How To Get Cheaper Insurance

[MamasLex]

I was an insurance agent for Geico for a while, and I did alot of underwriting, so I know what they base their rates on. Frankly, I dont think its fair how they pick and choose who to give the best rates to, so I dont mind sharing my insider knowledge with anyone.

Various things are going to affect your rate. There are some things you cant change; your vehicle type, your age, your driving history, etc. But here are some things that CAN help ya.

To get the best rates, you'll need a good education. So if you dont have a Bachelor's degree or higher, you wont get preferred rates. (I recommend telling them you have a Bachelor's, Master's, Doctrate, etc.)

You'll also need what Geico considers a "good" job. Each job is given a rating, 1 thru 5. 1 is good, 5 is bad. Accountants and teachers are a 1. Lawyer's and Doctors are 2's. Insurance agents are 3's. Plumbers and the like are 4's. Waiter and other blue collars are 5's. Hint: You wanna say you are a 1!!

Marital status: Being married is the best case. But if you say you are married, you must have your spouse rated on your policy too! If you aren't married, single is the next best thing. Divorce or widowed comes in last. If you aren't married, you'll need to state that you have children, this will get you back to a "married rate". (Single with kids is better than divorced with kids.)

Driving history:

When giving your driving history, its best to just say that you cant recall any tickets or accidents. If they are any on your record, they will find out and let you know before you get your policy. (they run DMV reports real-time and can look at your driving history while on the phone with you). If you try to be honest and admit to a ticket you got a year ago, and then it doesnt actually show up on your report, they'll charge you for it anyway! So zip your lips until they let you know what's on your record! If something comes up, you just say, "Oh, I totally forgot about that, I'm sorry."

I almost forgot these:

Yes, you are a home owner!!! Renters wont get as good a rate!

You have been at your residence for 5+ years!

You have been with your current insurance company for 5+ years!

They do not verify anything other than your driving history. They'll never know you are a highschool drop-out and a waiter. Or that you're divorced and have no children.

They can however see anyone who has their driver's license registered at your address, so if you have any roomates or anyone you dont wanna include on your insurance, they either need to have their own policy or you could just say that it must be someone whol lived there before you and that you have no idea who that person is.

Ok, I think that covers nearly everything. Oops, forgot discounts. If you use the criteria above, you will probably be eligible for the 10% discount for taking defensive driving, its good for 3 years, you can take it online, and it is SOOO worth it!

Be sure they know your car has airbags, abs, passive security system, VIN etching on all windows and Lo-Jack (only if you have lo-jack, they may ask to see proof of this one).

You could say you are military, E-6 and above get better rates. Any government employees may get a discount (think occupation: teacher; Get a discount for working for the school district!)

Also, affiliation with certain credit unions or alumni groups can get you a discount. I know Navy Credit Union is one of them.

All discounts may not be available to everyone based on your state laws and what-not.

And you may find some questions I havent covered. But I am a licensed agent in Texas, so all of this is correct for anyone in this state.

Get a quote online at www.geico.com using your REAL info, then try it again (different email addy) using the tips I have provided and lemme know the difference. ;)

P.S.

I'm not pushing Geico on anyone, this is just the co. that I had worked for and I know their underwriting. Underwriting is different for each insurance company...

[jragosta]

Thanks for encouraging people to steal.

Insurance companies rate people on the probability of loss. By lying to an insurance company (which is what you're suggesting), you're stealing from the company and the other policy holders.

What you're suggesting is illegal and unethical. :chairshot:

[MamasLex]

Sorry you feel that way. But my opinion is that sometimes you gotta do whatcha gotta do. If you dont feel comfortable with it, that's fine. Unethical? I never said I was a good girl.....

I just never understood it when a person with a high school education, a manual labor job position, and a perfect driving history would pay higher premiums than say an accountant who's had 2 at fault accidents and even a ticket or two.

Doesnt make sense to me. What will they think of next? Rating by statistics of a person's race?

I do, however, appreciate your opinion.

[SKperformance]

if find it interesting

thanks for the details

i just think of it as information to understand how you are rated

she never said go and do it

it is up to you so don't knock her for helping someone understand where they are getting extra billed for

in Ontario if you do not tell them upfront of all tickets then they have the right to blacklist you and revoke the insuance

which leaves you with no comanay that will touch you or a high risk broker who charges as much as a drunk driver homicide liscence rate for a perfectdriver who has a rolling stop sign ticket

[SW03ES]

If they could they would. Lets face it, from a statistical point of view, being black or being hispanic raises the probability that you will be involved in dangerous or illegal activity. Thats a fact, a statistical fact. Look in a prison and compare the white innmates to the black and/or the hispanic innmates, there are less whites. This is because of the conditions in our cities and school systems that systematically opress these people not something inherant in them, but it is statistically true nonetheless.

