Progressive insurance slight-of-hand

[propsail]

So, I have Progressive for my other cars and called to have the '94 RT added to the policy. "No problem," they say. I want to insure it for the stated value. "No problem," they say. I ask them to send me not only the new ID card, but the policy so I can see in writing that the car is insured for the stated value. Again, "no problem," they say.

I get the policy in the mail and next to the stated value is a little asterisk. Hmmm. What's this? I look through page after page and find another asterisk. Next to it, the sentence reads: "In the event of a total loss, we will pay the LESSER of the stated value or the book value ("book" wasn't the term, but I can't think of it off the top of my head). So, I call up Progressive and I'm told they they have to write it that way. "Just gives us an appraisal, and you'll get the stated value," she says. I tell her to change the language since it specifically says that I get the lesser amount. "Sorry, can't do it," she says. I never would have known any of this if I just got a new ID card and did not read the policy.

End result: Hagerty's been great so far.
~Craig

 

[DodgeViper01]

Progressive is a little weird and seem to charge quite a bit. Only with them until next term.

 

[viprvenm]

Dump Progressive


Everday here at Progressice we do something... well...

We RIP people off! We give you the rates of other competitors and take more of your hard earned money than they do.

Call today and sign with Progressive.

State Farm here. Great coverage & fair rates!

 

[Tiepilot]

Progerssive was ALWAYS a sub-Standard Insurer when I wrote insurance. They always squirmed out of paying claims back then. I would not trust them at all.

 

[ultra88]

BEEN WITH STATEFARM FOR 20 YRS. THERE IS NO BETTER.
BEING A BODY SHOP OWNER FOR 25 YRS, I HAVE DEALT WITH THEM ALL AT ONE TIME OR ANOTHER....THEY ALL ****. YOU MAY THINK YOU ARE SAVING ON YOUR MONTHLY PREMIUMS, BUT JUST WAIT TILL SOMETHING BAD HAPPENS...THEN SEE WHO SAVES.....IT WILL BE THEM I PROMISE YOU. GIECO/PROGRESSIVE/FARMERS/ AND SOME ALLSTATE .....BAD NEWS!
SPEND THE EXTRA...GO STATEFARM!

 

[viprvenm]

State Farm is cheaper than Progressive for me.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

I had to deal with Progressive when I was involved in an accident with one of their insured (before my Viper owner days). They are the worst insurance company ever. Long story short--their insured was moving some furniture and didnt tie it down. furniture falls off truck 1 night, i hit furniture. Their insured refused to answer Progressive's phone calls, written letters, etc. Progressive tells me that cant authorize my car to be repaired until they talk to their insured b/c if he was at work, they dont have to pay. After about 2 weeks of getting nowhere, I told the Progressive adjuster to go jump off a cliff, hung up the phone, called Geico (my ins. co), had a check from Geico in 2 days and they sued Progressive to recover.

 

[RainMaker]

I didn't have any luck with progressive, their quotes were sky high. In fact the only insurer that I found was reasonable was Hagerty. However, I jeapordize the policy if I drove the Viper more than a stated amount of miles. I planned on using the Viper daily and ended up with AAA. They are pretty lousy too, but I needed insurance.

 

[Randy]

State Farm for 15 years, and they've always come through without *any* hassle when I needed them. They paid off what the current local market value of my '95 RT/10 (and perhaps more than I could have sold it for at the time), then gave me extra for the new clutch, $3k for "low mileage" (I guess 72,000 miles *is* low mileage for any other 8-year old car), and had no problem with me stripping my add-on's back off, etc, then also added tax, tag, and title fees.

 

[JUCD VPR]

Yah i have State Farm also. Pretty good rates.

 

[Brian 95 RT]

I had a bad experience with Progressive too. One claim in my entire life up to that point, and I felt like I was being interrogated by the FBI! They paid only half the damage, so I switched to AAA. I had a claim with AAA last year, they paid everything and asked no questions.

 

[revived_gearhead]

Nationwide for over twenty years! My Viper insurance is cheaper than my Harley insurance. Had a couple of claims over the years and Nationwide actually took care of all issues before I had a chance to ask any questions.

 

[A1998]

OK Fellow Viper Owners, a little history lesson here. I've been in the Insurance business 30 years. Any one can tell you horror stories of their own company be it State Farm, Progressive, Nationwide, Etc. The key element here that you hit on is STATED VALUE! Which by definition is: (The current value LESS depreciation.) AND it's up to YOU, not the insurance company to proove the value of your car. Most can do a pretty good job by keeping all the receipts, pictures, current market values, etc. BUT if you can't the inusrance company will take full advantage of you (Unless you get a half way decent adjuster)

What's the best answer: Get yourself a policy that has an AGREED VALUE definition in the policy. You AND the company agree right up front what the value of your car is. That way when you have a claim, NO HASSLES!! Who sells these policies?? Places like Hagerty, Grundy, American Classic, ETC. I am not pushing any of these companies on anyone. Just trying to explain the difference between the two polices to you. Progressive and State Farm probably have the same STATED VALUE policy, the point here was someone kept better records than the next guy or the adjuster was a lot more forgiving than the other. Hope this helps!

