Insurance Questions....

[ArmyofOne]

This email refers to the following confirmation number(s): 1A55-65D8JEAI-10EA81D

GEICO Indemnity Company

April 16, 2010

Dear Joshua Morrison:

Thank you for using GEICO's online services. My name is Beth and I will be happy to assist you today.

We have received your request for a quote if you were to move to Olympia, Washington.

Your current six-month premium is $501.40. If you were to complete the requested change, your new six-month premium would be $958.20.

Your six-month premium may vary based on information you have provided. This quote has not been applied to your policy at this time.

If you have moved, you must register your vehicle with the Motor Vehicle Department in your new state and surrender your New York State license plates to the New York Department of Motor Vehicles before we can rate your policy for your new address.

The license plates can be mailed to:

Department of Motor Vehicles

2799 Route 112

Medford, NY 11763

If you choose to mail your New York license plates, they must be sent Certified Mail with a return receipt requested. The DMV will mail you a FS-6, a receipt that verifies the date the plates were surrendered.

Once you receive the FS-6, please provide us with the receipt number and surrender date indicated on it. We will then adjust your policy to reflect coverage for your new state and also mail updated policy paperwork and billing information to your new address.

OK, someone explain to me how in the name of hell, with only a change of address, my insurance can go up by $900 a year?

There has been no change in my driving record, which is flawless since 2004. I have had no lapse in insurance/registration, and NEVER had a DUI or serious traffic violation.

On top of this, I JUST turned 25 on 1 April 2010...shouldn't my rate be DROPPING?!

This was my response to "Beth":

Beth,

Please understand that I mean no disrespect by what I am about to say. I am sure you know your job and do it very well, but you may want to re-check that quote. I live and am insured in the state of NY. We have the HIGHEST insurance rates in the country. I am 25 years old with an almost perfect driving record, and excellent credit. My wife is 26 with a nearly perfect driving record as well. We have 1 car and pay $501 every 6 months for insurance registered in NY. I understand a rate increase of $50-$100, MAYBE...however, If moving to washington state under military orders is going to cost me $450 more every 6 months for insurance with geico, I will be switching companies. That is simply unacceptable for an insurance rate increase from one state to another to be that drastic with no reasonable cause. We have had no tickets, or accidents in our recent driving history, and we have been geico customers since 2006. We do not want to have to start over with another company, but we may not have a choice. $900 a year is a big increase for no reason other than an address change.

:egads: My wife is on the phone with our agent in NY right now, I cannot call from the computer. Sheesh. I hate insurance companies, almost as much as I hate Car Salesman.

For those who are about to ask "How about switching to USAA?", here is my reasoning.

When I owned my 2002 Ford ZX-2 (Escort), and my wife's Toyota Matrix AWD XR, full coverage on both (minimal, but full) with USAA was costing us $457 every MONTH. I had 1 at fault accident, and a small speeding ticket on my record, but my wife's record was (and still is) flawless. @ $457 a month, it worked out to around $2,075 every 6 months for insurance. Thats upwards of $4,000 a YEAR. I have never had a DUI, or any other serious traffic violations. My deductible was set at $1,000 per car, and I took glass/roadside assistance/rental car reimbursement off because I had to save a few dollars, I was not going to make it. I had 2 car payments totalling $500 a month, and an insurance bill almost as much? on E-3 pay ($1400 a month+free housing/utilities)...even with free housing/no utilities it was nearly impossible.

After giving USAA 6 full months to find out why I was being charged so much, I called Geico for a quote. Geico quoted me better coverage (The BEST of full coverage, comprehensive and a $250 deductible), at $1,089 for 6 months. $1k for a driver with 2 cars/full coverage and under 25 is understandable. While not the greatest still, it was close to HALF of what I was paying USAA. Out of sheer desperation, I told them to lock in that rate. I called USAA, and spoke to the Regional Military Auto Insurance Manager. I told him he had exactly 2 business days to figure out why my insurance was so high, and match Geico's offer, or I was switching insurance companies. Not because I wanted to, but because USAA was killing us. We were paying so much in insurance that we could not afford to put gas in the car's we were insuring!

