Had a similar experience myself last winter—got stuck in the snow near Albany and called a local garage directly thinking it'd be faster. Big mistake....

Good points here, especially about asking insurers directly about forgiveness programs. I had a co-worker who went through this a couple years ago in ...

That's interesting about the defensive driving course—I hadn't thought of that angle. A coworker of mine had a DUI a while back, and he said his rates...

Had a similar experience myself, but funny enough, it wasn't even my fault. Wife got a ticket in our family minivan (yep, the ultimate speed machine.....

I've had similar luck spacing things out. Last time I called, the rep actually chuckled and said, "Ah, doing your biennial price check, huh?"—guess th...

Had a similar experience a few years back when a tree branch fell on my car during a storm. Thought it'd be a nightmare, but surprisingly, insurance w...

Totally with you on getting independent quotes. Last year, someone dinged my side mirror in a parking lot—nothing major, but insurance's "preferred" s...