This Gekko may not be your friend...

[Chopper]

Geico has begun to write all accident claims (in Fla. anyway) based on cheap aftermarket parts. The parts themselves, are sold by "Keystone" (here) and originate in China, for the most part. Many electronic/electric pieces are Indian. The stamped (Chinese) parts are inferior in every way...fitament is off, metal is flimsy, fastener holes are missing etc.. Don't know about the Indian stuff yet :( They have been pushing this agenda for some time, but always backed down, and accepted OEM when we challenged them. No more. If you drive a high volumn vehicle ie. Corrolla, Camry, Civic, Accord, F-150 and so on, and you are covered by the Gekko, you are getting aftermarket...unless YOU complain. We(the collision center) have little choice. In the last month, two seperate vehicles were rejected at delivery, by the owners, because of bad gaps etc. One F-150 hood was thin steel (not OEM aluminum!) and a full quarter inch too narrow. When the owners complain, Geico pays us to fix the situation, (order OEM and redo it) but what a PIA for the customer. It's bad enough, my F-150 is Canadian and Mexican...I don't want an ill fitting Chinese hood on it too :mad: http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/thumbs/IMG_1837.JPG (http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/IMG_1837.JPG)[url=http://www.vehicross.info/gallery/data/500/IMG_1837.JPG][img]

[ZEUS]

I have Geico and am not sure I trust them, although I only pay $85 a month for "full coverage". Maybe you get what you pay for... What would be the best insurance companies out there when a claim does need to be filed? State Farm seems to me to have the best rep.

[cyronman]

I have Geico and am not sure I trust them, although I only pay $85 a month for "full coverage". Maybe you get what you pay for... What would be the best insurance companies out there when a claim does need to be filed? State Farm seems to me to have the best rep.

Not to hijack here...but I was just considering this today.
I've had Progressive, and my gf is dealing with a claim through AAA right now, that has me curious how different companies compare.
I got a great rate with Progressive, but the "get what you pay for" theme got me wondering.

[Triathlete]

I have had State Farm for as long as I have been driving. Have not had any problems at all with them.
I have heard bad things about Progressive also. They seem to drop a LOT of people after just one claim.

[tom4bren]

I used to have State Farm. They were very good to me ... until the divorce. They had my hands tied for over a year paying my Ex's auto insurance. The only way I was able to get out of it was to go delinquent on payments. UGLY.

I now have USAA and love it. That won't help most of you because you have to have ties to the military to get it.

Back on track with the thread: I never had any experience with cheap aftermarket parts but have been forced into used parts on an insurance repair. It all worked out but just "seemed wrong".

[Triathlete]

T4B...you got jacked. There are federal laws that regulate insurance co. that prevent them from "forcing" you you settle for aftermarket parts. It may take more time and be a bit of a PITA but the laws are there to help protect you.
Also you may be surprised at how many VX owners are military or prior military...Semper Fi!

[tom4bren]

Shoulda clarified. Shop was forced to order a used tailgate for an Amigo once but they returned it because of lousy condition & I got a new one anyway.

[Triathlete]

:thumbup:

[nfpgasmask]

Nice Madagasy day gecko Chopper...

Bart

[Chopper]

That one is one of the Mad/Mads...I've Grandis, Standings, and a few Leaf Tails.That male was born in 1993, and has sired hundreds of offspring. Still goin' strong. Progressive always pushes for aftermarket, and reconditioned too. Allstate, and State Farm are among the best,(I've had S.F. for thirty years) True...you get what you pay for, but you do not have to accept substandard parts....YOU gotta speak up!

[Trudy Carp]

I am the office manager at a body shop in Colorado. This is my list of the top worst insurance companies that exist. The kind that you would walk or ride a bike if they were the last choices on the planet.

1. Progressive
Never has one insurance company done so much to screw their
customers & anyone they happen to hit. Yep, doesn't even matter if
they aren't your company. As much used and aftermarket crap as they
can find to do a repair. I've seen them keep an insured out of his vehicle
for 3 weeks on a 4 day repair just so they could pay $10 less for a part.
Will not pay any extra freight to get a part quicker, will tell you to get it
from the customer. Most of their policies are written without rental
coverage. Most people dump them after their first claims experience.
2. Allied/Nationwide
Both are the same company & they are NOT ON YOUR SIDE! Recently
made a liability claiment pay the difference between an oem fender & a
genuine Ford one. His truck was 3 weeks new.
3. Geico
Ah yes, the gekko. Another one that wants to use junk parts on a
repair. Get hit by one of their insureds and you will want to kill
somebody. Frequently advise liability claiments to use their own
insurance company, if it's not one of these listed, and let them get the
money back from Geico. You CAN get them to give you a check to cover
your deductable so you don't have to wait 30-60 days for it from your
company after they settle up.

The good guys are: Allstate, Encompass, American Family, Farmers, United
Fire & Causulty, USAA. I will include State Farm, for now. They are in the
process of changing their repair guidelines here in Colorado, so they could
end up on the "bad list" soon. USAA is my favorite.

[Chopper]

No problem with S.F. here...they were first in line to bump our shop rate this year. Every one else will follow soon(Allstate was second). I would not want home coverage from them...they were the very first to drop homeowners after the hurricanes here a few years back. Dropped a couple hundred thousand more coastal homes this year. Nationwide announced they are leaving home insurance in Fla. all together. We have a real problem comming in that respect.

[driver3]

1. Progressive
Never has one insurance company done so much to screw their
customers & anyone they happen to hit. Yep, doesn't even matter if
they aren't your company. As much used and aftermarket crap as they
can find to do a repair. I've seen them keep an insured out of his vehicle
for 3 weeks on a 4 day repair just so they could pay $10 less for a part.
Will not pay any extra freight to get a part quicker, will tell you to get it
from the customer. Most of their policies are written without rental
coverage. Most people dump them after their first claims experience.


