In the interest of learning from “regular Joe” insureds acrossAmerica their thoughts and opinions on the insurance experience,NU asked a sample of carrier customers—our friends andfamilies—about the decisions that factor into their purchasedecision (price? advertising?); whether a relationship with aninsurance agent is important to them; whether they were satisfiedwith the way their carrier handled their last claim; and if they'veactually ever read their policy, among other questions.

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Here are their responses.

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Russ Drafahl, 52

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Dubuque, Iowa

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Entrepreneur

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Single

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“I have a go-to-guy who I trust, who's been my insurance agentfor 15 years. For me, there's no shopping around for quotes. If itcosts me an extra $100 year, it's worth it. I've got no need for alittle green gecko, I don't have to sing a jingle to see if [myagent] shows up.

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“On my last claim, I was so satisfied—in fact, I was amazed bythe level of protection that I got. I rear-ended a guy, and hewanted to sue me and claimed permanent disability, that he[incurred] all kinds of mental and physical problems. He justwanted a fat check from me. My insurance company retained a lawyerfrom Des Moines, and I didn't have to do anything except meet andtalk with the attorney about the accident.

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“I trust my agent for those types of [coverage] questions, andwhen I have what I think is a claim, he deals with it.”

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Robert Dudek, 40

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Los Angeles

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Television Editor

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Married

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When Robert Dudek purchased his first home last year with hisnew wife, he turned to his Auto insurer, Mercury Insurance, for hishomeowners coverage. “I knew if I could bundle the two that I'd getsome savings,” he says.

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Dudek says he has had a positive relationship with Mercury formany years. “I even submitted a claim to them a year after mywife's car got backed into a pillar and did some quarter-paneldamage to the rear driver's side. At first, we let it go, but thenit got embarrassing, so we decided to have it fixed.”

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Mercury paid for the $2,500 repair job, minus the $500deductible. “It did not impact my rates; in fact, I just got therenewal, and we're paying a little less now.”

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Dudek is also a motorcyclist who uses his bike to help him getthrough L.A.'s notorious traffic. As Mercury doesn't offermotorcycle coverage, he asked them for a referral, and he waspointed to Pacific Specialty.

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He recently got into an accident on his bike when a teenagedriver made a sudden turn into his lane, and his bike scraped thecar as he skidded to a stop.

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“I wasn't impressed with the way Pacific Specialty handled thesituation. My deductible is $1,500, and the damage was $1,200, andthey sent me a bill to cover all the car's repair expenses. Icalled them and said, 'Are you out your mind? She turned into me.'I consulted a lawyer informally, and he advised me not to pay. Afew weeks later they sent me a letter thanking me for being a goodcustomer and said they would handle all the expenses. And I justgot the renewal notice from them.”

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Dudek had a very different motorcycle-claim experience after aserious accident in New York that nearly cost him his foot.

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“I was with Progressive then, and they were wonderful. My healthinsurance covered most of my medical costs—but not ananesthesiologist. Progressive picked that up, and I had little tono out-of-pocket expenses.”

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Paul Hayes , 47

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Birmingham, Ala.

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Media Sales

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Married

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Paul Hayes and his wife Leah, married for two years, recentlymoved from Queens, N.Y. to Birmingham, Ala.—an event that requiredsome insurance changes. His renter's insurance carrier in New York,First American, doesn't do business in Alabama.

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“I have Geico for my car, and it's fairly cheap, and I know fromtheir TV commercials that they do offer renter's insurance as well.So I just went to their web site and did it all online. Thecoverage is practically identical to what we had—and it's a littlecheaper,” Hayes says.

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Hayes notes that he did consider going to an independent agentbut decided against it. “It's just so much easier to do online, andI didn't feel like going to meet with someone in person.”

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For his auto coverage, Hayes did do some comparison shoppingbetween Geico and Progressive. Why those two? “Honestly because ofthe TV commercials,” he says.

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Hayes has not yet had any claims, and he is satisfied withGeico. “I like that once you set up a password that you can handleall your needs on the web site like printing out your insurance IDcard.”

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Pressed on how confident he is that his Geico policies provideadequate coverage for both his car and home, Hayes says, “I lookedat the main points in the policy, but I did not sit down and readit for three hours. I assume I'm covered; I know have collision andLiability. All I really want from my insurance is to make sure if Iget into an accident, I won't go to jail [for not having requiredcoverage] and that I won't wind up paying someone for the rest ofmy life if I get sued.”

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Conrad Rousseau, 50

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Marblehead, Mass.

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President/Owner, Stepstone Mortgage Co.

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Insurance coverages include: Errors & Omission,Fidelity, Surety Bonds, General Liability and Workers'Comp

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“I have one independent agent who handles most of my businessinsurance and one independent agent who does my personal coverage.I've been with my business agent for 20 years and have referred alot of business to him—and those I've referred have stayed withhim, too. There's no question personal agents are the way to go—youget much more personalized service and much better coverage. I'mvery happy with my rates. In 20 years, I've only had one businessclaim—when wind blew an awning off.”