2 days later, USAA manager guy calls back. He says he cannot figure out why our rates are so high. We go over both mine and my wife's driving record again, and cannot find a single discrepency, yet his computer is showing that is the rate I HAVE to be charged, based on my record, credit history and age stereotypes. I told my wife to call geico, we started the policy while I was on the phone with the USAA Manager, and when she was done, I told him to cancel my USAA Policy and return my money for my payment that month. That was on 7 May 2006.

6 months later, USAA called me wanting my business again. The girl on the line insisted it was a mix up. Their Records showed that I was driving a 2006 (would have been Brand new at the time) Ford Mustang GT and My wife was driving I think a Toyota Supra TT. Both were a FAR cry from the actual vehicles we owned, and They had the right VIN numbers in their system.

At any rate, It was deemed a Mistake on USAA's part, and we were reimbursed the FULL difference for our troubles. Totalling nearly $3,000. They made it right, but for that year that it was messed up, Our life was HELL.

Anyway, thats my rant. Anyone know why my rates would go up by $900 a year?

Also, Geico still has not given me a valid reason (I do not think) for the rate increase. However, they are not just jerking us around, because every other company I have checked has been either ALOT more expensive, or within $50 of The Gecko's estimated quote. I Checked:

Esurance

USAA (for kicks, more $$)

NationWide

Progressive

Amica

AIG

State Farm

Farmers

and again with Geico.

I am Active Military, My car will be registered in TX. My liscense and and my wife's liscense are both TX. In the state of WA, can I have a Texas insurance card? I know in NY it doesnt matter where your car is registered, you HAVE to have a New York State insurance card, or your insurance will not cover you.

If I do not have to have a WA state card, then I may be able to use my Texas residency and get around the rate hike.

[jcrome04]

Welcome to the great state of WA :D

The wicked witch of the west (Gregoire) just signed a TON of new taxes going into effect June 1.

On candy, soda, bottled water, mass produced beer, and ANOTHER $1 ON CIGARETTES! I don't smoke.. but seriously...... $1 A PACK! holy $#!T!

:chairshot: :chairshot: :chairshot:

[1990LS400]

If all the other companies you checked with have "been either ALOT more expensive, or within $50 of The Gecko's estimated quote.", then it would appear that Geico's rates are competitive. What's your beef?

Insurance rates are based on the loss statistics of where you live. It's quite a precise science and is supervised by state government insurance commissions. Insurance companies can't charge whatever they want. They have to justify their rates to state insurance commissions. I don't mean to sound like a shill for the insurance industry but I helped in the rating process for a few decades at a large insurance company and understand the process.

[ArmyofOne]

If all the other companies you checked with have "been either ALOT more expensive, or within $50 of The Gecko's estimated quote.", then it would appear that Geico's rates are competitive. What's your beef?

Insurance rates are based on the loss statistics of where you live. It's quite a precise science and is supervised by state government insurance commissions. Insurance companies can't charge whatever they want. They have to justify their rates to state insurance commissions. I don't mean to sound like a shill for the insurance industry but I helped in the rating process for a few decades at a large insurance company and understand the process.

My beef, sir, is that I do not have the option of just quitting my job and getting a better one. I also do not have the option of telling the army to "shove it" with regards to moving.

Orders to PCS are exactly that. My pay will not change, but my insurance rates will, which means that I have to sacrifice MORE, because I am following orders. I think it is entirely unreasonable for me to pay that much money. You mean to tell me my driving record and all that other stuff they supposedly go off of when calculating rates means jack diddly? Thats bull*BLEEP*...flat out.

15 minutes just cost me ~68% more on my car insurance.

Pardon me if I seem like I am complaining, but $900 a year increase is a little excessive, dont you think?

[ArmyofOne]

Welcome to the great state of WA :D

The wicked witch of the west (Gregoire) just signed a TON of new taxes going into effect June 1.

On candy, soda, bottled water, mass produced beer, and ANOTHER $1 ON CIGARETTES! I don't smoke.. but seriously...... $1 A PACK! holy $#!T!

