Progressive Insurance - Flo's the girl

[boxster6354]

As I had stated in another post about getting T-Boned by a driver that ran a stop sign, I wanted to add a few things about my experience with Progressive Insurance.

Very prompt with their taking care of the situation, getting the car to their shop to inspect.

I was worried about all the mods I had done and them not taking into consideration of the value, but when the adjuster went to inspect which she took a mechanic with her she called me and conversation went like this:

Ins. Adjuster:
Hi I am here looking at your car and when I ran the VIN it came back as a base Boxster and did not list:
Aero Kit
Litronic Lights

Me: Yes I added those after purchase

Ins. Adjuster:
Do you have receipts?

Me: Yes

Ins Adjuster: Cool Beans... What about the Break/Gas/Clutch pedals? they do not look standard either, and did you change your shifter and also that's not a standard stereo either.

Me: yes add on's also but not sure if I have all those receipts.

Ins Adjuster: No problem, just go to the web and see what all sell for, not eBay but actual parts from major store.

Me: Ok will do.

Then she goes on to say if the value exceeds a certain percentage of the value of the car they will total it, and if they decide to do so she advised me to see if I know of others that would want to swap out upgrades with standard parts!

I was impressed that she knew all this and then to find out yes she has a Boxster also

So after the inspection they found no damage to frame or suspension and such and also found the other person at fault to where they will go after them for costs, but they will handle getting fixed.

So this morning I get a call from my agent and he tells me to find the best body shop around that specializes in Porsche and let them know where to send the car.

Called up the dealership and they said they send all their high value work to a specific place that is Porsche certified, so now it is off to the body shop.

Now I am surprised they did not total as for a MY2000 Boxster the estimate of repair which includes quite a bit and a total respray is around $7000.00

Has anyone in the Houston area ever went to:
Hanley Bros Foreign Auto Body
1517 Silber Road
Houston, Texas 77055
Hanley Bros. (Houston,TX)

Will post outcome

[l3m]

Good deal Travis. I don't have experience with Hanley Bros. but someone in this thread doesn't recommend them. The thread has other good recommendations.

crash repair houston - Rennlist Discussion Forums

[Perfectlap]

I had an accident no too long, albeit minor parking lot incident. My car was stationary and another car backed into me going barely 3 mph but his car had a high rear end so he managed to reach and dent a fender, just barely touched the headlight enough to break the secured fitting (light was still 100% functional), scratched the front bumper and hood but didn't penetrate it either. The adjuster came over and the bodyshop said it was about $7K to fix. Kind of shocking given that's nearly half the value of the car (minus mods). Turns out the guys insurance payed for ALL NEW PARTS. Then... wait for it.... the insurance company asks if I want the check for that amount or if I would prefer the convenience of having the bodyshop bill them directly. I think you know which option I chose.

Glad to know Progressive are not the cut rate operation that their competitors like Allstate would have you believe. I was overpaying for insurance for years, nearly $2K a year. I finally got off my arse to call for quotes and Progressive beat the pants of f all others. The one guy from State Farm called me back and after I told him I'd just received a quote from Progressive he said "ah...Progressive okay good talking. good bye.". The GEICO guy wanted to know what the Progressive quote was before telling me his quote and when I told him basically $100 a month, he said "well we'll try you next year".
BTW, Junk mail has not ceased since from all the insurers since... annoying.

[thstone]

Sounds good so far and I hope that it all works out well, but ..... I never trust an insurance company. They always find a way to screw the insured somehow, someway.

Sorry to sound so cynical but that is the sum of my experiences with insurance companies.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by thstone

Sounds good so far and I hope that it all works out well, but ..... I never trust an insurance company. They always find a way to screw the insured somehow, someway.

Sorry to sound so cynical but that is the sum of my experiences with insurance companies.

+1 but the body shops are much worse.

[golonaus]

Progressive rocks
Claimed like 3 times with them
Always that was enough for repair and then some for upgrades

[thom4782]

Great to hear Progressive does a good job in settling claims fairly.

Just for grins, I went online to ask for a quote to compare to GEICO, which is my current insurer. Well, the grin turned into a frown quickly, The Progressive quote was 65% higher than GEICO for the same coverage limits. No wonder Progressive pays out well.

[patssle]

Just for grins, I went online to ask for a quote to compare to GEICO, which is my current insurer. Well, the grin turned into a frown quickly, The Progressive quote was 65% higher than GEICO for the same coverage limits. No wonder Progressive pays out well.

It would be intersting to know how they all calculate their rates. I'm on Progressive and I've gotten quotes from every major insurer out there over the years - they are all pretty much the same rate for me with the same coverage limits.

[steved0x]

I'm in NC and I have had Geico for around 15 years. My ex moved to SC and her Geico rate was through the roof, but Progressive had a much more aggressive price for the same coverage. SO I got a Progressive quote here in NC, and it didn't beat the Geico. They said some states regulate the prices that insurance companies can charge and it can be different from state to state.

[Timco]

Originally Posted by thom4782

Great to hear Progressive does a good job in settling claims fairly.

Just for grins, I went online to ask for a quote to compare to GEICO, which is my current insurer. Well, the grin turned into a frown quickly, The Progressive quote was 65% higher than GEICO for the same coverage limits. No wonder Progressive pays out well.

When you have questions or a claim, do you ask to speak to the cave man or the lizard first?

