What's the deal with Progressive Insurance?

[Fat Charlie]

Originally Posted by Old Mechanic

Last time I went through a state police license-registration check, the trooper refused to even look at my insurance card!

If you require insurance why do you REFUSE to even verify?

Maybe this spring they'll get a grant for an insurance card check. Just try showing your registration then!

[redpoint5]

I think I'll let my insurance lapse 1 day every time now, and then sign up on a new policy.

Work is like this in a way too. My pay was frozen at an absurdly low wage until one day when I was offered a job somewhere else and put in my 2 weeks notice. The company asked me to submit a proposal for what I would want to stay. I said the minimum I would want to stay is a 40% pay increase, which they accepted.

Most companies don't have much loyalty to their employees these days, and employees in turn aren't loyal. Often times you have to quit to advance in your career.

That reminds me, I have homeowners insurance through IDS, which is Ameriprise. Better get a new quote for that while I'm at it.

[jamesqf]

Originally Posted by freebeard

I'd been with some other company for 20+ years, but I put in a claim at the beginning of the year and I had to push back against their settlement offer for a month and a half before they deigned to pay the claim.

Only a month and a half? Seems fairly quick to me: I got hit by a guy with Progressive insurance a few years ago, and it took them close to a year to pay the claim. (Which actually worked out quite well, since in the meantime I'd done all the repairs myself, for an outlay of a few hundred, so I would up about $5K ahead.)

The root of the problem here is short-term thinking. Just like Wall Street, people get graded & paid bonuses on the amount of new business they generate, so it pays them to keep churning the market rather than work for long term profits.

[ksa8907]

We left progressive a few years baxk when they dropped our home insurance because of a crumbling chimney. Our house doesn't have a chimney.

Got insurance with Erie, pay about the same and have almost 2x the coverage. Btw, how much does advertising cost?... and who pays for it? Ive only seen one Erie insurance commercial in my life.

[Xist]

You guys must be smarter than everyone than everyone else or these practices would not be cost-effective.

That reminds me of people juggling credit cards to always be in their introductory periods, except most people need car insurance. Not everyone needs a credit card balance.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by Xist

You guys must be smarter than everyone than everyone else or these practices would not be cost-effective.

That goes without saying...

[redpoint5]

That's the thing; I hate paying to be advertised to. I didn't choose Progressive because of the commercials, it just happened to be the cheapest of 3 places I got quotes from years back.

Unfortunately the companies that can afford to advertise also have the sales volume to keep prices low. That's the reason why Walmart can advertise and still sell cheap crap for low prices.

In my perfect world, decisions would be made rationally and there would be no room for advertising. It would probably be a boring world though, and we wouldn't have reason to be smug about making superior purchasing decisions.

[ksa8907]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

That's the thing; I hate paying to be advertised to. I didn't choose Progressive because of the commercials, it just happened to be the cheapest of 3 places I got quotes from years back.

Unfortunately the companies that can afford to advertise also have the sales volume to keep prices low. That's the reason why Walmart can advertise and still sell cheap crap for low prices.

In my perfect world, decisions would be made rationally and there would be no room for advertising. It would probably be a boring world though, and we wouldn't have reason to be smug about making superior purchasing decisions.

A big factor to why its cheaper is because they have lower coverage amounts.

[jcp123]

Originally Posted by redpoint5

Work is like this in a way too. My pay was frozen at an absurdly low wage until one day when I was offered a job somewhere else and put in my 2 weeks notice. The company asked me to submit a proposal for what I would want to stay. I said the minimum I would want to stay is a 40% pay increase, which they accepted.

Most companies don't have much loyalty to their employees these days, and employees in turn aren't loyal. Often times you have to quit to advance in your career.

Interesting. I put into two weeks notice last friday; my supervisor would love to keep me but I'm going into a new career with double the pay TO START. If he had the authority, I think he would find a way to keep me.

[redpoint5]

Originally Posted by ksa8907

A big factor to why its cheaper is because they have lower coverage amounts.

I always quote at state minimum coverage, so all else is equal when I shop for insurance.

Originally Posted by jcp123

Interesting. I put into two weeks notice last friday; my supervisor would love to keep me but I'm going into a new career with double the pay TO START. If he had the authority, I think he would find a way to keep me.

In my previous job, I was told that after 6 months of working I would be given a 10-20% pay raise depending on performance. After 1 month of work, I found my current job and told my employer that I would be leaving. He offered a 40% pay increase to stay, but my other offer was much more, and in the field of work I wanted to be in.

I should quit though. I've read that people that change jobs more frequently also advance their careers at a faster pace. I've been at the same job for 11 years and still only get 2 weeks vacation and practically no benefits. I make enough money to be happy though, like what I'm doing, and like my hours.

Congratulations on the career move. Hope you find satisfaction in your new role.