rev:text
| - Okay, so you bought a car.
Maybe you paid cash if you're Thurston Howell III, or financed it if you're Gilligan.
Anyway, you'll need insurance, right?
There are worse choices than Progressive, and there are better choices.
Why choose Progressive?
- They're relatively inexpensive, if you want to pay for bare-bones, state minimum liability insurance.
- If you want to go all Richie Rich with the extras, buying comprehensive, collision, and uninsured motorist coverage or your car, it's still a bargain.
- Claims are handled in a [sort of] timely manner. If some douchewallet scrapes your fender and you need to get it painted, an adjuster will usually make it out to the bodyshop within two or three days to pay for the damage, reducing the time you need to take buses or taxis.
Why you SHOULDN'T choose Progressive:
- Really slow customer service. If your car is broken down in the middle of the road and you're calling Progressive to send you some roadside assistance, it's not uncommon to be on hold for ten minutes or more, while people are honking at you and telling you to get a horse.
- If you DO call Progressive to send you roadside assistance, count on the operator saying "they'll be there in thirty minutes". Then count on help actually arriving two hours later. (NOT hyperbole)
- Even if you pay a huge premium each month to protect yourself, Progressive will fight you tooth and nail to save themselves a few bucks on repairing your dented bumper, at a cost of time and increase in blood pressure for you.
- Speaking of which, count on Progressive to try to tell you that your one year old Audi A4 is a "total loss" so that they can give you $3000 scrap value instead of paying to fix your door. Seriously, WTF?
- Their spokeswoman, the beehive-sporting "Flo", will haunt your dreams.
Basically, when it comes right down to it, Progressive is decent insurance if you just want to prove to the policeman who pulled you over that you're legally insured to drive a vehicle.
Walking in a straight line and following the pen-light is still up to you...
-- but for serious insurance, buy Triple A, which is what I'm going to do now (and which is what I should have done, FIRST).
Stay safe, hottie. I call shotgun.
|