vp911

I would like to know what insurance company everybody has to insure their cars? After the accident with the TL I am strongly considering a change. My agent is possibly the best guy in the world to deal with. Patient, promptly responds to all questions. On the other hand, the claims process is a royal pain in the ass. I had to fight for about a month to get the money for the totaled car. Then now the medical portion of the claim is terrible. The claims rep only started returning my calls after I went to her supervisor. I get letters in the mail from them everyday saying they are not paying the medical bills (they are secondary for medical claims - after my primary insurance).

They don't offer any under insured protection (I didn't even know there was such a thing until after the accident) - and in this case it may have come in handy.

For those of you who don't know what happened - another drive hit my TL (https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=116869 - page three for the pictures). Well, since then my back and neck has not been in the greatest shape. Granted, I can walk, talk, etc, but my back hurt like all holy hell. Personally - I love to go running, it lets me clear my head and well get in a little excersize - and I can't do that anymore. My arms and legs go numb at times - and I will drop whatever I am holding. More recently, my left leg has a constant tingling feeling - like a cell phone is vibratingin my pocket. The doctor has refused to give me the results of the EMG test (not the insurance companies fault, I am aware).

Three months after the accident I haven't been diagnosed, and I am fighting with the insurance company to pay just medical bills. Now, at first I had fought with people over in the TL forum and with friends and family - I said I was not going to file any sort of lawsuit becuase it just isn't my style. I was still under the impression that the problems would jut go away after a few weeks - or a month at the most. But, now three months later with possibly nerve damage (pinched nerve maybe) maybe a disc problem - not really sure - I am now considering retaining an attorney to deal with the medical claim as well as possibly a lawsuit.

Anybody have any thoughts or suggestions? Again, I am also looking to change the insurance company. I havn't had to deal with a claim before - so I am not sure how everything works - or if this is how all companies work - but it would be nice to have underinsured in this case as I am sure the other driver didn't have much of a policy.

Karl_in_Chicago

I've been with State Farm for about 30 years now. They've always treated me great. I've always been tempted to go to USAA but SF has just always been so good I could never justify the switch.

Raddoc

Geico Rochester NY
37 Y/o Married no accidents or tickets
Premium

2005 ACURA RL - xxxxxxxxxxxC011738
BODILY INJURY LIABILITY $300,000/$300,000 N/A $35.00
PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY $100,000 N/A $33.80
BASIC PERSONAL INJURY PROTECTION Basic Non-Deductible N/A $15.10
SUPPLEMENTARY UNINSURED MOTORIST $25,000/$50,000 N/A $5.80
COMPREHENSIVE N/A $500 DED. WITH FULL GLASS $50.90
COLLISION N/A $500 DED. $138.60
EMERGENCY ROAD SERVICE N/A NON-DEDUCTIBLE $4.60
Vehicle Total: $283.80 / 6 Months

melly

vik-

i use state farm - i cant comment on the medical. but they kind of piss me off. i haved had both two/three cars insured, as well as a house for twenty years. for fiteen years i never had a claim except two or three windshields. over the past 5 years my wife has had two incidents. 1. she backed into a small car in a parking lot - had a claim of about $1k. then last winter her SUV slid on ice in a parking lot and hit a pilon going <2 mph. small scratches. out rep told us that the premiums would significanly increase if we made a claim. we endied up partially fixing the s.o.b. when i think of the money that i have given state farm over the years and how quick they are to raise premiums......it sucks

sorry about your neck/back.i will pm you.

mark

vp911

Thanks for the info guys. I will have to look at all the ins companies again.

medrxman

It AIN'T like the old days anymore. Your longevity with a company will not help you if you have in excess of 2 claims in 2 years.

My personal feelings are to be willing to absorb the 1st. $1000 of any incident to avoid a claim to the insurance company. Why, well lets say you make a windshield claim then in the same year have a small fender bender. Now the next year another small fender bender. Result an increase in premium..How long..3 years.. increase in premium will more than likely be in excess of $ 500.

