Has your auto insurance premium increased?

[John Galt III]

My auto insurance premium went up 13% this year, for same coverage as last year. I called up the ins co and the clerk looked through the computer screen for a few minutes, and said it was just a "rate hike", and that a lot of auto insurance companies are raising their rates this year.

Just thought I would verify her statement by asking here if anyone has also had a significant increase in auto insurance premiums this year, (even with no accidents or tickets or changes in coverage).

Thanks

 

[FUEGO]

Our rates dropped slightly. Probably due to an improvement in our credit score if nothing else. Has your credit score gone down any in the last year? Most insurers use your credit report/score to some extent to establish a risk category for you. Although if that is the case they should be able (or maybe required??) to tell you that.

 

[LOL!]

Teen-age driver flew the nest. What do you think?

 

[Life_is_Good]

The wife and I have 2 cars insured with Allstate. Our premium just arrived and it is about $10 less than the last billing period. I was pleasantly surprised!

 

[Lakedog]

Mine dropped slightly (around 5%) with no change in coverage (Allstate). The policy on the house went up slightly though, supposedly related to a change in the fire protection zone.

 

[scrabbler1]

A lot depends on where you live, the coverages, limits, and deductibles you have, the car you drive, and your driver record.

My rates did increase here on Long Island (NY), mainly for BI and PD liability, although the rates for the other coverages (PIP, UM, Comp, and Collision) also increased to a smaller degree.

I also happened to increase the limits on my BI and PD coverages this time around, but even if I had left them alone my rates still would have increased a good amount.

 

[bbbamI]

Mine went up $30 with Travelers, IOW 2%.

 

[73ss454]

I use Geico and just received my 6 month bill last week. I'm about the same rate wise. We did add a new car and removed a 98 from the policy. I raised my deductable to 1K and went down a few bucks.

I would tell you to shop around and see what you can come up with.

 

[FinanceDude]

Mine goes up every year, about 5%. However, I have an old policy that gives me 1/2 of the premiums I paid five years ago if I don't file a collision claim. I get a check every April, and the last one was $780.

 

[Alan]

Mine went down quite a bit when we moved from Louisiana to Texas in February. I've recently paid for the next 6 months and it is down 50c so I guess no change.

 

[Andre1969]

My insurance dropped twice this year. First, when it came up for renewal in March, the annual premium came out to $1395. Last year, it had been $1464. The biggest change was that last November, my primary car, a 2000 Intrepid, got totaled. I replaced it with a low-mileage 2000 Park Ave. Full coverage on both cars. The Buick is worth more, and supercharged...it would blow the doors off my old Intrepid. But, I guess on average, the typical Buick driver doesn't rack up much in the way of claims, so maybe that's why it went down? Never mind that it's still me, the same old driver. I figure I can do as much damage, if not more, with a Supercharged Park Ave than I could a stripper Intrepid But, I won't argue the point with them!

Then, about two months later, I got a phone call from them. They wanted to know why I had so many cars on my policy. In addition to the Buick I have an old pickup and two Chrysler New Yorkers. I just told the guy that the truck was my deceased Granddad's (the truth), and doesn't get driven much (again, the truth), and that I just happen to like big old battleship cars, so the Chryslers are sort of toys to me. But they're too low-value to put on a "real" antique car policy, which usually has a $4,000 minimum value.

Well, the guy let me put the two Chryslers on some sort of limited use policy, and I got a refund check for $111.

So, with luck, next year, my insurance premium should be around $1250 or so? It might actually go down more, since I'll be in the 40+ age bracket come renewal time. I'm actually there now, but my policy renews like 15 days before my birthday, so I was still technically in the 35-39 bracket the last time I renewed.

 

[aaronc879]

We got a letter in the mail at the end of last year stating that rates would be going up this year. Rates were increase on my last 6 month statement by about 10% due to law changes in the state. I don't remember what the exact change was but it raised their costs so everyone in the state had their rates go up this year.

 

[HornedToad10]

Mine went up ~12%. I asked and they said it was due to moving to an area that had higher premiums.

 

[Bikerdude]

Insurance is a commodity. Call and get quotes from competitors before you sign on for another term. You may find out you have a good deal...or not.

 

[John Galt III]

Hmmm. Small increases, and some decreases are what you guys are seeing. Here's the thing. I hit a deer last year, but the clerk said no, that would not make my rate go up. Here's another thing. A ticket for "unsafe driving" worth zero points showed up on my Motor Vehicle Record before this year's premium increase.

