Car: 2003 Protege5 stock
I live in Michigan, I'm 27 yrs old, never had an accident or violation. My current policy is with Progressive at $980 per 6 mo which I find excessive. I've been checking online quotes from various providers and the best so far is State Farm at $571 per 6 mo. Should I take it or can I do better? Please tell me good insurance companies, HELP!

Here's the list I've checked: (6-month policies)

Progressive: no change - $980
Geico - $1437
AAA - $1325
State Farm - $571
Nationwide - $950
Allstate - $980

I have until the 17th of March to decide. Your help will be greatly appreciated.

Edit:

AIG - $1800
esurance - $777
Liberty Mutual - $1143

You should try Liberty Mutual as well.

Have you tried AIG? At www.aigselect.com.

I'm insuring three vehicles with them - an '87 RX-7 (liability only), a 2000 Trooper, and the RX-8 - both at maximum coverage with $500 deductible. Total cost? $688 for six months.

Originally posted by jtimbck2
You should try Liberty Mutual as well.

I second that. Try http://www.esurance.com/ as well. They're pretty darn cheap, but you have to pay electronically. Or something like that. They were the second cheapest I could find for myself.

First question, and it has absolutely nothing to do with your driving record nor anything that Insurance companies should be doing but do. What is your credit history like?

This is the first thing that Insurance companies check after your driving record. If your credit history isn't good, then they charge a substantially higher rate.

I went through a divorce a little over 5 years ago. During this divorce, we had to file bankruptcy due to credit card bills which were a result of my X's many stays in a mental institution and my salary alone could not take care of all of our needs. After the divorce and bankruptcy, I had insurance and it didn't change much because it was an existing policy.

In the past I would look at getting a better rate from another agency after a couple of years being with the current insurance agency. When I tried it after the bankruptcy, every quote was over 3 times the cost of the current policy.

I asked a friendly agent who was giving me a quote over the phone as to why everyone was giving me such high rates and he told me flat out, it was my credit history. My driving history was clean as a whistle, but my credit history had just suffered a bankruptcy. I asked him why the hell did it make a difference what my credit history was when I was getting Auto Insurance and he said it's because statistically, drivers with poor credit have poor driving habits and make more claims. This was very honest of him and I appreciated that he ws one of the few.

I feel this is BS of the Insurance industry to do this but this I have found is one of the reasons over and over again.

Last time I checked my credit was excellent. That was 6 months ago when I bought the car (got 0% finance thanks to the credit rating) and there hasn't been any changes in my economy besides the car. Does financing a car lowers the credit?

No, that can't be it then. I wish I could get credit that low...oh well, in another year it will improve for me.

Do you know any tricks for a lower insurance?

commute miles (I heard 3 miles or less) ?
annual miles ?
other ?

Every area is different depeding on where you live. It can be hurting you in the fact that since you are financing the car, you have no other alternative then to get the absolute top of line insurance. If car was paid off, you'd be able to change deductables and premiums of vehicle. Another trick is to flat out LIE about the miles driven. Tell them you work 3 miles away from home and only put about 6-8k a year on car. You might want to get a detailed description of fees, so you can pinpoint exactly what's causing the higher rates. I'd also try comparing rates to people you know in your area and what insurance they have.

Country Companies? I noticed you tried all others. I have them and it only costs me $380 for full coverage and I drive over 3 miles and financed. But then again, I am 47, married, have multiple cars and my home with them too which discounts the rates we pay. My 18 year old daughter has a 98 Toyota Camry that she financed and she has to pay $180/month which is high, in my book, but it is due to her age. That is cheap for consideration of other models. A ford Focus would have been $50-60 more for her.

4 doors does make a difference and Country Companies does not consider the 8 to be a performance car. Ny insurance went up a whole $6/month when I went from a Dodge Dakota to my RX-8. That was because I added the keeper clause to my policy. I just hope someone comes along and has good insurance and wipes it out about 5 years from now so I can get a new one for nothing. LOL So long as I am not in it, that is.