We have American Family. Great coverage and claim process. Treated us well when $9k in tools were stolen from a rental.

[Porsche Chick]

Originally Posted by thstone

Sounds good so far and I hope that it all works out well, but ..... I never trust an insurance company. They always find a way to screw the insured somehow, someway.

Sorry to sound so cynical but that is the sum of my experiences with insurance companies.

Yeah, I'm with you on this.

It sounds really good so far, so I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. . .

[dghii]

So what do you think the claim would have to be to to your car? $9k? , $10k? It's not the value of your car, but getting close enough to the value to total it.
Case in point: teenager puts our 2006 Exploder limited in its side almost 2 years ago. Vehicle valued at $13-14k.. Estimate to repair was $8800. By the time it was fixed, total bill was almost $12k!
Fast forward to a month ago. Same vehicle hammers a deer. Front end totally messed up and transmission cooler leaking. Eastimate comes in at $4800. Got the vehicle back last week. Total bill was $10.9k. I would have taken that Ina heartbeat if it had been offered.
BTW, Geico .

[mikefocke]

Amazing stories. My only experience was with USAA back a few years. I looked at the Boxster and said $5k mentally based on similar look of my son's Honda. The body shop stopped counting at $23k with more to go.

With no work/haggling on my part, I got paid $3500 MORE than I had paid for the car 5 months earlier and USAA knew to the penny what I paid for the car originally. (I had bargained hard for the car.) No real mods were involved and I was able to move from a '99 to an '01S for about the same money.

[RandallNeighbour]

Travis, I'm surprised they didn't total your car. $7k is a lot of money for repairs.

Be sure to check on the body shop frequently with unannounced visits so they know you are picky picky picky. You're gonna have a brand new looking boxster when they're done. Sweet!

I've always thought that auto accidents--for the most part--help owners of older cars come out on top.

IMPORTANT: You should definitely ask your insurance agent about a payment to YOU from the other insurance company for DIMINISHED VALUE. They'll cough up a couple of grand I bet. It's certainly worth the time and effort to see if you can extract some more cash out of them beyond repairs.

[LAP1DOUG]

I'm not scared of much, but Flo / Progressive Insurance scare the heck out of me. Haven't you guys seen that commercial where they want you to try this electronic nanny that plugs into your car?

A guy who works for me fell for this trap when they offered him a minor discount on insurance. He says it plugs into the OBD port, so it can collect all sorts of data about your driving habits. He tells me that it beeps at him if he brakes too hard, and he has to start slowing down earlier than normal to keep it from beeping.

He got tired of all the beeping, and pulled it out. Whereupon Flo calls him on his cell phone and wants to know why he has disabled the nanny. Under threat of insurance cancellation, he plugged it back in.

I just wonder how long we have before all of the insurance companies jump on this bandwagon. I can guarantee you they are all watching Progressive on this and running their little actuarial calculations.

I can imaging the phone call I'll get from them during a track day or autocross event...

[AKnowles]

Originally Posted by LAP1DOUG

Under threat of insurance cancellation, he plugged it back in.

I think I would have gotten a pit PO and told them to tqake a flying leap in not very nice terms!

Nor would I install a "nanny" for any insurance company. Too many out there now to worry about. Thanksfully, AAA hasn't offered this option or I'd have to find new insuruance.

[Timco]

Originally Posted by AKnowles

I think I would have gotten a pit PO and told them to tqake a flying leap in not very nice terms!

Nor would I install a "nanny" for any insurance company. Too many out there now to worry about. Thanksfully, AAA hasn't offered this option or I'd have to find new insuruance.

"So, if I'm reading this thing correct, it's been in several corners that measured neary 2 Gs, your average 0-60 is about 4.9, and....this can't be right.....last week this this monitor went 165mph twice????"

[AKnowles]

Ha-ha. Not quite, but pretty close.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by LAP1DOUG

I'm not scared of much, but Flo / Progressive Insurance scare the heck out of me. Haven't you guys seen that commercial where they want you to try this electronic nanny that plugs into your car?

A guy who works for me fell for this trap when they offered him a minor discount on insurance. He says it plugs into the OBD port, so it can collect all sorts of data about your driving habits. He tells me that it beeps at him if he brakes too hard, and he has to start slowing down earlier than normal to keep it from beeping.

He got tired of all the beeping, and pulled it out. Whereupon Flo calls him on his cell phone and wants to know why he has disabled the nanny. Under threat of insurance cancellation, he plugged it back in.

I just wonder how long we have before all of the insurance companies jump on this bandwagon. I can guarantee you they are all watching Progressive on this and running their little actuarial calculations.

I can imaging the phone call I'll get from them during a track day or autocross event...

I did the math on the savings with the Progressive nanny vs. the GEICO quote. Well at least in Florida where I was looking for insuance for a new purchase. Basically the nanny doesn't save you anything more than GEICO's best rate. Actually this ime around Liberty Mutual came in with by far the best quote of the three.

By the way I mentioned this in another thread but many of the major insurance carriers are revising their coverage language and explicitly excluding any track and autocross activity even if only instructional and non-points events (racing).
This is forcing many to buy track day insurance and those insurers have raised their rates accordingly.

[tanque55]

Quickest way to lose or increase your premium would be to connect that devise to your Boxster! That's like big brother knowing exactly how you drive. Unless it's on a prius you're screwed. I take that back, not even on a Prius!