Now increase your deductible to $ 1000 and watch your premium decrease in excess of $600. Stay claim free for 2 years and you are ahead of the game.

This of course is my personal situation.

Rich in NC

Same story here for over 40 years. State Farm has been great.

DCRL

vp911, first of all, I wish you the very best and hope you have resolution to your problems quickly. But second, is your insurance company a national firm? And if so, which company?

vp911

Thank you. Yes, I have AAA.

Karl_in_Chicago

Well my own personal situation has been quite different. I filed 2 claims in one month as documented here and here. No rate hikes, no hassles, all with my $250 deductible. A couple years before that I was visiting my sister in Atlanta 'burbs when an icestorm hit and a tree branch landed on my 'vette's windshield. For glass claims State Farm redirects you to a reinsurer. After contacting them they showed 2 different pre-authorized glass shops, one of which was maybe 8 miles from my sister's house. When push came to shove - even though they were pre-authorized - the reinsurer balked at the price tag ($2,500). I told the glass company to just do it and I'd pay them myself (it's Xmas holidays and I'm 1K miles from home) and take it up with State Farm when I returned. Sure enough, once I got back and talked to my agent and told them what happened they had me a check within the week AND didn't even have me pay the deductible due to the inconvenience.

So in my experience the claim volume/frequency issue has been a non-starter. Just another person's own personal experience.

Rich in NC

At the risk of appearing to be a human mirror I have had very similar experiences with State Farm. Hail damage and then a flying muffeler. Both handled very quickly. In fact I used a pre selected body shop with an excellent reputation for both cars. They got the approvals and the only paperwork I saw was when they handed me the keys. Rates have declined as I have gotten older and lived in lower density areas.

vp911

Several of you mentioned state farm. I would love to switch - but was just quoted 6k per year (I pay just under 3k right now with AAA). I suppose I won't be changing!

Karl_in_Chicago

Can't say I blame you. Wow, between the 'vette and the RL I pay less than 3K/year and I have a 606nn zip code (City of Chicago).

vp911

Must be my age. They said it will drop next year. State Farm also said even though the accident was not at fault that I have a 70% surcharge for the accident.

vp911

bump to hear what insurance company and rates others are getting.

lflorack

Nationwide. They have been my insurer since I started driving in 1967. Until I got the RL, I had a '04 TL and my wife has a 2002 CRV. Those two cars ran me $1840/year. I still don't know how much the RL will add yet. Service has always been excellent.

vp911

Have you ever had any accidents while having nationwide? How do they do then?

acurafox

Vik, I also have AAA here in California, but I believe it is separate from the other AAA insurance groups in the rest of the US. They have been okay (best rates in SoCal at this point for me), but we have not had the extent of caims that you have had recently, so I'm nt sure my experience is very relevant. I don't bother with medical insurance thru the auto club-I have a good health insurance policy thru my employer, which has zero deductible, and nobody but my wife and kids are usually in the car with me, so it would be redundant coverage for me. My 21 y.o son has Mercury, which is pretty good-he was t boned in an intersection and they were pretty speedy processing the claim and did not give him any hassles (I did help him a bit to make sure he get the appropriate level of attention). I had State Farm beginning with my first car, but when I moved to Cali the rates were significantly higher than the others, so I switched. I'm not sure ANY of the companies are that much better than any others these days-the service seems to be more related to the person or supervisor you get that handles the claim than anything else, which is independent of the company itself. If you are still having medical problems and they are refusing to cover it, you might want to chat with a lawyer to see what options you have-sometimes the threat of a big stick can get their attention. Good luck with your battle.

