeguard their customers. I like USAA. I wish all insurance companies were more like them. I never hear complaints about USAA from my clients. Unfortunately, as it is only available to members of the military or their families, not everyone is qualified. My interactions with Progressive and Geico have been largely positive. They are typically reasonable. Allstate is in the middle. The low-cost insurance providers are all worthless. That shouldn’t come as a shock. The best course of action, in my opinion, is to look for auto insurance every two to three years. Verify the company and the coverage you are receiving if an insurance quote seems too good to be true. Saving money doesn’t mean that you have to reduce your coverage; all you have to do is compare prices. I’m hoping that my experience may enable you and your family to save money and possibly even increase your insurance coverage.