micky
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Post by micky on Apr 25, 2019 14:04:37 GMT -5
I have used Allstate to insure my car for the past 10 years. Every year they raise my rates and I guess just laziness that I haven't re-quoted elsewhere. I have had zero claims and no tickets and am over 50 in a car that I own outright. I have always been leery of what I consider "discount insurers" like Progressive but they are giving me rates that are half what I am paying now. Does anyone have experience in filing a claim with Progressive or like company. Any suggestions on how I can get Allstate to just lower my rate and not have to go to the trouble of changing companies. I know I am throwing good money away and am ready to do something.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2019 14:10:44 GMT -5
I have no loyalty to insurance companies. If someone offers me a lower rate I'm gone. I was with Progressive for 2 years and had one deer claim during that time which was handled just as easily as any other claim I've ever done. They were also the insurance company of the driver that rear-ended me last summer and I had a check in my hand in less than a week from the day of the accident. I was pretty impressed by that one.
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micky
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Post by micky on Apr 25, 2019 14:12:29 GMT -5
Thank you minnesotapaintlady, my big concern is I finally do have an accident and will have claims trouble but your info tells me I probably don't have to worry and if it saves me $600 a year I'm golden.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2019 14:17:54 GMT -5
OMG $600/year? Yes, switch.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Apr 25, 2019 14:20:31 GMT -5
I have used Allstate to insure my car for the past 10 years. Every year they raise my rates and I guess just laziness that I haven't re-quoted elsewhere. I have had zero claims and no tickets and am over 50 in a car that I own outright. I have always been leery of what I consider "discount insurers" like Progressive but they are giving me rates that are half what I am paying now. Does anyone have experience in filing a claim with Progressive or like company. Any suggestions on how I can get Allstate to just lower my rate and not have to go to the trouble of changing companies. I know I am throwing good money away and am ready to do something. Every year, your rates should be going DOWN, as your car is getting older and not worth as much. Call them and ask for a better rate. You'll probably get it.
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Apr 25, 2019 14:24:47 GMT -5
There are plenty of good alternatives that handle car claims well. Two other good options are AAA (yes, they have auto insurance) and State Farm. Go ahead & shop around some more.
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micky
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Post by micky on Apr 25, 2019 14:27:01 GMT -5
I did call Allstate and they said because I have a $1M Umbrella policy with them, that I have to have certain coverages on auto to qualify. I asked if I canceled the Umbrella would my rates go down - answer no only if I chop by coverage in half would my price go down by 25% - nope that didn't make sense either. I told her Progressive will give me same coverages at the cheaper rate and she said she couldn't budge. Gave me some song and dance that as my car AGES my coverage gets more expensive and I lose discounts for new car, huh? No it didn't make sense to me either but I find these people talk in circles and I'm not sharp enough to argue. Basically they won't budge. I told her it was real money and I would probably be canceling. I'm sure I can find an umbrella policy elsewhere.
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obelisk
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Post by obelisk on Apr 25, 2019 14:27:22 GMT -5
If you reside in Ca, I recommend Wawanesa for car and home insurance No problems with claims
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Apr 25, 2019 14:33:20 GMT -5
I did call Allstate and they said because I have a $1M Umbrella policy with them, that I have to have certain coverages on auto to qualify. I asked if I canceled the Umbrella would my rates go down - answer no only if I chop by coverage in half would my price go down by 25% - nope that didn't make sense either. I told her Progressive will give me same coverages at the cheaper rate and she said she couldn't budge. Gave me some song and dance that as my car AGES my coverage gets more expensive and I lose discounts for new car, huh? No it didn't make sense to me either but I find these people talk in circles and I'm not sharp enough to argue. Basically they won't budge. I told her it was real money and I would probably be canceling. I'm sure I can find an umbrella policy elsewhere. So one thing to keep in mind is if you have multiple coverages with the same company, you may have some discounts on other pieces of your insurance that will go up if/when you switch the auto (because the discount may be linked to having auto through them as well). Depending on what those discounts are, it may end up costing you more money to switch insurance companies (unless you're also going to shop around your other coverages as well).