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Dr. Yelena Kipervas, 45

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Bartonsville, Pa.

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Doctor and Owner, Comprehensive FamilyPractice

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Married

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“When shopping for insurance providers, advertisements honestlyhave little effect on me. I may call a company after seeing theirname on TV to scout their policy, but that's part of how I do myown research for insurance coverage. Coverage should becomprehensive and competitively priced.

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“I've never had a problem with the way my insurance claims arehandled. There is one issue that keeps popping up, however: Once ayear, Allentown usually has a power outage due to a storm orsnowfall. This means the refrigerator in my office goes out, andthe expensive medicines and the Botox serum I keep in it spoil.

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“My policy has covered and replaced these losses for the pastfive years, but my insurance renewal is coming up in September, andmy agent said to me, 'You are lucky that you're covered because youhave had a string of losses. You could become a high-risk insured,and companies may either refuse you as a customer or ask you for ahigher deductible.' So, this year I didn't take any chances. BeforeHurricane Sandy hit I took the medicines out of my office and putit in my home refrigerator.

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“I can never predict when these things will occur, just like Ican't predict the future. And that's why I haveinsurance.”

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Marjorie Carvalho, 39

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Springfield, Ill.

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Telecommunications Manager

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Married

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“It's important [to have a relationship with my agent], becausewhen I am calling about insurance, usually something bad hashappened. I like to have the reassurance that my claim will betaken care of quickly.

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“Value and ability to cover what I need are the biggest decidingfactors in shopping for insurance. I also like to bundle myservices so that I have one bill to pay and one person to contactwith questions.

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“I am currently shopping around. We had two claims related tostorms in two years, so they raised our rates. We got hit by atornado and then hail in two different years: We had no claimsbesides those. I know they have to raise rates when it happens, butit's not like we're [big] risks. I can't control theweather.”

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Berent Lawton, 36

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Temecula, Calif.

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Injury Prevention Coordinator

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Married

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“An agent's accessibility is important. Nothing irks me morethan having to wait to get information on a claim that I havefiled. The stress of a claim can make anyone edgy and irritable,and the way an insurance rep handles the calls, reassuring you thateverything will be taken care of without making any promises, is askill not many possess. But when I get fast responsible responsesto my requests, I'm satisfied.

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“Advertising has no effect on my purchase decision. I usuallysign up with a company whose name is given to me by friends orfamily that are happy customers. TV commercials are never takeninto consideration for me.”

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Javier Hernandez, 40

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Arlington, Va.

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Media Production

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Married

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“Price is the biggest deciding factor for me when buying home orauto insurance. For a long time I had renter's insurance with onecompany and my auto with another because it was cheaper that way.Now everyone loves to bundle services. My wife and I still haveseparate auto policies because it's cheaper to do so.

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“I have Progressive, and when I wrecked my motorcycle they werevery responsive. My local rep, Justin, was very knowledgeable aboutmy options. I was actually surprised that it was taken care of soquickly.

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“I had a [home] claim about six months ago that didn't go assmoothly. First, it was the first time I was made aware that myProgressive insurance policy was underwritten to a company inTexas. I called three times and I spoke withthree different people, which meant I had to recap the lastconversation with the new person each time. It was frustrating.Once the ball got rolling, though, my claim was resolved veryquickly.”

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Brendan Coyle, 34

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Virginia Beach, Va.

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Active duty, U.S. Navy

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Married

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“I don't use a regular agent for my vehicles, but I insure themthrough a large company that offers excellent customerservice over the phone. My home insurance is purchased throughan agent. Being able to reliably contact someone for service whenneeded is important.

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“Good coverage, reasonable rates and multiple options withregard to premiums/deductibles figure into my insurance-purchasedecisions. I always start with my current insurance company.The only time I look beyond them is if they do not offer a specificproduct.”

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Bill Deale, 29

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Los Angeles, Calif.

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Television freelancer

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Single

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“I have a State Farm agent for renter's insurance and myCalifornia Earthquake Authority policy. I send a check to him oncea year, and he sends me a nice Christmas card. My autoinsurance has been through Geico since 2004 when I had to startcarrying my own.

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“Cost [is a major factor]. Renter's insurance and CaliforniaEarthquake Authority coverage aren't expensive, but auto insuranceprices are absurd in California, and I shop around online annually.So far, nobody has been able to beat Geico's price.

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“TV advertisements keep me aware of what companies are outthere—and honestly, there's no way I would have heard of Geico ifthey didn't advertise as much as they do.”

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Vanessa Pacini, 38

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Brooklyn, N.Y.

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Co-Owner, Café Ange Noir

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Married

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Pacini Moved to Brooklyn this summer from Nice, France withher husband and two children.

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“Price and guarantee are the most important factors for us whenwe select coverage. Currently, my husband and I pay about $2,000annually for disability and workers' compensation for our twoemployees.

