Insurance Costs

[Marita40]

My insurance (condo, car, umbrella) comes due in January, so I've just received the bills. Each year they go up, naturally I guess, but this year the car insurance and condo insurance went up quite a bit. I even took an "over 55" driving class that was supposed to give me a discount, but predictably the insurance went up enough--even more--to make the discount non-existant. It seems like every year, now, I feel I have to do an insurance review and spend significant time calling around for quotes. Like my current company did--State Farm--I'm suspicious that insurance agencies give "teaser" prices that will only go up the next year.

Just wondering how you all handle this. Do you do a review every year and switch companies frequently? Is it really worth the time? I'm a 57 year old woman who drives under 3000 miles/year and has never had an accident. I filed one claim in my entire life, when a driver hit my parked car. That was 15 years ago. I just don't think I should be paying so much for car insurance.

 

[walkinwood]

.... It seems like every year, now, I feel I have to do an insurance review and spend significant time calling around for quotes.
.....

Unfortunately, that's just a fact of life if you want to spend your $s smartly. I also applies to cell phone & cable/internet - in general, any subscription service. You need to call & ask for better deals regularly or else they just fleece you.

 

[Hermit]

I have an independent agent that seems to do a pretty good job of keeping the price down. He will change me to a company that fits my needs better if necessary. I haven't been able to beat his prices, but I don't look every year.

 

[MRG]

I'm afraid that's the only answer I know. You might try to get a copy of your Nexislexis report. We'd stayed too long with an agency, my old 'agent' refused to fill in the who's at fault, after I was rear ended. Causing it to look as if I had been at fault. My new independent agent pointed it out to me. They helped me dispute the old record. I did get it fixed, but it was a PIA.

Guess I should have been a smarter shopper. I realize this is the same guy that wanted to sell me whole life, variable annuities... Getting older can be an education.
Best wishes,
MRG

 

[HF63]

Insurance companies are a torn where the sun never shines.

My house price is 1/2 of the value that I need to carry on the insurance. I try different quotes but they are all using the same system. The quoted prices all come in 3-4% from each other.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Right after our auto insurance policy was renewed last year DH backed into a low slung black Italian sportscar parked across the street from our driveway, denting its door and rear fender (the only accident he has ever been involved in for 40 plus years). Our insurance covered the repair which cost more than we could have imagined. We were expecting a major increase in our insurance this year as a result, but it did not go up one penny. We have never shopped our insurance (it always seemed reasonable enough) and DH pointed out to the claims people that we had been insured by them forever.

I don't think our car insurance has really varied much (less than $10/year, sometimes up, sometimes down) except when we carried a teenaged boy on the policy. Our homeowners insurance is maybe $100 a year more than 10 years ago but that doesn't surprise me given the weather related claims everyone seems to have been making. If I were the OP I would definitely shop for better rates for the car coverage.

 

[Mulligan]

A year ago, I got tired of annual increases and finally changed carriers. It went from $1100 to $650. Of course at renewal current carrier jacked it up to $850. Since I deal with a mortgage escrow it is a major pain to switch. I will probably shop again this year.

 

[Dawg52]

I shop every few years. Carrying higher deductibles too.

 

[Marita40]

Just did the math and saw that my car insurance has risen 20% over 4 years, despite raising the deductible, being accident free, taking the "senior driving class," and having every other possible discount that applies. I guess it is time to call around. Anyone have company recommendations? I had Allstate for many, many years and now have State Farm. Since I have little to no experience with claims I don't know which company is better than any other.

 

[braumeister]

According to JD Power, the average increase in car insurance from 2012 to 2013 was $153. If yours has only gone up 20% in four years, you might not be doing as badly as you think.

 

[KM]

Two years ago we shopped around for insurance, as I too got tired of the huge increases every year (and note, I worked for the company I had my insurance with, so I was getting an employee discount.....).

We were insuring 2 cars and 2 houses. We were able to not only replace our coverage, but increase it and add on an umbrella liability policy for almost $1000/year less than we had been paying.... We switched to Amica.

We did see a 10% rate increases the first year after - but this year the increase was <1%.

 

[Z3Dreamer]

I would recommend checking deductibles and coverages. Sometimes you are paying for coverages you don't need. Maybe, you don't need compreshensive on a 10 year old car. Maybe, you don't need a rental car if you have 2. Also, I would argue about valuations. Originally, my agent wanted me to insure for replacement value of my home. This is great but market was less. So, I told them I had a problem with coverage that was more than it was worth. Eventually, they relented. Finally, I would sit down with your agent and ask them what you can change in your policy to reduce costs.

 

[pb4uski]

I generally shop around every other year or when the premium increases dramatically, whichever comes first.

 

[Packman]

I have changed auto and homeowner's insurance about 4 times in the last 10 years. It seems that they lowball the original quote and raise rates in the second year (for me). This year my auto was up 8% and HO went up 22%. I gave up and renewed. The whole process of calling for quotes with all of the moving parts of these policies is a PIA. The insurers must know that, but you would think the administrative costs would be high for them too. So, I'll wait one more year and if rates go up more than 5%, it's time again for the quote process.

 

[Malcolm2]

If you are eligible for USAA I recommend giving them a look. Have been with them for 25+ years and have never found a better company. I check rates every couple of years and they are never beat.