Looking at insurance for hotshot

I just got a quote today from Progressive on a one year old Dodge 4500 and 40' flatbed trailer. $1 million liability, $100k cargo and Phys. Damage w/ $1k deductible and based on $35k truck value and $7k trailer value. Unlimited mileage. My DMVR and Credit reports are excellent. Just got my CDL in September. $5442/year w/ 11 payments. Or take another $800 discount for a single annual payment = $4643. (Additional discounts for 2 years of experience which I do not qualify for at this time.)

 

My insurance with them was 4384 for the year with a paid in full discount. That's seven years no tickets or claims.
They start out cheap and inch up every year till you go somewhere else.

 

We had auto insurance with them a few years ago, and as I recall, we had a similar experience. Further, their billing was incomprehensible. We had several vehicles and every time we changed something, it seemed like they managed to double our bill until we called and griped and then it would get "fixed" until next time, when we'd go through it again. Further, at the time, we paid by mail, and it seemed like they camped on the payments for several days, letting your insurance expire and then reinstating it once they finally processed the payments.

We now use Liberty Mutual for our cars and rv and home insurance, and have been very happy. Our boys both bought brand new cars, at ages 21 and 25, and we got excellent rates for them on our insurance. The rates have been good, and further, the customer service has been good. I'm not advertising for them, but compared to the last two vehicle insurers we had, it's been incredibly positive. They've cost less and been better. Hard to argue with that.

"Progressive", btw, is actually named after the political ideology of the founder...

 

Well, I don't like THAT!

But who else writes for drivers w/o recent experience?

 

They look at your issue date on your CDL. I price shop every couple years now.
I used to do it every year but was more trouble than it was worth to save 100 dollars. I'm still with progressive cause no one this year beat their price and paying all at once saves about 18%. If you're starting out I wouldn't pay a year at once cause you may not like doing this.

 

I don't have much of a problem with progressive, after I jackknifed the truck this year they covered everything, even the hotel bill.

 

As a new O/O I have not found any option other than Progressive. Everywhere else I called required that a company be in business 1 year before they would insure. No complaints with Progressive so far.

 

You're the reason my rates went up 400 this year.

 

Their quote to me this week included a 15% discount for up front payment. But your advice is spot on for a newbie ... to pay monthly the first year! Even though a refund might be ok if one were to take the truck off the road later, it just makes sense to spread out and manage your costs starting up.

 

Can you send me your guy in Conroe information. I am in Houston and I'm looking for insurance you can pm or text me 281-891-0510