I’m always one interested in saving a couple of bucks when I can. I try to stay vigilant but with the constant stimuli of advertising it can be easy to just sort of switch off your receptors. However I got an email the other day from Geico; my auto insurance policy was coming up for renewal in February; it’s time to look over the current rates. At the same moment I got the email I also saw that animated television commercial for Esurance. I sure was sweet on that agile super spy/customer service rep. Esurance has this thing called the “switch-and-save discount” so I figured I would go through and see just how much money I could really save with an Esurance policy versus the stranglehold that the gecko has over us at Geico.
My wife and I have been with Geico since we got our car in the latter part of 2007. We have driven all over the country (back and forth five times) we have also spent three consecutive months on the road; visiting all 48 contiguous United States; so we know that having reliable auto insurance is very important. I’ve been largely satisfied with Geico; they’ve gotten us gas on the side of the road once and the only time we’ve had to file an insurance claim (a Mack truck swung it’s backside at me while getting on the Brooklyn/Queens Expressway and dragged the front end from my vehicle) the claims reps were all very amenable. We have put 77,000 miles on our twenty eight month old car so we like to drive; getting a good deal on good insurance seems like a great idea.
Because I had my current Geico policy on hand, filling in the blanks on the Esurance policy was pretty easy. Because of our tenure with Geico we actually had a bump in comprehensive & collision coverage (30/60 as opposed to 15/30) so on the Esurance I elected for the lesser coverage (30/60 wasn’t an option). Everything else though, was the same on both policies.
While I am not as enamored as others are with that little green gecko, there is something to be said for customer loyalty, apparently. The quote I was given from Esurance was a full four hundred dollars more than what were currently paying with Geico for a six month policy. Really? Switch & Save what? And for less coverage even! I was also a little cross at how quickly they demanded I sign up; the screen with my current auto insurance rate and the Esurance offered rate came with a place for me to enter all my bank and credit card information. Right there; same screen; your six month quote, $400 more and they wanted me to give them my info and sign up RIGHT AWAY.
Oh well, I sighed; another five minutes wasted. At least it wasn’t one of those blind-switch-don’t-know-what-you’ve-got-till-it’s-gone situations. I did my best backing out of the screens and erasing all my pertinent info, but Esurance had all that they needed. Minutes later (minutes!) my phone rings. It’s a rep from Esurance; they want to know why I didn’t sign up! Piqued, I asked the agent what the quoted amount was; he gave me the same information I had seen on the screen. I asked him if he saw my current auto insurance rate.
“Oh…yeah,” he said a little unsure; then he launched into his sales pitch. “Well, we just want to be sure you’re taking advantage of all the discounts we can offer you.”
“Why wouldn’t those have come up in your initial offer,” I asked.
He changed tact. “…Well maybe you just entered something wrong.”
I’m sorry, am I an idiot?
“Well, no-” he said, even though I’m sure he wanted to say “yes.” I then assured him I’d entered everything on par with my current auto plan and that this was the result. Being branded a moron by some phone operator was not helping his case.
Chances are you’ve seen a slew of the ads promising better auto insurance and chances are there are those who would be able to save money by going with another auto insurer. But I guess I’ll have Geico for life; or as long as I’m driving (there is still that fantasy of mine for returning to New York City again. Still, I dream…) With all the savings and posturing and competition going on in the auto insurance world, you would think an upstart like Esurance would have something more to offer than just insults and derision.
