State Farm Auto Insurance-Is This A Rebate Or A Rip-off?
Written: May 15 '01
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Pros: Reliable, many agents available to choose from, affordable coverage!
Cons: Increase premiums, give rebate checks after you send full payment.
The Bottom Line: State Farm raises premiums, then offers rebate checks. They have great service and are reliable!
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| Dunkjam's Full Review: State Farm Group - Auto |
My husband Randy has been using State Farm Automobile Insurance with Herb Garletts Agency for over twenty years! Before we married, I had been using Nationwide in Virginia. Randy convinced me to switch over to his insurance since he had already established an account with them in our home town and we qualified for a discount when we got married.
When our two daughters lived at home, we kept three automobiles insured through State Farm. As our girls finished school and moved away, our premiums decreased about twenty percent! My husband and I both have good driving records which helps to keep the cost of your insurance down. We have reported a couple of accidents to State Farm, which were not our fault. State Farm was very quick to handle our claims and they paid for our automobile repairs including providing us with a rental car, and then they settled with the other insurance company that was at fault.
Randy has this old Ford pick-up truck that he would not trade in for a new GMC truck! So his truck has broken down on the highway several times and State Farm reimburses our towing expenses whenever we present them with a copy of the bill. There is no limit to how many times you can have your car or truck towed, as long as you have your premiums paid up to date!
The reason I titled this article, "Rebate or Rip-off" is because our premiums have been adjusted up and down within the last few years. For instance, on our primary car which has both full coverage including collision and liability, they have changed our rates several times. We like to make our payments every six months. In October, 2000 our biannual premium was $360.47. Then when we got our recent bill in April,2001, they increased our premium to $384.51. Now we have not turned in any accidents or received any speeding tickets. We pay on time and our policy has never lapsed. They increased this insurance by $24.04 There were no explanations as to why our policy had been increased. But they did write a note at the bottom of the policy which said that a spouse would be turning fifty years of age and you have no unmarried drivers under twenty-five years of age; therefore you will receive a refund check or a premium credit in the future.
Another example of this increasing premiums and then giving a refund check is on our second vehicle. The cost of our premium for the truck in Nov.,2000 was $176.55 In our most recent bill, it had gone up to $202.40. This was an increase of $25.85 Again there was no explanation as to why our premiums were raised. We live in a small town in West Virginia where the insurance rates are low anyway.
This week, we received two rebate checks from State Farm since I just turned fifty years of age. The first rebate check was for the primary car in the amount of $48.33. The second rebate check on the truck was in the amount of $28.21. So our total refund for both vehicles was $76.33. After comparing our rebate check with the total amount that they had increased our premiums ($49.89), I realize that we really have saved some money. If you subtract the amount of the premium increase of both polices from the rebate checks, you will find that we did get $26.65 back. I am just disappointed that they have to raise your premium in a pretense of giving you a larger rebate check!
Another thing that we like about State Farm Auto Insurance is that they do offer Premium reductions. We received lower rates for having multicar coverage, automatic safety belts, Coverage U Multi-Coverage and being accident free! Our coverage U Mulit-coverage is a state mandatory insurance that we must carry for the uninsured motor vehicle.
Randy and I are both very pleased with our automobile insurance coverage and the efficiency of our local insurance agent. They offer discounts if you have a teenager that takes driver's ed or is an honor roll student. I would recommend State Farm Automobile Insurance to anyone because they are a well-known company and we have not had any problems dealing with them on a claim! Of course, you know that your insurance premiums relate to the amount of deductible collision that you choose to pay. We choose a $250 deductible and we also have the emergency road service, car rental and travel expense options.
Recommended:
Yes
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Dunkjam
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Member: Eva Dunkle
Location: Beckley, West Virginia 25801
Reviews written: 154
Trusted by: 251 members
About Me:
West Virginia; wild,wonderful and free!
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