:chairshot: :chairshot: :chairshot:

Those things dont really affect me, I dont drink beer, eat candy and rarely drink soda, and I dont smoke.

What does affect me is the fact that I have to pay $900 more a year for car insurance without making any more money. Even if my wife were to get a job there, we cant afford to ensure 2 cars at that rate. I just checked, a second car, full coverage, even with no lein on either car, the insurance is still $1,560 for both every 6 months. That hurts just thinking about it.

[1990LS400]

15 minutes just cost me ~68% more on my car insurance.

Pardon me if I seem like I am complaining, but $900 a year increase is a little excessive, dont you think?

Josh, you moved from a lower risk area to a higher risk area. Geico filed its rates with the Washington state insurance commission and can not discriminate against other customers by somehow charging you lower rates than they filed. If you ask they might be able to find a discount or two that they can grant you but these discounts, if any, are also filed with the insurance commission.

An insurnance company can not depart from its filed rates and charge different premiums to people in the the same risk class. The insurance company I retired from actually was caught doing that by one state insurance commission auditor team and the total cost to the company was somewhere between $200 and $400 million not including a lot of innocent people who lost their jobs from the fallout.

[SW03ES]

I gotta agree with Jim. The cost of your insurance really depends a lot on where you live...down to the zipcode. Insurance companies look at the risk of your policy and adjust your premium to reflect the amount of exposure vs reward they are willing to take on. Some states are just really bad on insurance rates...NJ for instance.

If all the other carriers are about the same...Geico isn't ripping you off. Your option would be to sell your cars and not drive. Driving isn't a right...its a privilege you have to pay for. You can always bump the coverage way down to the minimum required by law and self-insure the rest to get the cost down to a reasonable cost.

It sucks...but life sucks sometimes.

Don't mean to sound crass, but you know you can count on me to tell you like it is ;)

Be sure about the residency and the insurance. All you need is to have a claim and then the company deny it because they figure out you really live in WA. If they can find a way to deny a claim...they will.

[ArmyofOne]

15 minutes just cost me ~68% more on my car insurance.

Pardon me if I seem like I am complaining, but $900 a year increase is a little excessive, dont you think?

Josh, you moved from a lower risk area to a higher risk area. Geico filed its rates with the Washington state insurance commission and can not discriminate against other customers by somehow charging you lower rates than they filed. If you ask they might be able to find a discount or two that they can grant you but these discounts, if any, are also filed with the insurance commission.

An insurnance company can not depart from its filed rates and charge different premiums to people in the the same risk class. The insurance company I retired from actually was caught doing that by one state insurance commission auditor team and the total cost to the company was somewhere between $200 and $400 million not including a lot of innocent people who lost their jobs from the fallout.

Jim, I know you are right. And like I said I dont expect special treatment. I just wondered maybe if there was a specific reason for it or if Geico was just blowing smoke up my behind. I understand that insurance is a business. I just want to make sure I am not being taken advantage of. That said, I checked other companies, and rates varied from $1,850/6mo down to about $900. Seems I am stuck. Its ok, I really dont want to switch insurance companies. We like Geico, have never had a problem with them (although we have never had to file a claim). Right before I left, I backed into my garage door . I immediately called Geico. I knew that the damage was not severe enough to need them to pay for it, so I told them I was going to pay for the fix myself (dime-szed dent in the trunk lid from the handle on the Garage Door), and I just needed a reccomendation for a body shop. She directed me to their Geico Express Claims Service, which I am entitled to as a Geico Customer, even if I dont file a claim. I used this service, the Geico Adjuster came and picked up my car, at the same time droppig off a free rental, and I had my car delivered back to me the next day. Total cost for Damage/rental was $380. And the service was fantastic.

On that note, the lowest I found (wife just sent me an email) is American Family Insurance, for $629/6mo. Thats better. Jim/Steve do you know anything about that company? We dont want to switch, but we may if this company is reuptable. The last thing I want, is to switch insurance companies to some mom/pop outfit.

I gotta agree with Jim. The cost of your insurance really depends a lot on where you live...down to the zipcode. Insurance companies look at the risk of your policy and adjust your premium to reflect the amount of exposure vs reward they are willing to take on. Some states are just really bad on insurance rates...NJ for instance.

