I'll be needing insurance on my '85 some time this year. My last accident was such a bad experience with State Farm that I changed companies. Now I'm with Allstate.

The guy who hit my '87 was uninsured so it fell back on my insurance. I had to fight them so hard to do ANYTHING, much less what I wanted! Long story short, the car is back home and it will not be usable without some serious work. Needless to say, State Farm is done with it. The rest will either fall on me or the next owner.

By the time my '85 is ready, it will not be a $2500 car. I am doing everything I can to make it like new or better. I suppose I'll need an agreed value policy but this will also be my daily driver.

If your insurance took good care of you, say for instance in a single car accident or an uninsured case, what company was it?

At this point I'm less concerned about price as I am service. What's the point of cheap insurance if they cheap-out on you when you need them?

Thanks,

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Jonathan
23K mile '85 notchie w/ 88 cradle, '87 2.8/Getrag, Air, PW, PDL, PM - Still under construction
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/121056.html
I'm not a mechanic but I play one in my garage - me
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely - Lord Acton
Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not - Thomas Jefferson
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants - Thomas Jefferson

I think it's less to do with the company and more to do with your agent and the claims adjuster. Some agents are very good at arguing for you their client, others just let the adjuster do whatever they want. I had very good results from Horace Mann (my wife is a teacher), I had a horrible experience with someone else who had Geico (they hit me). Others will chime in and I bet for everyone who had good luck with a particular company someone else had bad luck. I'll be curious to see the responses you get. Excellent question!

In terms of money and coverage- Geico really came through with a big check for my GT when I was t-boned and hit a parked car.

However, I was pissed off when it took the insurance adjuster 3 weeks to come out and evaluate my car. It was well over 2 months before I received my check.

Accident happened on Dec 23rd, I believe I got my check sometime in mid Feb.

Another thing that angered me is that I hurt my back from this accident, with MRIs indicating that- yet based on an evaluation from an orthopedist who only checked my range of motion- they cancelled my claim. Needless to say I'm going through lawyers and other doctors and will be going after them ($$$) for that.

State Farm did well by me, but again, it is your agent.

State Farm has always treated me well. The only insurance companies I have had problems with are the no name companies people get to cover high risk drivers.

I've been with State Farm since 1993 and have had great experiences except for one time which was easily taken care of by simply changing agents.

I use Nationwide an my agent rocks. I can't say it would be the same with a different agent or not, but I've been happy enough with the customer service, I'm not interested in switching even if another company offers to save me money.

It is sad to say that I had been with the same State Farm agent, Betty Rumph in Kingsport, TN, for many years. I had had my home, motorcycle, truck, and several cars all thru her. She did NOTHING! She refused to plead my case to any degree. I spent almost 3 hours in her office and took my sister as a witness to what was said and agreed to. Betty only repeated what the adjusters said. She was clearly not acting in my best interest.

In fact, I had been hit on the other side of that car a few months prior and got a nice check from Farm Bureau. That was easy but they were the at-fault driver's company. They can't really fight a repair bill. State Farm had the nerve to remind me that I had gotten a check for that damage as if to say that it should have been enough compensation for the whole car! Then they argued that the damage from that side of the car magically was transfered to the opposite side so they weren't liable for the paint damage! One adjuster over the phone actually stated that it was their intention to "stick me" for the cost of the paint damage! How freaking bold is that!

Since anyone can use any repair facility for an insured repair, I think if I have another collision, I'll have my car sent to The Fiero Factory! Who else will know and do a better job? And while I'm on the subject, I would think, based on my experience, that it would be best to ask your insurance company which body shops are their "preferred" shops. Then use ANYBODY else!!! If the shops have any sort of agreement with the ins co, they won't be on your side either. They know who butters their bread!

Jonathan

I had good luck when I was with State Farm, but ended up switching to Amica a couple of years ago. I couldn't justify ever increasing insurance premiums for vehicles that were depreciating in value. The wife and I were were rear ended in her Infiniti Monday evening (04/16/12). I choose were I want it fixed (in this case, a higher end body shop specializing in Lexus/Infiniti/BMW/MB stuff).
Reported claim on Tuesday 04/17/2012
Amica got ahold of the police report, emailed it to us on Tuesday
Amica started going after State Farm on Tuesday
Amica found us a rental car (2012 Nissan Altima) when I couldn't after calling every car rental company within 100 miles of KC. Seems a lot of pople are in town for NASCAR.
We got the damage estimate in the mail yesterday (Thursday 04/19/2012).
Car is now getting fixed.

They also took good care of us when the massive hail storm came through Kansas last year... to the tune of $25k between house and cars.

Amica ranks 2nd in Consumer Reports, behind USAA. State Farm is further down the list. What ever you do though, don't get Progressive.