I disagree... First of all, they tell you that you need rental coverage, and cheap people say no. Second, if you are fixing a 10 year old car, they will not put new parts on it, the car is not new either. They make it like it was before the accident. I would normally not stick up for insurance companies, but I work for this one and I know they are good with claims. In fact, if you total your white vehicross, they will go out and find one of the same mileage and color and buy it for you and give you the car as your replacement. There are some cool things they do, and I'm sure there are a few times when someone feels they get screwed. It will always be that way, the problem is, the happy people rarely blog their great experiences, while angry people make sure it's known that that's the worst company out there.

Also, I believe you need to be a "Progressive Approved" shop to get the best out of Progressive. They have consierge sites that give you a car and pager and they handle your claim and page you when your car is done. They queue up the best shops to be able to get your car back faster than most shops could. So maybe in that instance, the person chose to use your shop rather than one of theirs, which could have possibly fixed it quicker, but they will not pay any extra for them to take it to another shop. Basically, you had to order a part, their shop did not, therefor they will not pay extra for yours to get there? Maybe?

Not an arguement, but there are always exceptions.

[Chopper]

Buisness Owner: (collision repair) To Progressive Man: Your insurance sux...your biz policy sux....I'll withhold judgement on you personally. Wayne

[Mr.Badguy]

I'm not sure what to say on this subject, but i felt i had to say something. I have Progressive, and yes they have great rates, Especially for New Jersey, where other insurance companies backed out years ago, Progressive came in with good rates. NOW some here might remember that i had an accident in May, a kid in a pick-up truck ran into me. the kid had Allstate insurance. I went throguh my insurance company and had the VX repaired in 6 days, and they payed my rental car, no hassle, and the repair was done really well, the plastic parts were aftermark, the hood was Isuzu. My mechanic also agreed that the repair was done really well. I have to say that i'm happy with the repair, and how it was done. The owner of the body shop marveled at the VX. NOW, i had to pay my deductible. something i never had to do when i had Liberty mutual, or First Trenton, but in the accidents that happened to me with those prior companies (with other cars) the persons that hit me had the same insurance as me.

Today, i still don't have the deductible returned to me. i was told by them in writing that they would give Allstate till September or they will seek legal action to get it from Allstate. This thread on the subject will make me call them on Tuesday to find out the status on this and see where things take me.

So i guess i'll leave it at that. Progressive has great rates, but i am suffering a bit. Hope things turn out ok so i can say that i had a positive experience.

[driver3]

Buisness Owner: (collision repair) To Progressive Man: Your insurance sux...your biz policy sux....I'll withhold judgement on you personally. Wayne

gee thanks!

there are probably a bunch of people that have been unhappy with your collision repair shop in the past, just bad experiences where they thought they deserved more than they got. It happens all the time.

[phx99blackvx]

Interesting thread

I am a claims adjuster for one of the aforementioned companies. Here is the scoop!

Your claim is handled as outlined in your policy, yes you all get a policy when you start with an insurance company, you know that big packet of paper you file or throw away without reading.

As for the types of parts used for repair, this will be addressed in your policy
Typically, 2 years or newer based on build date, OEM is used, 2 years or older, "quality replacement parts" is typically used.

State Farm(and this is not my company) uses OEM for all due to a big lawsuit some time back.

As for the claims process in general, You have to understand, it is like any other biz, you have good workers and you have bad workers, I have co-workers that I would let adjust my claim without thinking twice, and there are co-workers that I would freak out if I had a claim and they were handling it. Like anything else, it luck of the draw.

Insurance is a heavily regulated industry and attorney's feed off claims adjusters that make mistakes. That said, even the bad adjuster, work within the regulations to avoid having their name included in a Bad faith law suit. Keep in mind, just because a claim may go to suit, It is not very often a claim goes to suit for bad faith.

The name of the claim game is:

Know your policy and coverage before you need to use it
pay the little extra for the rental car coverage, its worth it.
Understand that your adjuster, believe it or not, is human just like you and is being overworked by a big corporation
That accidents happen, they suck, they are stressful, etc, listen to and work with your adjuster, and more times then not they will bend over backwards to help you.

[bigkoala1]

i have had 21st for a while now, but no claims/ tickets. anyone heard anything about them. good/bad?

[JoFotoz]

.

I'm doing the yearly "audit" of all our insurance needs right now,
and getting VERY good rate quotes from Mercury....??

We are with Farmers right now...they are certainly solid & reliable....

...but expensive!

Geico are cheap too...but some of the comments here about them worry me!

Anyone had dealings with Mercury??

Thanks

jo

[JHarris1385]

.

I'm doing the yearly "audit" of all our insurance needs right now,
and getting VERY good rate quotes from Mercury....??

We are with Farmers right now...they are certainly solid & reliable....

...but expensive!

Geico are cheap too...but some of the comments here about them worry me!

Anyone had dealings with Mercury??

Thanks

jo

I just got a job offer from Farmers.

[Chopper]

Farmers ain't bad...I'd stick. As far as the adjuster thing...yeah, there is a dff, but when we open something up, and an adjustment is needed...Some guys say "Take a picture, and send it"....some will hold the customer up for days...or weeks,trying to save 17 dollars. Our car is different....it's O.E.M. or nothing. Here is where it gets important....the better companies will do all they can to save your car...if you want, if it's close, they will kill it for you. Another issue is how these operations deal with people YOU hit....I know.....you don't care. If you drive a beater, get BEATER insurance...love your car?...spend the extra. This is from the guy that puts your car back together.