If all the other carriers are about the same...Geico isn't ripping you off. Your option would be to sell your cars and not drive. Driving isn't a right...its a privilege you have to pay for. You can always bump the coverage way down to the minimum required by law and self-insure the rest to get the cost down to a reasonable cost.

It sucks...but life sucks sometimes.

Don't mean to sound crass, but you know you can count on me to tell you like it is ;)

Be sure about the residency and the insurance. All you need is to have a claim and then the company deny it because they figure out you really live in WA. If they can find a way to deny a claim...they will.

Funny you should mention jersey, a Friend of mine got PCS orders to Fort Dix. He and his wife own a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe Limited. Their rate for full coverage is about $50 a month in NY, In NJ its going to be $330 a month. :o

SO yes, it could be worse, and I am thankful it is not. I know you will always call 'em like you see 'em friends, thats why I am a member here. And as far as residency goes, better safe than sorry. We will go with WA. Geico says we have to anyway.

[BarryW]

If you are active duty military you can register and insure your car in your home state, if it is to your advantage. You do not have to do so in the state in which you are stationed. You can also maintain a residence, in your home state (Home of Record) for military purposes and use plates from the state you are living in and obtain the plates as a non-resident, or keep them in your home state. That is a small benefit for active duty military. You would also be paying taxes in your home state or Home of Record. You can not have it both ways. I did this for 20 plus years when I was in the military.

Your wife's only obligation would be that she would have to maintain a driver's license in the state that you are presently stationed. My home state was Maryland and I was never stationed in that state and I moved all around the country and the world. In most cases my insurance was significantly cheaper than the state in which I was stationed. In a couple of cases it was 50% cheaper. Check it out, you have nothing to lose.

[ArmyofOne]

If you are active duty military you can register and insure your car in your home state, if it is to your advantage. You do not have to do so in the state in which you are stationed. You can also maintain a residence, in your home state (Home of Record) for military purposes and use plates from the state you are living in and obtain the plates as a non-resident, or keep them in your home state. That is a small benefit for active duty military. You would also be paying taxes in your home state or Home of Record. You can not have it both ways. I did this for 20 plus years when I was in the military.

Your wife's only obligation would be that she would have to maintain a driver's license in the state that you are presently stationed. My home state was Maryland and I was never stationed in that state and I moved all around the country and the world. In most cases my insurance was significantly cheaper than the state in which I was stationed. In a couple of cases it was 50% cheaper. Check it out, you have nothing to lose.

Well, I maintain Texas Residency, Texas plates, Texas Registration. I do not pay any state income tax (TX does not have one :D ). HOWEVER...Because Texas state minimum required coverage is one of the lowest in the country, pretty much anywhere I go, I will have to have my Insurance Coverage for the state which I am stationed in. I tried that here in NY too. Geico said it was a no-go. While it was legal just a few years ago, to do so...it is not anymore.

According to WA state law, My wife has the same privledges I do with regard to liscensing. She can hold her TX DL for as long as it is valid. It is unfortunate that Insurance coverage does not work the same way :( .

[jcrome04]

Seems ridiculous that it is so high....

BTW, the taxes really don't affect me either. That's just to show you what kind of raging liberal, tax loving gov't we have here in this state! I guess that's how you fix a budget deficit! :D :D :D

[BarryW]

Your not getting my meaning. You can license and register your car in your home state and use that as your state of residence, buy insurance through an agent in Texas, and as a military member you can travel and live in any state, and you are in essence just visiting the state in which you are stationed. The requirements of Texas is all you have to meet. Your car would have to be registered in Texas, unless you purchase a non-resident plate in the state where you are stationed. If you where to buy a house in the State in which you are stationed than that would change your residency and all of the above would not be allowed. It is part of the Solider's and Sailor's Relief act that was enacted in about 1937. Same thing applies as to voting and to paying state taxes. Check it out at your military Judge Advocate's Office. I have been retired for quite sometime but I receive updates from the military and I have never seen where anything has changed, in that regard. When and if you are stopped my a police officer you show your License, Registration and Military I.D. to establish your legal postion, and your wife would use her dependent ID card, except as stated before, she would have to have a current license from the state in which you are stationed. Why mess with GEICO. Try State Farm, Nationwide. I used to be insured with USAA, than AAA. Now I find that State Farm provides better coverage at a lower price. But that can change depending on where you live. GEICO is not by any stretch of the imagination a cheap company and their claims processing is less that stellar.