A1998

 

[Purdue_Boiler_Viper]

Good insight A1998. Thanks.

 

[propsail]

That's good to know since I thought the two terms were interchangeable. Glad I have Hagerty's now, but my point was that even if I had the "stated value," as I asked for with Progressive, they still wrote the policy in a way that they would pay the LESSER amount between the stated and book value, and they did this without telling me. At the time I added the car to the policy under stated value, they never once mentioned this or that I needed an appraisal or receipts, pictures, etc....and that's unacceptable.
~Craig

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Why don't you guys use common sense. How often do you get junk mail from Nationwide/State Farm/Allstate. I never do but Geico and Progressive send me crap twice a week!! This is just like infomercials if the product can't sell on its own bother the crap out of people with crappy offers and promises.

 

[viprvenm]

Why don't you guys use common sense. How often do you get junk mail from Nationwide/State Farm/Allstate. I never do but Geico and Progressive send me crap twice a week!!

Never gotten junk mail from anyone but Geico... called them and they were higher than State Farm. I said... no thank you and told them why.
viprvenm

 

[ViperJohn]

Had State farm since I was 16, kept them until I bought my Viper. I switched to Progressive and I now pay the same amount insuring 4 cars with Progressive instead of 3 with State Farm. That's how screwed up State Farms rates are in our area.

My policy premium has not gone up even 1 cent in three years, as a matter of fact, my policy went down 20 or 30 bucks.

My ex State Farm agent has called me like clock work every 6 months to try to get my business back. His rate is nowhere near Progressive.

And I have never gotten any junk mail from Progressive, however I get something from GEICO about once a month. This probably has more to do with where each company has targeted its marketing efforts.

 

[94RT10Ohio]

I had Progressive, way back when I was driving a Formula in college. They were the cheapest at that time. But.... As time went by, rates would go up. Every 6 months. I am not talking $10, much more. Well after about 3 years I decided to log into their "great" website and quote insurance under the name John Doe. Used the same cars, coverages and of course my stats. Well the price was MUCH lower. I called and told them I wanted this rate or at least something close to it. They said no. I said goodbye. Now with State Farm and my rates have done nothing but fall with them. I ended up getting money out of a class action lawsuit as Progressive was breaking some kind of law. What law I have no idea, I just joined up for the cash. But I am sure it had to do with their cut rates to lure people in then raising the rates without cause.

Do a google for Progressive and class action lawsuit, you will be surprised at the results, well maybe....

 

[ViperRay]

A question for you State Farm folks... how many of you have your homes also insured with them?

BTW, for those of you who are "agreed value" insured, I'm sure you know that these cars have limited use with these policies so make sure you have read every word of your contracts... there are trade-offs. Great and inexpensive insurance if you use your viper for a "Sunday drive" or car show.

 

[94RT10Ohio]

State Farm. Home and 3 cars. Viper and truck limited driving. Viper is $270 for 6 months, truck $260. 33, clean record, NW Ohio. 250/500 deduct. I would have to pull my policy to get the amount of the coverages, but it is enough.

 

[ACR steve]

Thats why you need a good agent not some stupid company employee that cares less about you and your poor Viper ....... just my 2cents

 

[WICKDXS]

State Farm for 31 years, several claims, never a problem. They also insure my home and life. I would have them for my business as well but they don't write for my field... that kinda $uck$. Get to know your agent, take them for a ride you will never have a problem with value after.

 

[CitySnake]

Thats why you need a good agent not some stupid company employee that cares less about you and your poor Viper ....... just my 2cents

You'll be getting my numbers this week Steve!

Hard to beat a fellow club member (nice guy too I might add) that's a professional in the business.

My 2 cents suggests that much of this discussion is irrelevant when comparing insurance between states and driver types. Living in NYS (NYC for that matter) half of the companies mentioned in this thread will NOT even write a Viper! The difference in premiums of the few that do is remarkable. 3 and 4 times the annal premium cost from one company to another. I use GEICO and they're very reasonable (for NYS). Of course, after my consultation with Steve, things might change.

 

[joe117]

Allstate for over 40 years.
Cars, house, boats no problems.

Some claims over the years. No problems.

 

[ViperRay]

The point I am making about having one's home with State Farm in addition to autos is that they want it that way and reward you for allowing them to insure your home as well.

Try to get a good deal with them to insure your car(s) only and see what they say.
I have no probelm with that, just letting the prospective insured know the facts in my experience.

 

[Whoaa GTS]

12 policies with SF. Been with them over 30 yrs. Have moved 4 times to 3 different states and always great service. Claims are never a problem, and very personable agents to handle claims & questions day or night. Two snakes and 4 other cars under SF, very reasonable (lower than any other co).

 

[foolinjected]

State Farm has been great to me. i had 3 claims in 1 month wrecked bike, damaged truck in wind storm, got t-boned in H1. no rate increase. more than helpful, no bull.

 

[BOGOTA]

I have Geico and State Farm. 2 cars with each. Seems like it was cheaper to do it this way. Both companies are fair but NYC is expensive no matter what.