vicneo

State farm sucks
a couple of small claims and they drop you like a hot potatoe
i have farmers

stingerbtry

I've had USAA for about 13 years now and they've always been great. I have max coverage on everything and $500 deductibles and for 2 cars and home owners it runs me ~$700 every 6 months. I've even tried shopping around at some point a couple of years ago and State Farm, Geico, Nationwide and all the big names were wanting to charge double what I pay for the same coverage or less. There's no way I would switch and if you qualify for USAA I would defintely recommend checking into it. I got hit head on about 8 years ago and my wife and I both ended up having neck and back issues and using our full $5000 each medical bill coverage and my rates never moved. Since then we've made a couple of small claims here and there and still nothing. They're always super fast to deal with and I have nothing to complain about.

vp911

I just checked USAA and unfortunately I cannot get their insurance.

jftjr

Unfortunately, insurance companies all pretty well suck when it comes to getting claims paid, especially from a personal injury perspective.

I would, however, recommend consulting an attorney. Not only will a good PI attorney be able to pursue a claim against the other driver, but they can go to bat with your claims adjuster to get you all you're entitled to from your policy.

If you don't know someone whom you trust, I would recommend calling the bar association in your state for a referral -- whoever has the biggest ad in the phone book is not the way to go.

TXXXX

AllState for 6 years, Now Allied.

vp911

They have actually finally begun paying out. We can't go other the other driver or their policy in michigan - it is a no-fault state. At least that is what was explained to me. I should probably read the law fully though.

vp911

Did you switch for any reason?

rirl

Try AMICA. They are very personable and easy to do business with. They have a toll free number 1-800-24-AMICA. Their rates are very good.

lflorack

When I first stared driving, I had two accidents that were my fault (inexperience mostly) before I was 25. Since I was in the risk pool already (as an under 25 y/o driver) my rates went up for a year or so and then they went down when I got married and again when I was 25. Since then, I've had a few accidents -- none of which were my fault. In NY, we have "no-fault" but the insurance companies still look at % of fault in each incident. In all but one of the cases (see exception below), I've been at 0% of fault. I've also had some tickets -- mostly speeding. They have been fairly well spaced apart -- which is important because I don't think that Nationwide looks at them until you get over a low threshold of "points" on your license in a certain time span. Anyway, I'm classified as a safe driver and get the associated rates.

Back to "no fault" -- in the accidents I've been involved in, I obtained an estimate and then called Nationwide to get the money for the repair. Nationwide then went after the other driver''s insurance company to get the money since it was determined to be 100% their fault -- except in the latest accident. In reality, it was 100% the other driver's fault in this case too but since there was no witnesses, the cost of repairing my car was paid for by Nationwide. (She came into my lane and hit my side from the driver's side door to the rear fender with the left front fenderwell of her SUV. She never looked before pulling over; didn't see me and didn't even know she hit anything. I had to chase and flag her down to get her to stop.) Even though Nationwide had to pay my repair bill (paint only ~$800, they assigned most of the blame to her so it wasn't considered to be a chargeable accident for me -- and therefore ther was no rate change.

So, although I don't think they're the cheapest, they've always been in the bottom third of insurance companies as far as costs are concerned and they've always been good to me.

stokdgs

No problems with either carrier, got hit by a drunk idiot carrying kids in his car several years ago, he had Farmers and they paid through the nose to fix my BMW. Nothing happened to my rates at USAA.
Vik, I hope you are looking to see an Orthopedic Doctor and soonest, get an MRI of your body, so the Doctor can determine if you have internal injuries. I can tell you from personal experience that if you dont tend to these things early on, it only gets worse later on, and may become permanent. I am sorry to hear what happened to you through all this. I hope you can get some relief physically and monetarily soon as possible. It helps to find out who the decision makers are for the company you are having problems with, and try to communicate with them when you are not getting your needs met. I know you know all this, Im just thinkig out loud.. Take care, hope it gets better. We will all keep you and yours in our prayers.. DanF

lflorack

Edit:

"....with the left front fenderwell of her SUV"

Should say, "....with the right front fenderwell of her SUV

jftjr

"If you have a legal problem and don't have a lawyer, the answer is just a telephone call away. The State Bar of Michigan LRIS is here to help you. Just dial 800-968-0738 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday to speak to a Lawyer Referral Associate."