[ArmyofOne]

Your not getting my meaning. You can license and register your car in your home state and use that as your state of residence, buy insurance through an agent in Texas, and as a military member you can travel and live in any state, and you are in essence just visiting the state in which you are stationed. The requirements of Texas is all you have to meet. Your car would have to be registered in Texas, unless you purchase a non-resident plate in the state where you are stationed. If you where to buy a house in the State in which you are stationed than that would change your residency and all of the above would not be allowed. It is part of the Solider's and Sailor's Relief act that was enacted in about 1937. Same thing applies as to voting and to paying state taxes. Check it out at your military Judge Advocate's Office. I have been retired for quite sometime but I receive updates from the military and I have never seen where anything has changed, in that regard. When and if you are stopped my a police officer you show your License, Registration and Military I.D. to establish your legal postion, and your wife would use her dependent ID card, except as stated before, she would have to have a current license from the state in which you are stationed. Why mess with GEICO. Try State Farm, Nationwide. I used to be insured with USAA, than AAA. Now I find that State Farm provides better coverage at a lower price. But that can change depending on where you live. GEICO is not by any stretch of the imagination a cheap company and their claims processing is less that stellar.

No, I understood you. I am saying, in New York state, If a person gets in an accident, military or not, and their insurance card says anything other than "State of New York" across the top, you are NOT covered and your claim WILL be denied. I have seen it happen to one of my soldier's. He had a $28,000 car. He slid through an intersection and t-boned a pickup truck. USAA Denied his claim, for the above stated reason. He is STILL paying for that car, and it was totalled. They stress that to all new soldiers coming in to Fort Drum. If it is the same in WA or not, I dont know, but the Army, and the state of NY mandate NYS insurance coverage, regardless of military, registration location, or residency.

I "mess with geico" because I am insured with them now. We have not ever had a problem with them. I dont see where people say they are so horrible.

I have tried ALOT of other companies for quotes...

-Nationwide

-US Federal

-AMICA

-American Family

-USAA

-Esurance

-Liberty Mutual

-Fidelity

-State Farm

-Farmers

-21st Century

-UniTrin

-American Military Insurance

the list goes on, but you see where I am coming from. No quote I have gotten has been less than $875/6 months. Some have been as high as $2,000+.

[SW03ES]

Geico is great until you have a claim. My mother had Geico for years and then she put my father on her policy when they got married and he had a claim...dropped them straight away. I prefer having an insurance agent that I can talk to and trust so for me, Geico is not something I would be interested in. Nor is Progressive, eSurance, all those agentless carriers. Even if I have to pay a little more.

Not sure about American Family...try googling them.

Just because an insurance company denied your soldier's claim doesn't mean they had the right to do that. I would look into what Barry is saying. That makes a lot of sense to me...

[ArmyofOne]

Geico is great until you have a claim. My mother had Geico for years and then she put my father on her policy when they got married and he had a claim...dropped them straight away. I prefer having an insurance agent that I can talk to and trust so for me, Geico is not something I would be interested in. Nor is Progressive, eSurance, all those agentless carriers. Even if I have to pay a little more.

Not sure about American Family...try googling them.

Just because an insurance company denied your soldier's claim doesn't mean they had the right to do that. I would look into what Barry is saying. That makes a lot of sense to me...

Steve, Barry,

The liability coverage must be NYS insurance coverage, issued by a company authorized to do business in NYS and licensed by the NYS Insurance Department. Out-of-state insurance coverage of any type is NEVER acceptable or valid. If your vehicle is registered in NYS, the remaining insurance coverage must also be NYS insurance coverage.