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justme
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Post by justme on Apr 25, 2019 14:39:31 GMT -5
I've had two claims with Geico and I have no problem with them. Though a friend in town just got lower rates with Progressive so it might be time to re-price my insurance.
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micky
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Post by micky on Apr 25, 2019 14:41:27 GMT -5
I did call Allstate and they said because I have a $1M Umbrella policy with them, that I have to have certain coverages on auto to qualify. I asked if I canceled the Umbrella would my rates go down - answer no only if I chop by coverage in half would my price go down by 25% - nope that didn't make sense either. I told her Progressive will give me same coverages at the cheaper rate and she said she couldn't budge. Gave me some song and dance that as my car AGES my coverage gets more expensive and I lose discounts for new car, huh? No it didn't make sense to me either but I find these people talk in circles and I'm not sharp enough to argue. Basically they won't budge. I told her it was real money and I would probably be canceling. I'm sure I can find an umbrella policy elsewhere. So one thing to keep in mind is if you have multiple coverages with the same company, you may have some discounts on other pieces of your insurance that will go up if/when you switch the auto (because the discount may be linked to having auto through them as well). Depending on what those discounts are, it may end up costing you more money to switch insurance companies (unless you're also going to shop around your other coverages as well). Yes I have my Umbrella with them, she said if I cancel auto with them she will have to farm my umbrella outside of Allstate. I told her to figure out what that would cost and let me know. I only pay $300 for the umbrella policy so unless the number jumps by $1k I can't imagine I'm still not saving. I just looked and Progressive does offer umbrella policies although I didn't get a quote for it yet.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Apr 25, 2019 14:53:09 GMT -5
I have used Allstate to insure my car for the past 10 years. Every year they raise my rates and I guess just laziness that I haven't re-quoted elsewhere. I have had zero claims and no tickets and am over 50 in a car that I own outright. I have always been leery of what I consider "discount insurers" like Progressive but they are giving me rates that are half what I am paying now. Does anyone have experience in filing a claim with Progressive or like company. Any suggestions on how I can get Allstate to just lower my rate and not have to go to the trouble of changing companies. I know I am throwing good money away and am ready to do something. Every year, your rates should be going DOWN, as your car is getting older and not worth as much. Call them and ask for a better rate. You'll probably get it. That's not true. I don't know about Canada, but here in the states they charge for your car at MSRP and pay out at ACV. Car insurance rates may go down for various reasons, but not because your car is older. For a stock company, they aren't just going to lower your rate because you ask them to or threaten to leave. A broker can shop various companies and find you a better rate elsewhere if you ask, but a company that sells just one brand of insurance will not just lower the rate because you said so.
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bean29
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Post by bean29 on Apr 25, 2019 14:53:15 GMT -5
Allstate also has coverages like accident protection that you get b/c you have been insured with them for years. If you leave and then come back, you agent will not be able to restore those cover ages. DH says that often people who think they have gotten a better deal are not comparing apples to apples coverage, so once you have a quote you think you want to take, send a copy to your current agent and ask if they can match the price, and if not why. DH gets frustrated b/c he says sometimes he could strip out coverages or go to a partner company and match the price.
Idk why your insurance would be more b/c it is older except I know newer cars have additional safety features which earn you a discount like back up cameras and sensors, lane deviation and idk what it is called but DD's car will brake for her if there is an object or auto in front of her and she is coming up to it too fast.
If you have an umbrella with Allstate, it would cover everything you have insured with them, your house, cars, rental properties etc.