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“I haven't delved into my policy in detail, besides the mostmajor components and deductibles on our policy. This hasn't causedme any problems yet; in fact, as a business owner I don't have timefor it, so it's best if our insurer can take that out of myhands.”

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Brian August, 51

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New York, N.Y.

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Senior Vice President, Business Development, LionShareMedia International

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Single

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“I have a regular agent who I deal with for home and autoinsurance. His name is Gerard Devlin, and he always deliverspersonalized service and goes beyond normal responsiveness, which Iconsider important.

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“I actually have read my insurance policy to see what it covers,because unfortunately, I used to be a lawyer.”

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Harvey Araton, 58

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Montclair, N.J.

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Journalist and author

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Married

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Harvey Araton uses a local broker for his homeowners insurance,but not for his auto insurance. He did use the local broker forauto insurance, but once his two college-age sons joined thepolicy, the rates skyrocketed. He used Geico before moving to NewJersey and switching to the local broker, so he returned to Geicoto get a lower rate—about 40% lower than what the brokeroffered.

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“I'm probably paying more and being insured for more than Ireally need to be, but at the end of the day, it's easier to dealwith a broker. It just seems easier when we have questions about[our homeowners policy] to be able to call a local office asopposed to some big company where you have to go through a millionsteps before getting someone on the line.

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“I've had this experience with auto insurance: You get adifferent agent on the phone every time, you have to go through allthe gymnastics of actually getting someone on the phone, and younever really trust that anybody really understands what thesituation is and you know that you're getting a straightstory.”

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“I haven't gone back to the broker to see how much they wouldcharge [for auto] because I just assume that if I'm paying thatmuch with Geico, I'll be paying as much or more with thebroker.”

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“I think Geico's ads have been very effective in getting acrossthe reputation as being the most reasonable of the auto insurancecompanies. Now, whether that's accurate or not, I don't know. Buttwo things made me think 'Call Geico!' when my kids got on mypolicy and the rates were skyrocketing: One, their advertisingcampaign, and secondly, my prior dealings with them when I lived inthe city and thought, 'Man, they're cheap!' They're the Coca Colaof auto insurance in this part of the country.”

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Jeffrey Weissman, 50

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River Vale, N.J.

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Owner of JA Visual Group

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Married

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“I have always worked directly with an agent. The agent isbetter able to explain the coverage of the policy and understandsmy needs because we have history working together. I've been withthis agent for seven years.

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“I typically ask my agent to shop my policy through a number ofdifferent underwriters, and different underwriters will give youdifferent quotes for comparable policies. [My biggest decidingfactor when purchasing insurance is] the cost in relation to thecoverage—and they're not all equal.

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“For certain policies that I have, I won't deal with companiesthat I've never heard of. For major policies that cover my companyor my life insurance or my home, I try to deal with better-known,financially stable companies. I don't want to find that I've spentthousands of dollars in premiums with a firm that's not going to besolvent when the need comes.

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“[When I submitted my last claim,] I was reasonably satisfiedwith how the company handled it, but not what they did after myclaim was settled. When the office was burglarized, and the policycame up for a renewal, they said, 'No, we don't want to underwriteyour policy.' They didn't even offer a rate. I left it to myinsurance broker to find [a new policy] for us.”

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Sebastiano Cirmi, 59

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Staten Island, N.Y.

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Retired

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Single

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“I never know what I'm really insured for. Everyone should read[their policy] and ask what they are insured for, but no one doesit.

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“To me, [insurance TV advertising] is full of crap. I hadAllstate for four years. Then I see the advertising that if I don'thave an accident for a year I get a check. I called my agent. Hesaid it is not for New York. Why are they doing that?”

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Valerie Veith, 40

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Belmar, N.J.

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Account Manger

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Single

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“Having my own agent is not important to me. It would be if Ihad a lot of claims, but I haven't had many. I'm with New JerseyManufacturers and they've done an excellent job with the few claimsI've had to put through.

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“I haven't studied my policy, but I've read it. But my agent isvery good about explaining what my policy covers and any additionalriders I may need to have covered, such as earthquake, expensivejewelry, antiques and flood.”

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Giuseppa Scire, 53,

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Staten Island, N.Y.

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Hair Stylist

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“I was absolutely not happy with my last claimexperience—[insurance carriers] are only protecting themselves, notthe consumer. I had water damage in my basement. I called myinsurer. I waited three weeks for someone to show up, only for themto tell me I was covered for nothing. They just walked away fromme.

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“Yes, I have an agent. I think it is important to have an agent,but what are they doing for me? I can call the company to deal witha claim.

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“I never read my policy. I don't know what I'm covered for andwhat I'm not, like most American people don't. It only hits you ata time like this when a disaster strikes and you realize thatyou're covered for nothing. Insurance companies have a way out tomake sure that you are covered for everything else except forwhatever you need it for.”

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Don Mentiply, 36

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Knox, N.Y.

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Small-business owner

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Married

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“It's good to have a person you know who you can talk to, inorder to get a personal opinion on different coverages; not justgeckos or Flo.”