So, I've been with State Farm for my motorcycle insurance since I got my bike 4 years ago. When I first got the bike and my M1, I called every insurance company I could find. Everyone wanted insane amounts of money to insure a brand new 30 year old rider on a brand new sportbike in the #1 city in the US for motorcycle theft. I'm talking anywhere from $2500 to nearly $4000 a year. Even Liberty Mutual who my cars, renters, etc... is all though wanted nearly $3000. And our agent there who we love flat said, it's because I'm a brand new rider on a sportbike. The dealership I bought the bike from gave me the card of a local State Farm agent, saying she's who they all use. That State Farm is the only insurance company around who looks at the displacement of the engine rather than what type of bike it is. A 600cc is really small in comparison to bikes like Harley's with their 1450cc and larger bikes. So I got the lowest quote from them at $575 a year. I could deal with that. So I've been perfectly happy paying the exact same amount per month for 4 years with them. No claims, nothing.
A year ago, I got a ticket. A pretty large one. (Passing on a DY, excessive display of speed, basic speed law, over $600
) I was passing a Prius who was doing 25 in a 55 on a mile long straight stretch of road that until a week before had been a broken yellow. But they painted it double yellow and plopped a Sheriff hiding in the trees waiting for people to do exactly what I did. He got me on camera doing it and couldn't catch me through the twisties after to radar me until I got stuck behind another slow car. I didn't do traffic school since my last ticket had been more than 3 years past and my theory has always been just pay the first one since the insurance companies usually don't raise anything for just one, it's the second one they care about. So if I get a second one, then I'll take traffic school.
A year has gone by and no raise in my rates, just as expected. Then Saturday I get a card in the mail from State Farm that says "Just a friendly reminder, your rates have increased and will be $54 per month higher starting this month. (I already pay about $48 a month so they're more than doubling my rates) We've received a report showing you had 2 tickets in 2012. Please call if you have any questions" WTF?!?!?! Hell yes I have questions!!!! So I call my agent and here's how the conversation goes:
Me: I got this card in the mail saying my rates are going up due to 2 tickets, what is this all about?"
Agent: "We got a report from DMV that's showing you got a ticket in July of 2012 (which is correct) and another one just a few weeks later in August. That disqualifies you for the good driver discount and puts you in their high risk category. So we've adjusted your rates to reflect that."
Me: "There must be a mistake, I didn't get a second ticket in August last year. I only got the one."
Agent: "We can't believe our customers when they tell us that or we'd never have people with tickets on their record, we have to go by the reports we get."
Me: "Well I think I'd know if I got a second ticket for speeding and you need to research that and find out where there mistake is before you double my rates."
Agent: "That's not our job, it's your responsibility to make sure your record is accurate."
Me: "Isn't it your responsibility to make sure you're charging your customers fair rates and not gauging them? And is it normal to actually double someones rates over a year after the fact even if I did get this phantom second ticket?"
And she had the balls to actually say "We've dropped people for less."
So, since getting a copy of your driving record is about the most difficult thing to do at the DMV apparently (after 2 hrs on hold I was told I needed to come in and wait in line and fill out paperwork to have it mailed to me) I had my wife check with Liberty Mutual and get a quote. First off, they actually have my ACCURATE record showing one ticket. She said there's no record whatsoever on their DMV report of a second ticket. But now that I've had my M1 for more than a year and have no accidents, they're only charging me $439 per year for every bit of coverage you can get on a motorcycle, which I didn't have with State Farm. That's about $36 a month!!!! Needless to say, as soon as LM officially adds the bike on tomorrow now that I got them my VIN number, State Farm will be getting a call to cancel my policy, but also that agent will have possibly the most uncomfortable phone call of her day.
I've been in one form of customer service or another my entire working life. You don't F^(k with me. I won't put up with it. I just don't get it when people actually think they can get away with smart ***, snotty responses. If she'd been nice about this whole thing and offered to help, or be apologetic about it, they may not be losing me and I wouldn't be on here ripping them a new one. Doesn't this girl realize that she's in quite possibly the most competitive and cut throat business there is? I mean half the commercials on TV, especially on anything I watch that's motorsports related at all, are about insurance, and specifically motorcycle insurance. This is exactly why I've always paid insurance on a monthly basis. If I want to switch, it's as easy as just canceling before your next bill is due. To be honest, after listening to the way she talked to me and the way they seemed to feel like they've got me by the short and curlys, and wouldn't offer to help figure out where this second ticket came from, I wouldn't put it past them to be making it up in the hopes that people will just give in (knowing how difficult the DMV is to deal with) and just pay it. Or maybe they're thinking "if we say it was more than a year ago, maybe they'll forget that they only got the one ticket." My wife did ask the LM agent if the fact the first one had 3 different infractions listed could have been the issue and she specifically said no, it doesn't work like that. And the fact that they had it as a different date would indicate a completely separate citation.