I had made a deal with the court to knock it down from a 2 points ticket for "weaving" to zero points "unsafe driving" in exchange for a $433 fine. The court told me ins cos are not allowed to increase premiums for a ticket with zero points. I got the ticket out-of-state, and the consensus was that it would probably not show up on my home state MVR. And for the first year, it didn't, but it eventually got sent over.

What I think is happening is that my ins co has seen the "unsafe driving" violation on my record, knows they can't increase my premium for that, but have chosen to increase my premium anyway, and are pretending they are increasing it for another reason.

I did not mention the "unsafe driving" violation to the ins clerk, and she also did not mention it.


Looks like I'm sort of screwed. If I go to another ins co, they are sure to see the violation on the MVR, and quote me a price accordingly.

Well, the good news is that according to the ins co literature, my rates could have gone up a lot more than 13% for a ticket.

I spent an awful lot of time on the phone with lawyers and courthouse clerks to do what I thought would be best for me. Geez, I guess you can't win em all.


Guess I could shop around and ask other ins cos what the premium would be, with the "unsafe driving" on my record.

 

[ziggy29]

Insurance is a commodity.

To a point. It's not worth saving a few bucks if the "commodity" has terrible customer service and tries to fight you every step of the way to avoid paying on claims.

 

[ronocnikral]

i almost blew an o ring when our ins co sent our auto bill over. i called and was polite with the gal and asked for every little discount i could get. between changing my vehicle from "commuter" to "pleasure" vehicle and dropping the full coverage on my car which may be worth about $4000 on a good day in a good economy, our premiums decreased 25%. can't wait to see the premiums in 6 months when both the house and auto renew.

 

[Telly]

Our car ins. has been going down. Cars and us getting older. Except for the new car, and its ins. isn't too bad at all.

Insurance is only as good as when you need it. Some "cheaper" ins. companies won't pay for OEM parts. You should see the made in China sheetmetal junk that gets delivered to body shops for cars whose owner has one of those companies. The guys have to bend, grind, weld, cut and bondo to jam in flimsey poor fitting look-alike parts. But don't worry, some auto parts trade association says they're just as good... 'cuz they say so!

The best ins. companies work with body shops to allow supplementals - The increase in cost due to more damage being discovered when taking things apart. They are more likely to pay for the additions. They also have programs that body shops can join and go through to become a preferred shop. Which then allows the ins. co. to trust them more when they want to go for more supplements.
I wouldn't want to be the owner of a car that the body shop Mgr. tells his people "we're only getting X for that one, get it done quick and outta here".

 

[tjscott0]

auto insurance premiums are approved by the individual states. For example, here is a link to Ohio auto & homeowners rate increase:
Ohio Auto, Homeowners Insurance Rates Increase Slightly in 2009

I would do a google search for auto rate hike & your state to see if you get any stories of rate increases in your state. And try your insurance carrier & your state & auto rate hike also.

 

[Moemg]

I was amazed that my auto insurance only increased by $10 a month with the addition of my new car .

 

[happy2bretired]

I'm not too sure where I stand. I no longer have two cars - gave one to my daughter - so insurance went down. However, since I now only have one car to insure and no longer qualify as a multiple car family, it went up. Then again, I'm now considered limited milage user since I don't drive as many miles any longer. Who knows.

 

[jazz4cash]

Mine goes up every year, about 5%. However, I have an old policy that gives me 1/2 of the premiums I paid five years ago if I don't file a collision claim. I get a check every April, and the last one was $780.

Sentry? I LOVED that policy when we were in IN. When we moved to MD, they did not have that feature. Only downside was we had a $1k fender bender and I paid out of pocket to preserve the rebate (unintended consequences). I don't recall any regular increases....certainly not anywhere near 5%/yr

 

[Hershey102]

I dropped Liberty Mutual this spring after another predictable annual increase. Surprisingly, I was told by them that I could ask for a "requote", which I promptly did. The requote (same coverage) was several hundred dollars less. So for years I never thought to ask for a requote and was just resigned to the increases. Apparently, this is a common practice in the industry (or so I was told) and the insurance companies don't expect customers to make this simple request. But, then again, why should you have to? I moved my business from Liberty Mutual after 30 years of loyalty. If you haven't already, I would encourage everyone to annually request a requote and don't be shocked if you find that your premium is lowered.

 

[RonBoyd]

This may be of interest:

How Much Is Car Insurance In Your State?

It’s easy to feel ripped off when it comes to car insurance. Different rates in different states just doesn’t seem like a credible business model to most consumers, but each state has its own laws and its own insurance commission.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Holding steady at $425 a year here in MO 15 year old car.