Progressive RV Insurance - Beware

[faye]

Originally Posted by coma

i'm also 35 year usaa member. When i was referred to progessive i was quoted ~$1500/year. Gmac quoted ~$500/year, who i went with. I got a hartford quote that was in the $1000/year range. This is all for comparable coverage. I spoke to usaa and told them progressive was out of line.

I know that the quality of an insurance company is determined by how it pays claims rather than how low its rates are, so we shall see about gmac.

I talked to a body shop manager that said progressive often requires non oem body parts when repairing cars, too. I am not surprised by this report on progressive.

who did you contact to get the gmac quote? Thanks

[tvman44]

Had Progressive on our 5er for 2 years and the rate went up drastically each year so I dumped them for State Farm who has our home, cars, truck and my former business. Never had a problem collecting on a claim in a prompt and professional manner with State Farm.

[rmmpe]

As always, to each their own.

[JimmyLeggett]

I had progressive. I now have GMAC but not sure about them either. I cancelled my progressive policy throught my insurance agent and three weeks later I recieved a check in the mail and it said NON-Payment of policy. that sucks.

[JimmyLeggett]

got my GMAC quote through Good Sam. Had USAA for my two cars but GMAC beat them too.

[rmmpe]

My wife is a former independent Agent and Underwriter and we have GMAC for everything.
Although fortunate in that we've had no claims, GMAC has proven to be very cooperative and prompt when making changes.

[JMonroe]

It's interesting to read two apparently diametrically opposed opinions of the same company (in virtually every thread that discusses insurance companies).

As many of you know, I worked for the State Farm auto claim department for over 30 years. In the years spent working as a claims adjuster I had the opportunity to work with representatives of most major insurance companies and some you would never of heard of outside a relatively small market area. The service you get, it seems to me, is dependent on the office or individual(s) assigned to work your claim. State Farm, if I do say so myself, is overall an outstanding company to handle your insurance needs, but with something like 70 to 80,000 employees (not counting the agency side), not all are equal. Mistakes are made and some have, shall we say, a better 'bedside manner' than others. After 20 plus years directly working claims you also get a feel for which companies, in general, are better to work with than others, but again, even the worst have a few good people working for them, it just takes more 'luck' to get assigned to one of those. The bigger problems always seemed to be with the national companies who's entire claim operation was located in one big office. I'd be working with people that had never been to Wisconsin (couldn't pronounce it correctly - it's an 'I', not an 'E' - Wisconsin), had never been in a Wisconsin court, were not exactly intimate with WI motor vehicle or tort law and wanted to apply practices and principles perhaps appropriate in their home venue, but that just don't fly here (a New York attitude, for example, is not generally received well here in the mid west). These days most companies are centralizing more and more, including State Farm. For now though, State farm claims are still handled within your region - if not from your home state, probably the one next door.

Its a changing world. Work ethic isn't what it used to be, nor is the sense of right vs wrong. Many in the population consider those 'evil' insurance companies fair game for either exaggerated or outright fraudulent claims and this creates a much higher level of skepticism among claim adjusters (and higher premiums) which can come across as not trusting you. It seems many that would never 'lie' to you to your face had no problem doing so over the phone (the majority of my claims were handled face to face, now a days most are done over the phone - a reality in the world of centralization and fierce competition based on cost).

Bottom line: Most major insurance companies got that way by doing something right, although as management turns over so can underwriting and clam handling expectations. When making a claim don't make it clear on your first contact that you expect to be cheated, that throws up a red flag to the adjuster (a common tactic of the con-man, accuse you first and loudest). Treat the guy trying to make his living by helping you as you would like to be treated. Cooperate as best you can and you're more likely to have a good experience.

[rmmpe]

Jay,

A very good post.

Also, an objective of any insurance company is to make you "Whole" in case of claim.
Not to make you prosper at their expense by compensating fraudulent claims.

[Doug Sage]

I think vehicle insurance is like Ford vs Chevy. People just have opinions and you can't convince them otherwise. I have had my cars and motorhome insured through Progressive for over 4 years now. During that time I have had two claims on the car and a replacement windshield on the motorhome. I can't be happier with the service that I received in each case! My rates are good, the claims are handled quickly and fairly and their service is top notch.

[TNMike]

"These days most companies are centralizing more and more, including State Farm. For now though, State farm claims are still handled within your region - if not from your home state, probably the one next door." I recently had a claim from some storm damage as did my Mom who lives next door to me. We both have been long time State Farm clients. My adjuster came from Florida and and hers from Missouri, and both worked for a different independent claims adjusting service. The only thing my local office did was call the catastrophe center (which I know now I could have called myself) and then the claims agent called our houses from wherever that is. Not saying this is bad or good, just noticed my local agent had very little to do with the claim unlike a few years ago.

[JMonroe]

Originally Posted by TNMike

... My adjuster came from Florida and and hers from Missouri, and both worked for a different independent claims adjusting service...

Catastrophies are a whole different animal. "Local" claim offices are staffed for the "normal" claims expected from the book of business in that area. While catastrophies are expected, planned and budgeted for, you never know what, where, when or how big. This has been a particularily bad year (and we're only half way through it). State Farm, and most of the nationally recognized insurance companies, maintain a travelling "storm team" that will go to you, where ever you are, when the need arizes. It's a tough life and while I don't want to imply that the sacrifices are anything measured up against our military, the time commitment away from home can be similar. When the number or intensitiy of the storms exceed what our in house teams can handle, we have contracts with outside vendors to help out. This is much more efficient than paying a few hundred to a few thousand people to do nothing in a slow year. These folks work for the outside vender but are usually supervised by someone from the company they are assisting.

I spent some 'quality time' in Texas a number of years ago, when our storm teams got overwhelmed by about the 3rd storm in as many months, in Texas alone. Loved San Antonio, but didn't have too much time to explore the area. Working storm duty your days are typically 12 to 15 hours long, at least six days a week (we didn't get our first day off until we'd been there at least three weeks).

[jojolou]

We have a different spin on Progressive insurance. Our motor home was broken into and vandalized to the tune of around $2500. The Progressive claims adjuster came out right after the sheriff left. He was very professional and gave us the option of getting repairs at a local independent RV repair shop or taking it to a dealer. We opted for the independent shop and all repairs were handled to our satisfaction. Now, I'll report back when I get my policy renewed in October and tell how much my rates have gone up or not.

[donandmax]

Originally Posted by rray32539

Reading all of this, I am seriously considering changing my coverage from Progressive to GEICO, who insures everything else I own.

The problem with GEICO is they give you a really low insurance policy it is great better than anyone .....for the 1st. year and then every yr(in my case twice a yr) it goes higher and higher until there is no difference between them and anyone else. But then they all do that scheme. An insurance co. is nothing more than a loan co. They "loan" you the money to get your vehicle fixed. Then they raise your rates until the "loan" is paid off and they all do that. After you pay for the "loan" they may lower your rate a little but then another 6 mos. or year up it goes again. I swear if the law didnt require it I would take the chance and go naked..

[LadyFitz...]

Originally Posted by donandmax

...I swear if the law didnt require it I would take the chance and go naked..

In many States, you can "go naked." However, you have to post a bond for the amount of liability coverage you are required to have.