-- from www.michbar.org


disclaimer: Yeah, I'm a lawyer, although not in Michigan and I don't do personal injury.

AcuraJim

I have tried a handfull of Insurance Companies over the last 10 years. Although I have no accidents to report (knock on wood!), AllState seems to be working fine at this time

2005 RL
2005 X3

$2200.00 per year

headersplus

I have Allstate now - switching to Farmers next week to save some dinero (w/Homeowner's discount).

Allstate $1,200 per 12 months - Auto
Farmers $1,180 per 12 months - Auto


Haven't had to file any claims while with Allstate for the last 2 yrs (knock on wood).

Before that I had AAA. The premium went thru the roof when I bought my '01 CL Type S two yrs ago. The premium was ok when I had the Integra w/AAA from 2000 - 2004.

TXXXX

House insurance was getting too high w/Allstate.

vp911

Everybody, thanks for your responses.

stokdgs - I have been seeing multiple doctors for the numbness as well as the back pain. I have had an MRI which came back normal and an EMG and EEG which were both also normal. Money won't be paid to me by either insurance because of the no-fault law here as well as a new michigan law which basically says you can't claim any money from the at-fault party (except $500 for the deductible) unless you are seriously injured and you have tests which show such.

I was just referred to a neurologist who specializes in back pain - so hopefully something will fix this. I did just shell out $4,000 for a massage chair as I have found that my friends seems to make my back feel MUCH better when I have used it. It should be here in a week or two, I really wish the insurance company would pay for this.

Fatalvenom

Im only 23 and have 2 cars on my policy and I use Progressive. My RL is fully insured w/ gap insurance, while my 1995 Mustang Cobra is only PIP(basic FL coverage)because I'm not going to file a claim on a 10 year old car.

I pay upwards of $3,500 bucks total for both cars, mind you I have never had a ticket in my life, or an accident, and also own a home(I dont know if this helps, it was on my app.).

Although, one of my friends also uses Progressive and he has a 2001 Lexus GS400. He has been in several accidents and has gotten his share of tickets I'm sure, and they rape him for full-coverage, something to the tune of $6,000 a year.

So I guess there is a high and a low for Progressive.

Fatalvenom

VP911, dude I feel for you. My best friend, who happens to be a girl(yes I still have my balls)has a horrible back and neck. The poor thing has titanium rods and all sorts of crap in her back. She is on quite a cocktail of painpills to deal with it and is always in tremendous pain. I hope this isnt the case for you man. She has been to several specialists also and they havent done much for her. She is still able to work as a Vet. but she always has nagging pain and numbness like you do.

I hope the best for you bro

vicneo

I am an md but not a neurologist so pleae take this w a pinch of salt. some people i know who were in a simillar situation w pain ( not numbness) benefitted by going to a chiropractor. caveat- untill my freiond benefitted w the chiro- i used to think ( still do) that chiros are glorified massage therapists. so use your own judgement. just my 2 cents.

vp911

Thanks vicneo - that is my next step if the neuro doesn't do anything for me. My regular health insurance won't cover it; however, as long as I get a referral from my regular doctor AAA is required to pay for it (required doesn't mean they actually will, but I can hope).

johnhayd

I'm a neurologist. I agree with vinceo. A fairly well done study by the rand corporation showed that chiropractic treatment did help low back pain. As you low back MRI is unremarkable, this seems worth a try. Chiropractic treament for low back pain is quite safe. I must warn you that there is a risk of stroke for chiropractic treatment of the neck. (Of course everything in life has a risk). GOOD LUCK!

vp911

Thanks johnhayd. My neck is actually fine now, it doesn't bother me at all. I am definately going to contact a chiro soon.