The lowest auto insurance rates I've found
Written: Oct 09 '00
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Pros: Much cheaper even than GEICO. (At least for me... your rates may vary.)
Cons: Service can get bureaucratic if you need something changed.
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| dtobias's Full Review: AIG - American International Group - Auto |
A couple of years ago, I got a mailing from AIG promoting their auto insurance. This was done in conjunction with the Delta Airlines frequent flyer program, so I would receive some bonus miles just for sending in my information so they could provide me an insurance quote. At the time, I was using GEICO insurance, which advertises extensively about how much money they save people (and, in fact, GEICO was cheaper than the insurance company I had been using prior to them). Thus, I didn't really expect AIG to save me money, but I figured I'd request a quote anyway just to get the frequent flyer miles.
I was surprised to find that the AIG quote did indeed represent a significant savings over my previous insurance. At the time I lived in Louisiana, and had comprehensive and collision insurance required by the lienholder on my 1997 Nissan Maxima (which I'm still paying for), as well as the liability insurance required by state law. The GEICO insurance cost $942.10 for six months. The AIG quote was $495.00 for six months. This was quite a large savings. As a result, I immediately signed up with AIG, and on the first renewal six months later, their rate went down even more, to $451.00 for six months. This is less than half what I was paying with GEICO.
Subsequently, I moved to Florida, and AIG's rate went up when I switched states, because Florida is apparently a higher-cost insurance state (I don't know if that's because there are worse drivers here or because state laws force insurance companies to pay off more). But it still isn't that bad: my current rate is $589.00 for six months.
Fortunately, I have not been in an accident since signing up with AIG, so I don't know how well they handle claims. With their rates as low as they are, I pessimistically expect the worst of any customer service dealings, and in fact some of the other reviews here say that they're difficult to deal with. It makes sense that one of the ways they would cut costs would be to provide less in the way of service and support, which could be troublesome if you have any sort of problem. But I don't really have direct experiences to comment on in this area, with the exception of my experience changing states. To make my move, I had to get a lot of things changed with AIG, including switching to the proper state affiliate insurance company (they use different subsidiaries in different states to comply with various regulations), getting my address and phone number changed in their records, receiving the appropriate documents for my new coverage to allow me to complete my automobile registration in Florida, and changing my automated monthly payment to a new bank account. This required me to deal with several people in several departments at AIG, actually located in several different states. This was a bit of a bureaucratic hassle, and the different people involved weren't always "on the same page" as far as knowing my situation and what needed to be done both by them and by me to get everything settled. It took a number of phone calls, faxes, and documents sent back and forth by paper mail to get everything squared away, but ultimately it all was.
Fortunately, I haven't had to deal with their customer service ever since, since I have my account set up to automatically renew the policy every six months, and automatically deduct the payments monthly from my checking account. So it's all automatic and I don't have any hassles unless I move or get into an accident.
So far, I remain pleased with this company due to their very low rates, and I'm willing to accept a few bureaucratic hassles for things like state-to-state moves. As I have not had an accident, I can't comment on their level of support and service in that area.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
dtobias
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 - Top 1000 |
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Member: Daniel Tobias
Location: Boca Raton, FL
Reviews written: 168
Trusted by: 97 members
About Me:
A programmer and Internet developer who's been a "computer geek" for over 20 years now.
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