insurance companies... which do you use?

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coralchopper

New member
Joined
Jan 4, 2015
Messages
4
Location
Anaheim, ca
Just picked up a 2015 Leaf and have been reading about the possible higher insurance rates.

Which insurance company do you use? Would love some help on getting a few suggestions on which ones to call for quotes.

Located in SoCal, with a good driving record.. if that makes a difference.

Thanks!
 
I am an insurance agent so you might think I am biased. But I can compare rates to over 50 companies. Mercury is far and away the 95% of the time has the lowest rates. And those can get even lower if you have a sharp agent that will show you how additional discounts will bring the price down even lower.
BTW, I just purchased(1-2-15) my first Nissan Leaf SL. Good luck. :D
 
Lowest rates do not equal best service or issues with claims or coverage when needed. There is a big difference between some providers when if comes time to actually use the insurance.
 
EVDRIVER said:
Lowest rates do not equal best service or issues with claims or coverage when needed. There is a big difference between some providers when if comes time to actually use the insurance.
I agree 100%. Fortunately Mercury is among the top 5 insurance companies in California. I cant speak for their service in other states they sell in.
That being said, NO company is bullet proof. If you go on the department of insurance website and review the record of all insurance companies, you will see what I mean. Further, the good one in so far as claims and service are all very close. The best may have 5 complaints out of 1000 and the 10th may have 10 out of 1000. Not really much difference to me. Don't quote me on these numbers, I am just giving an example.
Finally, let me speak re service. The agent is, in my mind, fully responsible for this and not the company. 99% of most complaints come back to the agents. There are many unscrupulous ones, like any business. Get referrals from co-workers/friends/family. I personally NO longer use full page ads in the phone book, etc., to promote my agency.
If the agent does his job honestly, truthfully and professionally, customers will never need to have a complaint against the company re a claim.
Thanks for bringing this issue up. Its critical. Lowest price point should not be the issue. Unfortunately, that's how most shop for insurance and everything else.
 
I use Esurance, but am not overly impressed with them. I was lured in with a low rate, which they have slowly raised as often as possible. The customer service at first was terrible. Now it's adequate.
 
I was using Allstate for everything, until they wanted to double my rates when I bought the Leaf. So, I dumped them and moved everything over to Geico. I'm paying about half what I used to. $50-$60 a month, I think, for the car.
 
piseas said:
I am an insurance agent so you might think I am biased. But I can compare rates to over 50 companies. Mercury is far and away the 95% of the time has the lowest rates. And those can get even lower if you have a sharp agent that will show you how additional discounts will bring the price down even lower.
BTW, I just purchased(1-2-15) my first Nissan Leaf SL. Good luck. :D
Thank you, piseas! (maybe...) I've had AAA (CSAA) for over a decade and whenever I've gotten suckered into calling Geiko, esurance or others who claim I could save money, they have inevitably fallen short. (Humorously, I have occasionally thought they beat it by $100 or so, only until I realize(d) that their quote is for 6 months and what they're beating is my annual rate!)

However, running through Mercury's online estimator just now, it looks like I may be able to save almost 40%, if I'm not missing something. I forget if I'm locked into a year with my current policy (can they do that?), but if not and a further call to Mercury confirms their coverages and quote, I may very well change in a matter of weeks. So there, Triple-A. (The other thing I don't like about CSAA is that you have to be a member and with roadside assistance built into the LEAF's lease, I don't need triple A's roadside assistance any more. That's $100 more per year that I'd save.)

Good luck with your new LEAF!
 
piseas said:
I am an insurance agent so you might think I am biased. But I can compare rates to over 50 companies. Mercury is far and away the 95% of the time has the lowest rates. And those can get even lower if you have a sharp agent that will show you how additional discounts will bring the price down even lower.
BTW, I just purchased(1-2-15) my first Nissan Leaf SL. Good luck. :D

I tried Mercury, they were more expensive than my current provider, Encompass, but not by much. I think if I packaged a home policy with them, it might be cheaper.

I'm still shopping for insurance to lower my cost. I'm paying close to $1900/year for two cars (my LEAF which is fully insured, and my gas car which is PLPD). I've got a good credit score and I'm not in a high-risk age group, and I have a clean record with no claims in the past several years. I used to have Geico and they were the cheapest. Then my second year, they jacked up my rates. Now I'm unable to find a reasonable deal.
 