I know we no longer have it b/c they didn't like something we own not having the proper coverage. It was not an issue we could resolve.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Apr 25, 2019 14:54:36 GMT -5
I have used Allstate to insure my car for the past 10 years. Every year they raise my rates and I guess just laziness that I haven't re-quoted elsewhere. I have had zero claims and no tickets and am over 50 in a car that I own outright. I have always been leery of what I consider "discount insurers" like Progressive but they are giving me rates that are half what I am paying now. Does anyone have experience in filing a claim with Progressive or like company. Any suggestions on how I can get Allstate to just lower my rate and not have to go to the trouble of changing companies. I know I am throwing good money away and am ready to do something. I've sold Progressive insurance and I think I was insured by them years ago, but didn't have a claim. I have had a few customers have claims and they were easy enough to deal with.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Apr 25, 2019 14:59:08 GMT -5
There are plenty of good alternatives that handle car claims well. Two other good options are AAA (yes, they have auto insurance) and State Farm. Go ahead & shop around some more. I've carried car insurance with AAA and also sold it. I also had a claim with them. The rate was cheap enough but once I had the accident, my rate skyrocketed. I've also had customers have a claim/ticket and saw the same thing happen. We're talking 60%+ increases in rate. I wouldn't have AAA again. I did work for State Farm and their rates are good usually. They pay too much for your car at settlement time and have a good accident free discount. It gets bigger as you build up tenure and eventually it's pretty untouchable after you've been there for several years.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Apr 25, 2019 15:01:12 GMT -5
I've had two claims with Geico and I have no problem with them. Though a friend in town just got lower rates with Progressive so it might be time to re-price my insurance. I've had Geico for the last 2 years or so and have never had a rate increase. I've had ERS claims with them and they were great. It's only been 2 years though, so we'll see.
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justme
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Post by justme on Apr 25, 2019 15:05:24 GMT -5
I've had two claims with Geico and I have no problem with them. Though a friend in town just got lower rates with Progressive so it might be time to re-price my insurance. I've had Geico for the last 2 years or so and have never had a rate increase. I've had ERS claims with them and they were great. It's only been 2 years though, so we'll see. Lucky! My rates jumped after my first accident. Then I was accident free for 5 years so got their "forgiveness" and the rates went down but the second accident wasn't my fault (going to arbitration or whatever next month since the other 2 cars keep saying the other caused it ) so I still have and a couple windshield claims. But it's starting to get ridicuous again. $650 for 6 months on a 10 year old car with a driver in their 30s with the last ticket being over 8 years ago seems insane.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2019 15:21:18 GMT -5
I did call Allstate and they said because I have a $1M Umbrella policy with them, that I have to have certain coverages on auto to qualify. I asked if I canceled the Umbrella would my rates go down - answer no only if I chop by coverage in half would my price go down by 25% - nope that didn't make sense either. I told her Progressive will give me same coverages at the cheaper rate and she said she couldn't budge. Gave me some song and dance that as my car AGES my coverage gets more expensive and I lose discounts for new car, huh? First- Umbrellas are tricky. They "attach" (start paying) only after the underlying policies have been exhausted. The umbrella policy is priced assuming you have certain limits on your regular Auto and Homeowners policies so your coverage is seamless. It's typical, for example, for the Umbrella to attach after an Auto Liability claim exceeds $500K and then they'll pay $1 million on top of that. If you buy Auto liability limits of $50K you'll have no coverage on the portion of a claim between $50,000 and $500,000. So, yes, you have to maintain those coverage levels on Auto and Homeowners if you want to keep the Umbrella policy. Second- rates are regulated by the state. No amount of bargaining or threats to go elsewhere will get them to come down- they'd be in deep trouble with the regulators if they charged anything other than the approved rates. They can cut back or eliminate coverages but I agree with bean29 who said you should then run the quote by your Allstate agent. You need to know if the new quote is cutting something out that you'd want to keep. Finally- liability coverage makes up a big portion of your Auto insurance premium and that has nothing to do with theage of the car (or at least it didn't when I was in the business). It's driven by increases in the costs of auto liability claims including some crazy jury verdicts.
