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I feel accomplished. I finally got around to switching my SO's car insurance. Here is the thing:

My mother bought a new car three years ago and gave me her old car. She kept the title and insurance in her name up until recently, and I knew October was when I had to have everything switched over. My SO got his car at the very last minute, and his father set up his insurance.

What we were paying: We have been living in Ohio for almost two years now, the whole time we have been paying Michigan insurance. The cost of liability insurance for an '03 Stratus? No car rental coverage, no roadside assistance, no medical coverage in case of accidents... $140/month through Progressive. $140!! I was talking about this at work with my co-workers who were appalled. They said no way would liability in Ohio be that much, which pushed me to get a quote.

So at the recommendation of a friend I went to Nationwide. She said they are not the cheapest, but not the most expensive, and she has been very pleased with them. So today we purchased insurance... liability for the stratus, full coverage for my car $500 deductible. We got roadside assistance, coverage for car rental, 5k in medical costs, and we ended up purchasing Renters insurance. Grand total: $147/month.

Is this a good rate? We ended up not shopping around because I hate dealing with it, and Nationwide has decent reviews on the web. Any experiences, particularly with Nationwide and Progressive?

PS. I also recently found out that apparently Michigan is #2 in highest insurance rates in the whole U.S., while Ohio is one of the lowest!

[This message edited by Dark Inertia at 12:38 AM, September 30th (Monday)]

MI is very expaensive

I have had nationwide and the same agent for 20 years. I LOVE my agent. I think a persons experience with a insurance company often has a lot to do with the agent.

Here is why I love my agent:

* I have never had my rates go up after a speeding ticket

* When I hit a deer a few years ago, my agent personally called me to make sure I was OK

* In April I added another car (2 yrs old) and my teenage DD to my insurance. The agent changed my policy slightly and my rate only went up $500/year

* I have never had any issue with a claim, even when my car was totaled by an uninsured motorist (I have coverage for that, but still there were no hassles)

I do think $147 is high. That is about what I pay for 2 cars (2003/2011) and a teenager. But I do live in another state so your rate may be expected for your area.

I've worked in the insurance industry for 30 years in various capacities. I always go through an agent. They can get you quotes from multiple carriers (or you can go online and do this, then take the information with you if you want to use an exclusive agent like State Farm, Allstate, etc.

The reason I use an agent is that it is their responsibility to take care of you; they are insured themselves for errors and omissions, so if they make a mistake in your coverage, they have to make good on it. If you make a mistake going on line to purchase insurance, it's on you.

I don't know about specific state rates, but of course some are more expensive than others.

I don't know when you add in the renters policy, I think it's a fair deal. Of course I live in one of the states with the highest rates, for some reason....

I have had a very good experience with Geico, and yah it's not an agent company, but I have been treated very well, and very fairly. My H had an accident and a ticket, no changes in rate, and while my son was on his permit, he had a parking lot accident, and they gave him the same rate they would had he not had it. In addition, they fought for me when I was rearended on an interstate, and had to miss work, and go to a dr for back issues after. No rate changes, no need to fight with insurance company, they took care of all of it.

Dark,

Are you getting full coverage (including collision coverage) on that stratus? Is it paid off? If so, I would dump the collision - it's the most expensive and just put the amount you are saving on paying that into a savings account in case something happens that is your fault.

Me? I pay $148 EVERY 6 MONTHS for my 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have 100,000/300,000 liability. medical payments coverage, and towing. If your car is paid off, giving the insurance co. money every month "just in case" is essentially giving them use of YOUR money. You could be putting that in a savings account to pay for your own accident if you had one that was your fault. If you don't have an accident, then guess what? You can use that $$ however you see fit.

Just something to think about...

Thank you, everyone for you responses!

Trusting: Both cars are paid off. For the Stratus we have liability, for my '06 Vitara we have full coverage, as well as renters. Just to clarify, the $147 is for both cars, one liability, one full coverage. We just added the renters when we changed over to Nationwide because the bundle deal was suppose to be better.

I am so clueless when it comes to insurance, I am embarrassed. When I was married my ex handled all of it, and after I divorce my mother put me back on her insurance. So this is really the first time I am taking care of insurance on my own.

We passed on collision for the Stratus. My mom said if I was not going to get full coverage for the Suzuki to get liability and collision, but the rep I spoke with said that would end up being more expensive than full coverage, and not as good a deal.

Another thing is the rep over the phone asked me if I wanted a local agent or wanted to do things online. I wasn't sure, so I asked if I could do both, and he sent me the information for the closest local agent. I was not sure what were the benefits for doing things through an agent. So from what you guys are saying that is the recommended way to go?

They also enrolled us in this smart driving program. I forget what it is called, but basically they send us a device and monitor our driving habits... how often we accelerate, how hard we break, etc. They gave us a 5% discount for the 6 months we will be monitored. If our driving habits are deemed safe, then we get up to a 30% discount, but he said the average has been 15%. If it not up to par he said we just won't get the 5%. He also said we will be sent our driving results via email. I thought that would be interesting.

[This message edited by Dark Inertia at 11:44 AM, September 30th (Monday)]