# Liability coverage must be issued in the name of the registrant and must remain in the name of the registrant at all times. A change on the insurance to a name different from the registrant causes a lapse in insurance coverage, and the driver license of the registrant and the registration is suspended.

# You must show a NYS Insurance Identification Card when you apply for a vehicle registration. Your insurance company, agent or broker must issue two original NYS Insurance Identification Cards to you. The Insurance Identification Cards must have the same name as the registration application and must have a barcode.

# The insurance company must also file an electronic notice of insurance coverage with the DMV to verify the liability coverage. (The agent or broker cannot file this notice.) Your Insurance Identification Card and the electronic notice of insurance coverage together verify your insurance coverage. An Insurance Identification Card only does not prove liability coverage.

# An Insurance Identification Card must be presented within 45 days of the effective date of the insurance coverage. Bring the cards to the DMV office when you apply for the registration. The DMV office will keep one card. Keep the other card with the vehicle. If a police officer requests your proof of insurance, you must show your Insurance Identification Card.

# The DMV does not accept any out-of-state insurance documents.

# If you are a member of the U.S. Armed Forces, and your vehicle is registered in another state, you must have valid NYS liability insurance. You cannot use proof of insurance from another state under any circumstances. It is not easy to get NYS liability insurance from insurance agents or brokers in other states.

NY also says:

All vehicles registered in NYS must have NYS liability coverage. There are no exceptions. If you replace your NYS insurance coverage with out-of-state insurance, a lapse in valid insurance coverage occurs. The NYSDMV suspends your registration, and the NYSDMV can suspend your driver license and/or driving privileges in New York State. The NYSDMV must take actions against your NYS registration and driver license even if you move outside of NYS. This action can affect your ability to hold a valid driver license in your new state. If you register your vehicle in another state, immediately surrender your NYS vehicle plates to the NYSDMV by mail.

Link is here http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/DMVfaqs.htm

However, WA state says:

When you drive a vehicle that is required to be registered in another state, you must be able to provide proof of insurance as required by the laws of that state. You must show this proof of insurance to law enforcement if requested.

hmm...

[ArmyofOne]

Still more, pertainig to residency:

Section 250 (5) of the Vehicle and Traffic Law defines the term "resident." The law defines a resident as a person who lives in NYS with the intent to make NYS a "fixed and permanent" place to live. To live in a house, a home, an apartment, a room or other similar place in NYS for 90 days is considered "presumptive evidence" that you are a resident of NYS. A police officer can use this evidence as the reason to issue a traffic ticket if you drive in NYS without a driver license or vehicle registration issued by NYS.

[SW03ES]

Yuck...

Still though you're moving from NYS to WA...does WA have a similar law?

[ArmyofOne]

From my research, it does not appear that it does. :)

Yes, NYS is awful.

[SW03ES]

NY and NJ both are awful about things like that. Real estate taxes up there are out of control too...

[LEXIRX330]

Ok well in my opinion there are many better companies you can deal with rather than geico and as SW said when you have a claim well that is when people change their tune about how great Geico is. Now I would recommend you contact an independant insurance agent and get them to run the quotes for you. You may be supprised sometimes I can quote the same companies and find discounts you may have missed. Josh if you were around me I would run you with 14 or so companies. I am only licensed in MD VA and DE so I can't help you with that but I will tell you that the others are correct about the rates. If you are 25 now then they should have factored that in but if you just turned 25 mid term ask about an age re rate midterm this would lower your rate if they offer it. Also I know it may seem great to have a low deductible but I always advise people to carry 500 or even a 1000 on collision and a 50 or so on comp. That may help some. Your prior limits are a huge factor in your new rates. Generally the higher your limits on your current policy the better rates you will get on the new policy. Josh as far as American Family I have not run into them much but have not heard anything bad about them. Been trying to post to this for awhile but the new site was given me problems. Works fine on my iPhone but not my CPU at work?

[SW03ES]

My deductible is $1,000 on collision for the very reason Lexi mentioned, I'm not going to turn anything cheaper than that in and it really lowers the premium.