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-Chris
'85 V6 SE 4sp (SOLD)
'88 GT Auto (Under the knife @ Sinister Performance... stay tuned. )
'99 Kawasaki Vulcan 500, owned since new
'03 Sentra SE-R Spec V (Daily driver)
'09 G37x w/ Premium & Nav (wife's car)

With any auto insurance... It would be a better idea to leave minimum coverage on it, and just collect what you saved from not having full coverage into your own "insurance fund"... No fiero is worth what an insurance company would cover it for, and no coverage is worth the extra cost (at least with the way a fiero is rated... other vehicles may have some benefits, but its unlikely).

I've been with State Farm since 1977 and have never had a bad claim experience. I might save a few hundred dollars a year switching to somebody else, but when it comes time to pay up, I don't need a run-around. I'm paying for peace of mind. Sorry to hear of your "poor" experience.

My family uses Farmers. I have used them with my wife now that we are on our own. Had very good experiences.

I do actually insure my Fiero fully and a couple months ago I was hit in an intersection. It turned out to be my fault, although it could have happened to anyone, terrible intersection. They lowballed me but after I presented receipts and comps for similar cars with engine swaps and suspension work and brake work and flawless bodywork they reevaluated my car at almost 8000 and when all was said and done I got a check for almost 7000. My car was considered totalled but I got it all relicensed and an 88 rear cradle swap and some body work later my car is coming right along...

Oh also Kony shocks, EBC brakes, HHP swaybars... Lets just say my car is twice the car it was before and I couldnt be more excited.

Long story short, Farmers insurance has always treated me well!

State Farm is good, Allstate was OK as well. I avoid Progressive at all costs, they suck when it comes time to file a claim.

Well..... I can tell you this DO NOT get Farm bureau. They just plain suck and did not help me on several different incidents. We kicked them to the curb and are back with Geico on my van and my wife's trooper. Once I get my fiero I will probably get it insured with them. If I get it all fixed up nice and engine swapped I will undoubtedly go with an agreed value collector car insurance on it because even geico who has ALWAYS taken good care of me over many years and several wrecks when it comes to the fiero it is such a cheap car in their eyes it will be totaled even if you get a window broken it seems. They really do not seem to want to be bothered with the inexpensive older project cars we all love. That goes for most of the large insurance companies I have been with. I would really look at a collector car insurance for your fiero once you get it finished because they are really the only ones who will give you not only the time of day for it but the understanding and consideration a classic car deserves. My best friend Mark in florida has several collector cars that he has this kind of policy on and he says not only is it cheaper and you still get to drive your car if you want but when he did have a claim during a hurricane damage awhile back they really took good care of him and even helped him find a GOOD reputable shop to do the repairs. He has a MINT condition ultra low mile Black 1986 Mustang GT that he has owned since new and a red 1977 camaro that he has also owned since new. They are his babies along with his sportbikes..... Good luck with whatever you choose but IMHO anymore insurance companies are REALLY starting to suck ass and will only do absolutely what they have to and nothing more and even then you gotta pull freakin' teeth to get them to do it. Peace

Pete

Progressive here. I have not had to file a claim on a Fiero, but have twice on our truck--the one my wife usually drives. They fixed both it and the other party's vehicles with no poblems--quickly too--provided a <100 miles on odometer Dodge pickup as a rental, paid the wrecker--etc etc-- BUT, when my wife had the 2nd at fault accident, and a speeding ticket, they raised our rates considerably. I also agree about NOT carrying full coverage ins on a Fiero. I don't carry it on either of the Indys--just on the truck, and may soon drop everything on the truck except liability.

BTW, I did a search not long ago, and in my state, Amica had the highest rating for customer satisfaction. I personally know nothing about them.

[This message has been edited by maryjane (edited 04-21-2012).]

I was just carrying liability only on the '87. When the other guy ended up being uninsured, my Uninsured Motorist Coverage kicked in. I can't help but wonder if they were stingy because I had not been paying for Collision. Another factor could be that I used the same body shop to do my estimate for this second accident. They wrote a really good estimate for me the first time and they didn't get to do any of the work. I just put the check in my pocket. Maybe the second time around was a product of their efforts to either screw me for the loss of the first job or to lowball it so I wouldn't be tempted to take the money. That is a very common practice and it saves the companies big bucks. Unfortunately their customers are getting screwed out of a huge portion of the money they are rightfully entitled to. The cost of my repairs plus rental and towing was over three times the initial estimate. State Farm could have been balking on that difference but their own adjuster's estimate was even lower and a complete joke. The State Farm adjuster refused to include the damage that I told him about that wasn't visible. He also refused to wait until I could be there to pop the trunk so he could see the damage. He might as well stood there with his fingers in his ears saying "La-La-La-La-La !!!"

Jonathan