The fact is, thats how insurance works and its all about risks. Whatever your position in any facet of life changes the % that you will be involved in an accident. Certain people are more stable, certain people are more stressed and hurried, certain people are younger, certain people are older. The insurance companies have paid a fortune to know the information that they took into account when they devised their system of underwriting.

Mama's absolutley right, all those things make a difference.

Now, whether you feel its right to use the information that she's posted here is up to you. If you feel its wrong, and that its fair for the insurance company to use this information to wind up consting you more thats up to you. However, theres nothing wrong with posting the info.

Myself, I'm a businessperson and I'm an ethical one. I believe that when one deals with a business and does it in an ethical way, it improves the state of business for all of us, so I wont take advantage of this information. Its a decision we all need to make for ourselves though.

[piggyncsu]

this is good info for when i am shopping around for my own insurance....by then ill be married and outta college and all that jazz......til then ill be rockin mom n dad's insurance......

all i know of for insurance is state farm..and duh...the geiko fella..annoying little bugger...though i do like the commercial with the action figures....

oh, and about stealing from the company and all that stuff, life isnt fair,wish it was..but it aint....everyone is trying to get ahead of everyone else..just except and whoop some booty :D

im used to the judging and um..whats that word..discrimination...i assume someone is going to try and (pardon my language) screw me over, so why not be one step ahead of them...

im sure no one would give me insurance just by looking at me..im a danger to every living thing on this planet, thats what they'd think...

and bam, id be rejected...

im not a business person, i dont even have a job...im just someone trying to get the most of the system....

all bark and no bite, sometimes.....

[MamasLex]

Yes, I'm sure they would rate you on your race, if they didnt think there would be a huge stink about it!

But I did forget one very BIG rating factor. CREDIT. Bad credit=higher rates. Good credit, good rates.

What most people dont know is that you do not have to give Geico your social security #. You can tell them you dont want them to check your credit. And be careful, they are sneaky--even if you dont give your SSN, they will still run your credit based on your name and home address. So be sure to tell them that you dont want your credit checked. Unless of course you have A+ credit, then that can only benefit you.

Now, Progressive, they wont even give you a quote unless they can run your credit, but Geico isnt that way. They sure will try to get you to think that you need to give your social. My line used to be, "In order to get you the most accurate quote, I will need to access your credit score." I guess it was intimidating because 99% of the time, they would rattle off their social to me....

Anyway, just another head's up.

[jragosta]

if find it interesting

thanks for the details

i just think of it as information to understand how you are rated

she never said go and do it

it is up to you so don't knock her for helping someone understand where they are getting extra billed for

Actually, she _did_ suggest lying to your insurer.

That's a felony in most states.

Sorry, but I can't justify lying and stealing - even if it does save a few dollars. Nor do I think that the Lexus group moderators will want their group to be associated with crooks and thieves. :chairshot:

[SW03ES]

We don't, but its not something thats moderate-able. She didnt break any rules...

[steviej]

Progressive and Geico are not available in MA.

Here your rate is based on

1. Make model and year of car,

2. where you are registering it (many towns around Boston have resident parking stickers and to get a sticker legally you have to show proof of residence for the sticker you seek)

3. Age and driving history

4. Driving record

5. Car owned outright or lein present

6. what deductable you choose ($200, $500, etc)

7. what options you choose ( comp, collison, glass, towing, etc)

8. level or coverage (20k/60k, 100k/300k, etc)

As for location of registration, towns in MA are rated from 1 to 35. Martha's Vineyard (an island) being a 1 and Roxbury (Boston burrough) being a 35. This effects the total cost too, the higher the number, the higher the premium.

That is it, now race, job, or marital status involved.

steviej

[bbsal]

here i go!! :D

first off i think her info was helpfull!what are you jragosta a insurence agent?who gives a rats butt if someone says they have a college degree to save a few bucks on insurence if they could!i think its stupid to call someone a crook or a thief for that!

hell if i could of saved a few dollars on insurence by saying i graduated college then i sure would!hows that affecting other insurence policy holders pockets?its not at all!dont you realize how much money they have anyway?if they could give you a better deal by saying a few of them things she mentioned then they could afford it and it aint coming out of anyones pockets or is it stealing!just my 2 sense about it take it or leave it.

