Save yourself a headache
Written: Jul 12 '04 (Updated Jun 17 '06)
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Pros: Good customer service (After you wait on hold for a long time)
Cons: If you switch to another company they report you to the DMV
Uninformed sales staff
The Bottom Line: It might end up costing you at the long run. Make sure they don't report you to the DMV for nothing if you switch back to another company.
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| janh's Full Review: AIG - American International Group - Auto |
As a single 25 year old male, with a couple of points on my license and owner of two sports cars, (one of them a convertible); car insurance takes quite a bit of my paycheck. I’m aware of how important is to have car insurance, especially in south Florida, down here I would also recommend a “full time” insurance company open 24/7. I like the fact of being able to do changes and payments to my policy on the spot without being restricted to the agency’s business hours.
This leads me to have fewer options about picking an insurance carrier, after years of using “discount” insurance carriers, a client that is on the industry scared the hell out of me and told me about the importance of a reliable carrier. I tried Allstate for a while, and then I switched to GEICO. I didn’t have any issues with either company but then I received an offer from AIG, inviting me to do a free quote. I called them a few days later and the quote was actually higher than GEICO, but while I was doing my research about AIG, I learned that they had a “good student” discount, not even the AIG’s order taker (salesman) knew about this until he asked his manager per my request.
Being a “good student” under 25 with a GPA of B or better, I was eligible for the discount, then the quote went down to about $150 less than GEICO. Then I called GEICO to see if they could beat AIG, I was very satisfied with GEICO but money talks… Unfortunately GEICO could not offered me the student discount because I was not on the appropriate “level” to get this benefit. If I understood correctly, it seems like insurance companies rate their clients based on their credit, risk, etc… and adjust the prices and discounts accordingly, so at the time, I was not one of their “preferred customers”.
Then I made the switch to AIG, they are really fast to pick up the phone and sign you up, but the waiting time for payments and customer service is about 8 times longer than GEICO. Every time I needed something, they put me on hold for such an extended period of times that I almost can quote the recording…”due to an overwhelming response to our low cost insurance we are experiencing a high volume of calls, please wait for the next available representative”….
So this is the first tip for you, insurance shoppers…DO call customer service first to see how good they are before making the switch. At the time, I was buying my second car and I needed to add it to the policy, however once I got a hold of a customer service representative, they were effective and polite.
Subsequently it was time to renew my policy, so I called the good ol’ GEICO. This time they reviewed my info and I got the quote, I couldn’t get the student discount from either company this time because I was just turning 25 at the time of the renewal, then I called AIG and it was $40 higher than GEICO. Again money talks… so I went back to GEICO. I was pleased to see that they kept the same policy number that I knew by heart and even my password for their Website. Going back to them was a breeze.
Then a couple of months later…that means, TODAY, I received a letter from the Department of Motor Vehicles threading to suspend my license If I didn’t show proof of insurance. The top of the letter quotes “AIG” Ins Co of Pennsylvania has notified us that your insurance policy #XXXX is no longer in effect…
I never, EVER had this issue with the smaller companies, Allstate or GEICO. I placed insurance with GEICO one day in advance so I was NEVER uninsured. This was the AIG’s way to say “up yours” What is scary is that the post office gentleman of my area tends to confuse the mail on my condo at least a couple of times a month. If for some reason this letter would have gone to another neighbor or to an unoccupied apartment, I would have to pay way more than $150 to renew my license, not to mention standing on line for hours and going through all that hassle.
Fifty percent of the time I’m visiting clients on the company vehicle, I could have been fired If I was caught with a suspended license. Bottom line… It does not worth the hassle, money is important but peace of mind…priceless.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
janh
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Location: Florida
Reviews written: 8
Trusted by: 0 members
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