OK rant over. Just wanted to warn anyone with State Farm, you could be getting the shaft from them. :soapbox:
A year ago, I got a ticket. A pretty large one. (Passing on a DY, excessive display of speed, basic speed law, over $600
) I was passing a Prius who was doing 25 in a 55 on a mile long straight stretch of road that until a week before had been a broken yellow. But they painted it double yellow and plopped a Sheriff hiding in the trees waiting for people to do exactly what I did. He got me on camera doing it and couldn't catch me through the twisties after to radar me until I got stuck behind another slow car. I didn't do traffic school since my last ticket had been more than 3 years past and my theory has always been just pay the first one since the insurance companies usually don't raise anything for just one, it's the second one they care about. So if I get a second one, then I'll take traffic school. A year has gone by and no raise in my rates, just as expected. Then Saturday I get a card in the mail from State Farm that says "Just a friendly reminder, your rates have increased and will be $54 per month higher starting this month. (I already pay about $48 a month so they're more than doubling my rates) We've received a report showing you had 2 tickets in 2012. Please call if you have any questions"
WTF?!?!?! Hell yes I have questions!!!! So I call my agent and here's how the conversation goes:Me: I got this card in the mail saying my rates are going up due to 2 tickets, what is this all about?"
Agent: "We got a report from DMV that's showing you got a ticket in July of 2012 (which is correct) and another one just a few weeks later in August. That disqualifies you for the good driver discount and puts you in their high risk category. So we've adjusted your rates to reflect that."
Me: "There must be a mistake, I didn't get a second ticket in August last year. I only got the one."
Agent: "We can't believe our customers when they tell us that or we'd never have people with tickets on their record, we have to go by the reports we get."
Me: "Well I think I'd know if I got a second ticket for speeding and you need to research that and find out where there mistake is before you double my rates."
Agent: "That's not our job, it's your responsibility to make sure your record is accurate."
Me: "Isn't it your responsibility to make sure you're charging your customers fair rates and not gauging them? And is it normal to actually double someones rates over a year after the fact even if I did get this phantom second ticket?"
And she had the balls to actually say "We've dropped people for less."
So, since getting a copy of your driving record is about the most difficult thing to do at the DMV apparently (after 2 hrs on hold I was told I needed to come in and wait in line and fill out paperwork to have it mailed to me) I had my wife check with Liberty Mutual and get a quote. First off, they actually have my ACCURATE record showing one ticket. She said there's no record whatsoever on their DMV report of a second ticket. But now that I've had my M1 for more than a year and have no accidents, they're only charging me $439 per year for every bit of coverage you can get on a motorcycle, which I didn't have with State Farm. That's about $36 a month!!!! Needless to say, as soon as LM officially adds the bike on tomorrow now that I got them my VIN number, State Farm will be getting a call to cancel my policy, but also that agent will have possibly the most uncomfortable phone call of her day.
I've been in one form of customer service or another my entire working life. You don't F^(k with me. I won't put up with it. I just don't get it when people actually think they can get away with smart ***, snotty responses. If she'd been nice about this whole thing and offered to help, or be apologetic about it, they may not be losing me and I wouldn't be on here ripping them a new one. Doesn't this girl realize that she's in quite possibly the most competitive and cut throat business there is? I mean half the commercials on TV, especially on anything I watch that's motorsports related at all, are about insurance, and specifically motorcycle insurance. This is exactly why I've always paid insurance on a monthly basis. If I want to switch, it's as easy as just canceling before your next bill is due. To be honest, after listening to the way she talked to me and the way they seemed to feel like they've got me by the short and curlys, and wouldn't offer to help figure out where this second ticket came from, I wouldn't put it past them to be making it up in the hopes that people will just give in (knowing how difficult the DMV is to deal with) and just pay it. Or maybe they're thinking "if we say it was more than a year ago, maybe they'll forget that they only got the one ticket." My wife did ask the LM agent if the fact the first one had 3 different infractions listed could have been the issue and she specifically said no, it doesn't work like that. And the fact that they had it as a different date would indicate a completely separate citation.
OK rant over. Just wanted to warn anyone with State Farm, you could be getting the shaft from them. :soapbox:
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