[bbsal]

must of missed the tickets part!lol..that part you might want to tell the truth about because they could easly find stuff like that out but some of the other stuff they wouldnt even bother checking into!

its all up to the person but i would think 99 percent of the people in the us or canada would say some of those things if it would save them a few dollars!like i said before if the insurence company could give a lower rate to those that do have a college degree then they can give it to people that say they have one.its not stealing anything!thats my opinoin ;)

[jragosta]

here i go!! :D

first off i think her info was helpfull!what are you jragosta a insurence agent?who gives a rats butt if someone says they have a college degree to save a few bucks on insurence if they could!i think its stupid to call someone a crook or a thief for that!

hell if i could of saved a few dollars on insurence by saying i graduated college then i sure would!hows that affecting other insurence policy holders pockets?its not at all!dont you realize how much money they have anyway?if they could give you a better deal by saying a few of them things she mentioned then they could afford it and it aint coming out of anyones pockets or is it stealing!just my 2 sense about it take it or leave it.

No, I'm not an insurance agent.

The fact is that what you're proposing is lying and cheating. The reason I get upset about it is that I'm paying for part of your insurance. I used to live in Philadelphia and the state insurance commission estimated that my insurance rates were about 50% higher than they should be - mostly because of people lying about what they owe.

You owe the insurance company a certain amount based on your situation. That amount is determined by your risk of loss. When you lie about your situation, you're not paying what you owe them - and the rates for everyone go up.

By your logic, there's nothing wrong with robbing a bank as long as you don't get caught. Sorry, but some of us beliieve in being honest.

Not to mention, of course, that what you're suggesting is a felony in most states.

[gav_logan]

Let's say, some one does lie abt any of the previous points, in order to get themselves cheaper insurance...

That is part of the contract that they are entering into. The contract, for insurance, based on their history.

Now, If that person has an accident, and has lied in their contract about said history, their coverage would surely be void.

What's that about cheaters never prospering?

[jragosta]

Let's say, some one does lie abt any of the previous points, in order to get themselves cheaper insurance...

That is part of the contract that they are entering into. The contract, for insurance, based on their history.

Now, If that person has an accident, and has lied in their contract about said history, their coverage would surely be void.

What's that about cheaters never prospering?

In principle, you're right.

In practice, insurance companies generally don't want to look like the bad guy, so they will accept all sorts of cheating. If you get caught cheating when you have an accident, they _might_ cancel your policy, but they'd still pay the claim. But they're probably not going to find out. They're no more likely to check your history when you file a claim then when you apply for the policy.

I read of one case where an insurance agent suspected that someone was planning to commit fraud (the person wanted zero deductible for vandalism on a 10 year old car), so they took a picture of the car and its tires at the time the policy was issued. The car's tires were completely bald and the car was significantly damaged. Sure enough, a few weeks later, the insured filed a claim - saying that their car was vandalized. The company was told that the agent suspected fraud and was even given copies of the pictures. The company's response was that it was too much trouble to fight the claim (as well as bad PR), so they paid it.

The bottom line is that the system works on trust. When people violate that trust, the honest people pay for it.

[amanda]

probably too late to jump in the fray, but i agree with jragosta and gav. all those things insurers do are based on statistics. i know it's weird, but someone i know had doubts about his fiance because she was a chain smoker and statistics say chain smokers have a higher divorce rate than non-smokers. so see, it's all statistics.

dc steve is right. some people will be more harried/stressed than others and those things do make a difference in how you drive. a waiter's working 2 jobs and moonlighting as an actor would be a contributing factor. similarly, someone who plans his future out to include a doctorate is probably a little more forward looking and careful about life in general than someone who decided to wing it without a bachelor's (though, i personally think college is a bit overrated and wasted on most people).

insureres need to make money too (and have a way of calculating their loss patterns), especially nowadays when shareholders demand accountability. and don't forget when insurers lose money, it's you and me who pay in the end. all you college grads, do you want new pricing based on new stats that show that college grads have more accidents than previously presumed because all the non-degree holders slipped into the group under the radar?

but hey, none of these things probably matter nearly as much as your credit rating and your driving record. i do have a policy with geico and darned if they didn't quote me $3400 per year without my credit history. then i told them to run it and bingo, i pay like $890 year now. so watch the plastic and drive safely.

[bbsal]

here i go!! :D

first off i think her info was helpfull!what are you jragosta a insurence agent?who gives a rats butt if someone says they have a college degree to save a few bucks on insurence if they could!i think its stupid to call someone a crook or a thief for that!

hell if i could of saved a few dollars on insurence by saying i graduated college then i sure would!hows that affecting other insurence policy holders pockets?its not at all!dont you realize how much money they have anyway?if they could give you a better deal by saying a few of them things she mentioned then they could afford it and it aint coming out of anyones pockets or is it stealing!just my 2 sense about it take it or leave it.