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hoops902
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Post by hoops902 on Apr 25, 2019 15:24:29 GMT -5
I did call Allstate and they said because I have a $1M Umbrella policy with them, that I have to have certain coverages on auto to qualify. I asked if I canceled the Umbrella would my rates go down - answer no only if I chop by coverage in half would my price go down by 25% - nope that didn't make sense either. I told her Progressive will give me same coverages at the cheaper rate and she said she couldn't budge. Gave me some song and dance that as my car AGES my coverage gets more expensive and I lose discounts for new car, huh? First- Umbrellas are tricky. They "attach" (start paying) only after the underlying policies have been exhausted. The umbrella policy is priced assuming you have certain limits on your regular Auto and Homeowners policies so your coverage is seamless. It's typical, for example, for the Umbrella to attach after an Auto Liability claim exceeds $500K and then they'll pay $1 million on top of that. If you buy Auto liability limits of $50K you'll have no coverage on the portion of a claim between $50,000 and $500,000. So, yes, you have to maintain those coverage levels on Auto and Homeowners if you want to keep the Umbrella policy. Second- rates are regulated by the state. No amount of bargaining or threats to go elsewhere will get them to come down- they'd be in deep trouble with the regulators if they charged anything other than the approved rates. They can cut back or eliminate coverages but I agree with bean29 who said you should then run the quote by your Allstate agent. You need to know if the new quote is cutting something out that you'd want to keep.Finally- liability coverage makes up a big portion of your Auto insurance premium and that has nothing to do with theage of the car (or at least it didn't when I was in the business). It's driven by increases in the costs of auto liability claims including some crazy jury verdicts. It's not going to make the underlying rate go down, but it's amazing how many approved "discounts" they suddenly realize you qualify for when you threaten to leave. Or how willing they are to structure things differently to make sure you qualify for those discounts which more than offset whatever gets added to your policy.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2019 16:12:58 GMT -5
There are plenty of good alternatives that handle car claims well. Two other good options are AAA (yes, they have auto insurance) and State Farm. Go ahead & shop around some more. I've carried car insurance with AAA and also sold it. I also had a claim with them. The rate was cheap enough but once I had the accident, my rate skyrocketed. I've also had customers have a claim/ticket and saw the same thing happen. We're talking 60%+ increases in rate. I wouldn't have AAA again. I did work for State Farm and their rates are good usually. They pay too much for your car at settlement time and have a good accident free discount. It gets bigger as you build up tenure and eventually it's pretty untouchable after you've been there for several years. I've been with State Farm a long time now. Probably longer than I've ever been with an insurance company...which is like 4-5 years for me. I don't usually have a problem with auto, but with homeowners other companies love to jack up on me from one year to the next for some reason. I think it's the whole farm thing. I had expected I was going to have to go shopping when I added two more cars and a teen driver, but they've been more than fair compared to what I hear others pay.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Apr 25, 2019 16:42:58 GMT -5
I am in the process of switching to Progressive. I am doing it through an agent who did the quote. Papers will be signed Monday.
Bundling Homeowner's, Auto and Umbrella is saving me just over $200 per year. Yes, there are discounts for bundling, paying in full, no accidents, etc. I had her increase the deductible from $500 to $1000, which is what I have now.
I gave up on State Farm probably 5, maybe 6 years ago now. Their rates had gotten ridiculously expensive.
The agent did try to sell me Animal Liability coverage of $500,000 (premium a little over $50). I have a cat, who was declawed when I adopted her. She doesn't go outside.
I could understand the coverage if I had large dogs, but for a 10 pound cat? No. Agent said I have to initial that I waived it. Fine, I am waiving it.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Apr 25, 2019 17:44:03 GMT -5
Every year, your rates should be going DOWN, as your car is getting older and not worth as much. Call them and ask for a better rate. You'll probably get it. That's not true. I don't know about Canada, but here in the states they charge for your car at MSRP and pay out at ACV. Car insurance rates may go down for various reasons, but not because your car is older. For a stock company, they aren't just going to lower your rate because you ask them to or threaten to leave. A broker can shop various companies and find you a better rate elsewhere if you ask, but a company that sells just one brand of insurance will not just lower the rate because you said so. My insurance went down every year because my car was older every year. They did lower my rate because I asked for it.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2019 17:55:26 GMT -5
I'm the odd ball here, but I've been with the same insurance company (ALFA, which used to be Alabama Farm Bureau but means something else now) for 45 years. I married into the "family" when I married the ex.