I have been using esurance for the two years I've had my Leaf. I had Allstate before and despite being part of the same company, Allstate's rates were much higher....about 50% higher IIRC.

Customer service has been OK, not awesome but not terrible either. Allstate's wasn't any better to be honest even though I had a "personal" agent.

I considered going with Amica for 2015 but their rates were still about 15-20% higher than esurance's. That's still less than most other insurers I checked with.
 
We had Amica, but when I got the Leaf they wouldn't give us a two car discount because we aren't married. So we dropped them. They had better service but the quoted rate for the Leaf was too high.
 
mbender said:
However, running through Mercury's online estimator just now, it looks like I may be able to save almost 40%, if I'm not missing something. I forget if I'm locked into a year with my current policy (can they do that?), but if not and a further call to Mercury confirms their coverages and quote, I may very well change in a matter of weeks. So there, Triple-A. (The other thing I don't like about CSAA is that you have to be a member and with roadside assistance built into the LEAF's lease, I don't need triple A's roadside assistance any more. That's $100 more per year that I'd save.)

Good luck with your new LEAF!

You are not locked into a year policy and can change whenever you want, however the company will probably charge you a short term cancel fee which is $50 or less. You might call and ask them. Another way is if you make payments, don't make the next one. You will get a cancel notice with an expiration date. Just get new insurance by that date. This way you should avoid the cancel fee. The quote you probably did was on Mercury's site. They will send the quote to a nearby agent to contact you. If you have any doubts about that agent, hopefully not, then find one on your own by getting referral from family/friend, etc, if you can or look on Mercury's web site for local agents. Good luck and keep me posted.
Mercury also does give a 15% discount for multiple policies-auto and home- on each policy.
 
I will never use Mercury again after my experiences dealing with claims that weren't even my fault. Ditto with Geico.

I currently use Amica, shopped around and Geico (just to see if my Amica rates were competitive) was the only place that was cheaper by ~$100 for the year, all others were higher.

http://ratings.jdpower.com/insurance/ratings/909201799/2014-U.S.+Auto+Insurance+Study/index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Amica only shows up in New England but that's how I found out about them, I heard good things about Wawanesa as well.
 
coralchopper said:
Just picked up a 2015 Leaf and have been reading about the possible higher insurance rates.

Which insurance company do you use? Would love some help on getting a few suggestions on which ones to call for quotes.

Located in SoCal, with a good driving record.. if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

With a good drivers record, take a look at Wawanesa, great rates and great company.


Fred
 
coralchopper said:
Just picked up a 2015 Leaf and have been reading about the possible higher insurance rates.

Which insurance company do you use? Would love some help on getting a few suggestions on which ones to call for quotes.

Located in SoCal, with a good driving record.. if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

Howdy I'm in placentia right next to you and use Mercury. Friend of mine became an agent so i moved my insurance to them. Thats the only reason to support a friend. Price was a little less. few dollars
 
mgs333 said:
Amica only shows up in New England but that's how I found out about them, I heard good things about Wawanesa as well.

Amica is available here in California. As I said earlier I got a quote and almost went with them. I will check Wawanesa.
 
I changed from 21st Century to Ameriprise (Costco) after buying a Tesla and was very surprised at their rates...21st Century didn't cover Teslas 18 months ago...

3 cars, 2000 Honda Van (not used much), 2011 LEAF, and 2013 Tesla P85, full coverage...$650 for 6 months...Other quotes I received were in the $900 - $1,000 range for 6 months...

Liked it so much I changed my home insurance from AAA to Ameriprise and saved 35%.....
 
RonDawg said:
mgs333 said:
Amica only shows up in New England but that's how I found out about them, I heard good things about Wawanesa as well.

Amica is available here in California. As I said earlier I got a quote and almost went with them. I will check Wawanesa.

Yup, indeed as I'm on Amica here in Nor Cal. I was saying it only shows up in the New England ratings.
 
Wennfred said:
coralchopper said:
Just picked up a 2015 Leaf and have been reading about the possible higher insurance rates.

Which insurance company do you use? Would love some help on getting a few suggestions on which ones to call for quotes.

Located in SoCal, with a good driving record.. if that makes a difference.

Thanks!

With a good drivers record, take a look at Wawanesa, great rates and great company.


Fred
+1 what Fred said. We've had Wawanesa for over 25 yrs now--had one small claim, which was handled expertly and promptly.
 
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