No, I'm not an insurance agent.

The fact is that what you're proposing is lying and cheating. The reason I get upset about it is that I'm paying for part of your insurance. I used to live in Philadelphia and the state insurance commission estimated that my insurance rates were about 50% higher than they should be - mostly because of people lying about what they owe.

You owe the insurance company a certain amount based on your situation. That amount is determined by your risk of loss. When you lie about your situation, you're not paying what you owe them - and the rates for everyone go up.

By your logic, there's nothing wrong with robbing a bank as long as you don't get caught. Sorry, but some of us beliieve in being honest.

Not to mention, of course, that what you're suggesting is a felony in most states.

ok if what your saying is true then people that do have degrees and such are costing the people that dont more money!do you get what im saying?but just for the hell of it i talked to a freind of mine who deals with insurence everyday and he said none of those things mentioned except for tickets and driving history will make a difference in your quote anyway.

so i guess none of it matters.i still think its messed up if geico does do what she said they do because if your correct then people with a college degree and marreid and whatever make the whole insurece go up for everyone.either way i dont think by saying you have a degree is in any way stealing and i think is nuts to even say that!then again this is my opinoin and it dont mean crap.i pay like 600 and something a year for liablity and didnt have to lie about a thing!

[amanda]

wow! $600. that's really good. do you get glass, collision and comprehensive and all that? i have the highest coverage for personal liability and stuff like that, but even without them, i don't know that i can get down to $600. i do live in a suburb of nyc, so maybe that's the problem.

but you know what, your credit rating matters -- a lot. just look at my premium quote before/after running my credit report. it's shocking.

[bbsal]

yes i would think the credit score does affect it big time.i also only pay every six months so it feels like i never even pay it!hehe

[philbe1]

I think to avoid all the so called lying and cheating, (cuz god knows the Insurance companies are SAINTS) That everyone should should get a chip implanted into our heads with a bar code printed on our !Removed! so that we can all be kept in line and kept track of and we all get paid the same and are gave the same amount of food and 1 type of mass produced car that runs on a rail and curfews and heavy imprisonment time for violators LOL oh wait thats too much like communism. i love paying tons of insurance money and have never been in an accident, a couple speeding tickets that well, were all ready paid for. can ya sense the sarcasm? I think the whole insurance system should be revamped, but they love their money too much just like everyone else. I say everyone in the country just NOT get insurance and see what happens. Ah well just ramblin anyways. Stick it to the man hehehe

[H8R Proof]

I've never, ever gotten a ticket.

However, I've always wished I could receive a refund at the end of the year for all the insurance payments I've made if I end up never filing a claim :)

Dare to dream...

[jragosta]

I've never, ever gotten a ticket.

However, I've always wished I could receive a refund at the end of the year for all the insurance payments I've made if I end up never filing a claim :)

Dare to dream...

Unfortunately (or fortunately), that's not the way it works. If the insurance companies had to refund the money of everyone who hadn't filed a claim, there wouldn't be any money to pay the claims that were filed.

It's a statistical science. Your odds (based on honestly providing your information) of having an accident are determined. Based on that, you pay a premium. Over the course of a year, the total premiums collected should cover the total claims plus a reasonable profit for the insurance companies (in reality, the premiums don't quite cover the claims. The companies really make their profit from investments). Similarly, the premiums collected from 'bad' drivers should, in sum, cover the claims from 'bad' drivers. The premiums collected from 'good' drivers should cover the claims from 'good' drivers.

Any one driver will pay more or less in premium than they receive in claims. The aggregate should be even.

[H8R Proof]

Understood.

Like I said..."dare to dream" !

[bbsal]

I think to avoid all the so called lying and cheating, (cuz god knows the Insurance companies are SAINTS) That everyone should should get a chip implanted into our heads with a bar code printed on our !Removed! so that we can all be kept in line and kept track of and we all get paid the same and are gave the same amount of food and 1 type of mass produced car that runs on a rail and curfews and heavy imprisonment time for violators LOL oh wait thats too much like communism. i love paying tons of insurance money and have never been in an accident, a couple speeding tickets that well, were all ready paid for. can ya sense the sarcasm? I think the whole insurance system should be revamped, but they love their money too much just like everyone else. I say everyone in the country just NOT get insurance and see what happens. Ah well just ramblin anyways. Stick it to the man hehehe

lol.. :D

[HoeBag]

its not lieing and cheating.... its telling the partial truth!! i cant even get insurance...because im a 1337 ninja

jk.....i do have insurance..under my parents...talk about leechin!