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objectimpermanence t1_j1kg0eq wrote

Reply to comment by Jahooodie in Should we sell our car? by hourlongflyer

I don’t think this is always the case.

I went 3 years without a car and without auto insurance. When I got a car again, I ended up with a pretty reasonable insurance premium.

But I did have to shop around. My previous insurer was State Farm and their quote was significantly higher than what Geico quoted me for the same level of coverage.

Also important to note that rates vary by address/zip code. JC has higher than average insurance rates, so if you live in a different area than you did when you last had a car then that might explain some of the sticker shock.

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Jahooodie t1_j1kzsu8 wrote

Nope, for me this was JC zip code to the same JC zip code.

Also insurance rates have games, so to your point anything like this isn't universal advice. But it's good to know it's part of the game in case

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pixel_of_moral_decay t1_j1m13ir wrote

Geico is cheaper because it’s a big step down in insurance. It’s what you get to meet the legal requirements. State Farm is a big step up. There’s more than a chance in hell State Farm may pay out if necessary.

Nothing wrong with Geico. For some people that’s exactly what they want/need. But even if the amounts on the policy are the same, it’s not the same product.

Same with State Farm vs one of the mutual companies like NJM, MET Life, Amica. You get what you pay for. Those are policies for people who expect to get paid out when they have an insurable event.

Comparing policies purely by coverage amounts is like ordering food by total calories. You’re ignoring a lot of the details.

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objectimpermanence t1_j1ngyfg wrote

That’s what I thought too. But my wheels got stolen a month or two after I bought the car and it ended up being close to a $10k claim because of the damage the thieves caused in the process.

I sent the car to the body shop of my choosing and got all OEM replacement parts. I didn’t have any trouble getting Geico to pay out the claim and they didn’t hike my rates after that. So my experience with them has been OK so far.

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