I thought you stayed with the same insurance company because they wouldn't drop you after a claim.
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wvugurl26
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Post by wvugurl26 on Apr 25, 2019 18:18:26 GMT -5
I switched to State Farm and got better rates for even more coverage when the previous company dropped me. I'd been insured by them since I had a license except for 2 awful years with Geico. My brother switched from AAA to State Farm at the same time I did. I was happy with them for 2 years.
I only left because my DH had all his stuff with USAA. And we are carrying double the amounts I had with State Farm which was way above minimums for cheaper.
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andi9899
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Post by andi9899 on Apr 25, 2019 19:04:26 GMT -5
That's not true. I don't know about Canada, but here in the states they charge for your car at MSRP and pay out at ACV. Car insurance rates may go down for various reasons, but not because your car is older. For a stock company, they aren't just going to lower your rate because you ask them to or threaten to leave. A broker can shop various companies and find you a better rate elsewhere if you ask, but a company that sells just one brand of insurance will not just lower the rate because you said so. My insurance went down every year because my car was older every year. They did lower my rate because I asked for it. We don't live in Canada. That doesn't fly here. And not that it matters, but I don't believe you. If rates went down every year and all people would have to do is ask and your rate would go down again, how could insurance companies stay in business? As someone well versed in insurance, I call BS. It doesn't make sense.
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on Apr 25, 2019 20:01:08 GMT -5
If you are eligible for USAA, you would probably be able to get better rates with them. I had procrastinated for years about changing insurance, but when USAA expanded eligibility to all veterans (not just active duty and retired), I switched and saved about 40%.
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weltschmerz
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Post by weltschmerz on Apr 25, 2019 20:58:56 GMT -5
My insurance went down every year because my car was older every year. They did lower my rate because I asked for it. We don't live in Canada. That doesn't fly here. And not that it matters, but I don't believe you. If rates went down every year and all people would have to do is ask and your rate would go down again, how could insurance companies stay in business? As someone well versed in insurance, I call BS. It doesn't make sense. Believe me, don't believe me....no skin off my nose.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 25, 2019 21:38:02 GMT -5
I thought you stayed with the same insurance company because they wouldn't drop you after a claim. I would think that if insurance decided you were too much of a risk to carry they wouldn't care how long you were with them. It's not like they really feel any loyalty to long time customers. It's all about the numbers. I've never been dropped after multiple claims even though I've never been with an insurance company more than 5 or 6 years. Auto Owners jacked my rates way up after a house claim so I just left for State Farm.
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countrygirl2
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Post by countrygirl2 on Apr 25, 2019 23:54:24 GMT -5
We have State Auto, 3 vehicles, motorhome, hubs 2006 Lincoln, my 2017 Silverado, $1290 full coverage, a year, not unhappy. We have 2 umbrellas, one under the LLC and one for personal, about $360 each. Other insurance is Erie our house, $961 replacement value currently $320k and Berkshire Hathaway for 6 rentals, flat amount of insurance per structure, $1830. State Auto Business, Intl 7100 and 2 trailers $700.
From what I've seen umbrellas are about the same with all ins companies.
Lot of insurance till something happens, then it will be welcome.
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tractor
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Post by tractor on Apr 26, 2019 7:02:38 GMT -5
It does vary from state to state, I live in Michigan and am very jealous of those of you out there with such low rates. I switched from State Farm to Farm Bureau a couple of years ago and saved some money, but my policy includes 7 cars, two houses and an umbrella liability policy. Crazy I know, but it’s they way my life is right now (darn kids 😐).
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