[nc211]

Josh, that law you refence is very common throughout the states, and I'm willing to bet WA has it too somewhere. It's there for a few reasons, but the main reason is to establish you as a tax payer to the state. Unless if you actually own a home in another state, you've pretty much got to convert over. My folks have two homes, one in Florida, and one in Oklahoma. All of the cars are tagged in Florida due to much lower taxes. Their licenses are Florida as well. They spend the winter down there. Everytime they're in Oklahoma, my dad always gets pulled for this "someone please inform Oklahoma the 80's are over..not everyone with southern florida tags is running drugs from Sunny Crocket...oh, and the business on top, party in the back, hair style is dead too".

I got nailed for this over 15 years ago after I had moved to NC. I still had my Kansas tags on the car and the bogus backwoods cop tried to arrest me first for steeling my own car, then for a dui, then for driving without an operators license. I laughted at him on the steeling the car bit. I told him to give me a breatherlizer (he did, said I was .0081...that's.0001 above the limit). He wouldn't let me see the readout. He cuffed and stuffed me in the cruiser, and gave my keys to my buddy and told him to follow us to the station. My buddy, who had a Carolina license, was celebrating his 22nd birthday, was too drunk to stand up, and somehow blew a .004. Long story short, I had to take the breath test again in front of a state trooper, .004, then .003. They couldn't make the "stole the car" bit stick, so they got me on the driver's license. They tried to tell me I was driving without an operators license in general. I barked and said "you mean to tell me you don't recognize the state of Kansas as a part of the United States?" That didn't go over so well. I was told "pay us $80 cash now and this whole thing goes away, or you're going to jail and it's $500 to get you out". Somehow my drunk buddy found the station. I gave the majestrate the $80 and we got out of there...... THREE years later, I finally go to convert my Kansas license to NC....asked "have any points?", I said "nope", he pulled the records....and wouldn't you know it... 3 points for driving without an operator's license in Keenensville, NC. Punk a$$ ba$tards!!

[ArmyofOne]

NC:

The liscense thing does not apply to me. On my Enlisted Record Brief, it has a key phrase, that saves me from ever having to get a liscense in a different state:

"Home of Record: Fort Worth, TX".

Until I get out of the military, or purchase a home in a state, I am not considered a permanent resident of any state except Texas, and therefore am not required to:

-Register my vehicle(s)

-Pay State Income tax

-register to vote

-(in some cases) insure my vehicles

In any state except Texas. This is direct from the Judge Advocate General's office (Army Lawyer :P) . So, I only dont need to change my liscense or my residency as an active duty military member until I purchase a home.

as far as the deductibles go, I might have to look at raising them some. I keep them low to minimize my out-of-pocket expense in the event of an accident. I know with geico, insured where I am now, it will only lower the premium by $100 or so every 6 months...which is not a huge deal, but maybe its a bigger drop in WA?

[BarryW]

Seems like I mentioned this last week! Glad you checked it out!

[ArmyofOne]

Seems like I mentioned this last week! Glad you checked it out!

Well, generally I do not like to ask for advice, and then not take it :P . I like to explore all of my avenues...and I sure am glad I did.

I went through a private agent for American Family Insurance that is local to the base for a quote. I have yet to receive an email back, but she was confident when I asked if I could recieve a quote through the email, that she could save me money. Her exact words were "if your records are as clean as you say they are, I can have you paying close to, or the same as what you are paying now, with minimal changes in coverage, and better service." She claimed that the Online quoting system goes off of the averages, and many times do not include certain risk mitigator's like:

-Extra safety features installed after purchase (such as DOT Approved HID's etc, I was not aware DOT Approved HID kits existed, but hey, learn something new each day :P)

-Credit score

-type of work/length of employment

etc etc. So, I dont know what will happen just yet, but hopefully I can get a decent rate and a great company. I mean lets face it, I do not need $100,000 vehicle coverage, because chances are...IF I have a collision, it is not going to be with a 80k car, and if my car was totalled out tomorrow, I would be lucky to get 14k from insurance. So I am sure state mins will be enough. They are called state mins. for a reason ;)

Thanks again for all the help guys, I will keep you all updated and let you know what we find!