DISRECOMMEND American Family

[edj]

Not a shop but a company with a service we are required by law to have...

I've been American Family customer since I bought my RG500 in 1989. By now 2011 I have 6 motorcycles insured with them. 2 Cars. Life Insurance AND Home Insurance for over 10 years.

I have made 3 claims in 22 years for bikes ... 1990, 1998 and ... last summer I crashed TZR250 due to mechanical failure (front sprocket came off). I made a $2100 claim and the adjuster thought that was low and said the bike was worth more than I was estimating. No fault. No cops. Low claim according to adjuster who said just dropping a new harley can cost over $10K.

In December they decided to raise my CAR insurance rates by $80/month due to only that $2100 claim. I only pay $90/year to insure that TZR so I guess they figured they couldn't add enough.

NOW they send me a letter saying they are TERMINATING my CAR insurance due to ... ready for my list of crimes... hold your breath...
10/27/2009 Speeding 10-19 over
12/18/2009 Defective Vehicle (license plate light out on car)
6/16/2010 Speeding 10-19 over
and of course the whopping $2100 payout

When I signed up with them in 1989 I had a MUCH worse driving record... with 100+ over speed limit on record and loss of drivers license. I've had like 5 tickets in last 5 years. No car accidents. No car claims ever. The bean counters there must be retarded... they are going to lose insurance premiums on HOUSE + LIFE + 6 BIKES and 2 CARS ... I give them well over $2100 every year.

So DO NOT CONSIDER American Family Insurance and if you have them ESCAPE before you need them. Now if only I knew where to go...

[Mother Goose]

Damn. I went through an insurance broker and got some kick ass coverage for little money. Kristin and I are paying about $180ish/month for renter's insurance, full coverage on her Subaru and the R1, and liability on my Subaru.

[edj]

Damn. I went through an insurance broker and got some kick ass coverage for little money. Kristin and I are paying about $180ish/month for renter's insurance, full coverage on her Subaru and the R1, and liability on my Subaru.

Care to share his name/contact info? You could send private message if you don't want to on forum. oh and how do you know the coverage is kickass? Have you needed it? I thought my coverage was kickass for 20 years...

[Fernman]

wow, well, I know where not to go, I hear that fkn Lizard is nuts too...

[edj]

I'm def avoiding Geiko... I've heard they fund photoradar in cities and then use the tickets generated as an excuse to raise rates.

Any opinions on Allstate? Do they play evil games? State Farm? Anybody else I should consider or avoid?

I want to make a choice that lasts for life and not get dropped should I get a hair-raising ticket (RG500 is serious ticket maker) or make a claim.

[edj]

Well at least my agent is on my side... she just called and can't believe they are doing this and thinks it must be a 'glitch' in the system. I told her that $80 extra per month better be a glitch too... or it would be cheaper for me to just pay for damages with bank loan and not have full coverage. She says she will do everything she can for me... so maybe there is still hope.

Still a pretty evil 'glitch'. So my discrecommendation stands.

[Vellos]

A guy with Allstate crashed his bike bike and it was totaled, took about two years for them to pay up so I stay away from them. I have State Farm and no problems so far. My car got vandalized by some $&*@ back in WA and they paid well over $2500 in comprehensive coverages without raising my rates. And I had about 3 tickets (15-25 over) which they didn't pick up on.

[CaneZach]

I have State Farm and I've had no issues with them. Granted, I haven't had a claim or ticket in years, but if they treat me right, I'll keep them around. I had Geico, but left them when they raised my rates for absolutely no reason. They said it was a "general, statewide rate increase". I said goodbye.

[edj]

You won't know they will treat you right until you actually USE them... but State Farm seems to get the most recommends (including the posts in response to my rant some months ago when they raised my rates $80/month for a $90/year motorcycle just because of a LOW payout). Glad to hear the bit about allstate... 2 years is absurd... at least AmFam only took a week to pay the claim. I was singing their praises back then...

[Vellos]

My parents have made plenty of claims with State Farm (mostly because my brother is a shit driver). Overall things went well, a couple times they tried to raise rates without good reason but my dad just yelled at them and they backed down.

[JonnyD]

A guy with Allstate crashed his bike bike and it was totaled, took about two years for them to pay up so I stay away from them. I have State Farm and no problems so far. My car got vandalized by some $&*@ back in WA and they paid well over $2500 in comprehensive coverages without raising my rates. And I had about 3 tickets (15-25 over) which they didn't pick up on.

I've got allstate, hit a deer last season, totaled my bike. Allstate was amazing - rates didn't hike or anything. With Condo insurance, liability on the truck, full on the bike, I'm about $175/mo. And I have a laundry list of tickets. If you're at 1 or below you get the best rate with them. I'd highly recommend them!

State farm was the one that screwed me sideways. And don't ever mention the SCCA to anyone at progressive - unless you're calling for a quote and want a good laugh as they try and hang up on you for mentioning it!

[cbrjohnny]

its all a scam...

[Matty]

used to be a rep for State Farm.... and still use them for all my vehicle insurance needs.

[Captain Obvious]

I had state farm for over a decade. Rates (including motorcycle) were better that Allstate and we never had any issues, but no claims.

Recently moved to USAA since they saved some money for all lines of insurance and can do my banking with them.

[Jim_Vess]

I have AllState on my car and house. The rates are great and service was awesome when I've had to file a claim.

Unfortunately, they can't touch Progressive when it comes to insurance on my bikes. AllState wanted $200/year than Progresive to cover the bikes. The one time I had to file a claim with Progressive, they were quick and hassle-free. And, since it was the other person's fault, they went after her insurance company so I didn't have to deal with it.

Based on my experience, I'd recommend either one of them.

[Vellos]

And, since it was the other person's fault, they went after her insurance company so I didn't have to deal with it.

Winning.

[CaptGoodvibes]

We have Farmers. 2 cars and motorcycle full coverage(100/300), renters 50k coverage 300k liability, and life for me(25k)... $196/mo. Everything is in my name and Sweetie Pie is listed as an additional driver on both cars.

[Wrider]

I can tell you from personal experience that both Geico and USAA will do their best to screw you out of ANY sort of payment. My sister got hit in October of last year, we're expecting the check to repair the bike anytime this or next week from Geico.

[CaneZach]

I loved it when USAA covered bikes. Back in 05 or so, they insured my GSXR750 for around $400 a year for full coverage. A short time later, they had Progressive handling their bike insurance and they wanted about triple what USAA had been charging.

[FZRguy]

I have Geico and have had two claims with no issues. My Jeep runs $261 per year, and three motorcycles are $259 per year.

[BushyAR15]

We used to have Liberty Mutual for over 16 years. They were very good with the couple claims we had. But when I bought my STI and wanted to add it to the policy they were going to charge me 1600 bucks a year! Thats more than my Audi TT, SUV, and sedan combined. And my driving record has been ticket-free for years.

I went with Geico and for all my cars, its only 762.00 bucks a year...

[Sarge]

You guys must be really old, or I'm just really young or something... I can't find bike insurance (Full Coverage) for less than $800 a year through Dairyland, Progressive for USAA Members wanted to charge me like $2800 a year, State Farm was the other lowest, but still really high, like $130 a month, and I pay something like $1400 for six months through USAA for my wife's 2005 Neon and my 2007 Frontier for full coverage. That's almost $4000 a year and the rest of you are complaining about hundreds, lol. Also, I have zero accidents and tickets in the last 3+ years.

[FZRguy]

One of the many benefits of FOGdom, Grasshopper.

[CaneZach]

One of the many benefits of FOGdom, Grasshopper.

I'm not a FOG yet, but being over 30 helps me substantially!