Insurance Rates' Fates

Auto insurance is something motorists need or should have. Here in California it is required by law to have an active policy on your vehicle or one can face stiff penalties and possibly have their vehicle impounded if caught driving without insurance. As promised, I have shopped around for online quotes from some of the major insurers in the industry. All quotes were based with similar coverage levels (except as noted) and on the same vehicles with the same annual miles with drivers of equal terms on all quotes. Here are the results in alphabetical order:

Allstate: Navigating the web page was slower than its competitors. Allstate came out the second most expensive of the comparison, so I suppose their enticement of every 6 months one goes without an accident the insured will receive a discount is great, but if Allstate wants to attract new customers perhaps they should just keep the playing field level. 12-month quote = $2436

Auto Club: My current insurer. I admit there is a reason I am not only a member, but also love their insurance. I am even including my motorcycles in this quote to show how great their rates are. 12-month quote = $2368 (cars only quote = $1887)

Esurance: This company is known for their animated ads and is strictly an online insurer, no offices here in my neck of the woods at least. Their "quote, buy, print" slogan offers the maximum in convenience. As for rates, they came out in the middle of the pack. 12-month quote = $2252

GEICO: One would be willing to bet that with their celebrity-infused advertising campaign would make GEICO the priciest of the bunch. You would be incorrect in this assumption as they came out even cheaper than my current insurer, but not by much. 12-month quote = $1822



Mercury Insurance: Their think-low commercials create visual stimuli that are easy to remember. There is some truth to the campaign as Mercury resulted in the third lowest quote. 12-month quote = $1914

Progressive: Progressively more expensive than others is more like it! I even elected to see quotes from competitors, as their website allows you to do, and my quote was magically lowered for some reason. Deceiving to say the least... 12-month quote = $2452

Wawanesa Insurance: I shopped this company a few years back and decided to get a quote as a neighbor suggested, unfortunately the company doesn't believe in instant, online quotes so I am in a holding pattern. I am willing to bet, like the quote I got back a few years back, they will not beat my current insurer's quote. You see, as long as the car you drive says turbo or "GT", had more than one moving violation in the past 3 years, or drive a car that costs more than $80,000, it'll be tough to get a decent rate. Only one of the above applies and I didn't have to take a second mortgage on my house to finance it and I am a reasonably safe driver.

I didn't go much farther in my quest for cheaper insurance as I have heard horror stories about the other major companies. The results from above are surprising and affirms my original choice for insurer, hence I will be renewing my policy. Is the $60 I would save with GEICO worth making a switch you ask? Not exactly, because I received a separate quote for my motorcycles from GEICO and their rates were almost triple what I pay now with AAA. It pays to shop around!

DWD: 12, Miles: 676