Insurance rate increases

Insurance is one of my pet peeves and when I read all the posts, I get confused. I think one can state their homeowners policy went up 10% or they saved money by combining auto and home or their health insurance went up X%, etc., etc. The reason I get confused is because there are so many variables involved that you can never compare apples to apples. It's always apples to oranges. I know it's just friendly talk and passing info back and forth, but I seriously consider and/or take into account everything that is posted. Consider the following:

* I live in Florida. I was with Progressive Auto Insurance. Couldn't combine auto and home because Progressive doesn't have a sister company that writes homeowners policies in Florida. Do you know that my auto policy went up last year because I had reached an age plateau? No accidents or tickets or claims. Just got older. I changed to 21st Century.

* Isn't your health insurance policy rate kind of governed by your age? I can't relate to any of the policy monthly terms/rates because not only am on Medicare, I have a Medicare Advantage policy.

I'm not saying I'm not interested in the point you are making or the information you are providing, but some basics are required to put it all in prospective. How old are you, where do you live, any preceeding conditions, how big is your house, etc, etc. I am really interested in stuff like this but I can't relate in most cases. However, keep posting and keep up the good work. I'm always interested in what you have to say. Thanks in advance.
 
Well, that's a moving target since the budget I decide on each year depends on so many factors. I do have "fixed income" from my itsy bitsy teeny weenie [-]yellow polka-dot bikini[/-] federal pension, but much of my income is from my portfolio.

I can't for the life of me picture any retiree of the federal pension system having an "itsy bitsy teeny weenie" pension.
 
Good point about insurance coverage changes through the years, Johnnie36. At least for me, I couldn't provide comparable numbers back further than one year since I made some insurance changes when I retired in 2009.

I can't for the life of me picture any retiree of the federal pension system having an "itsy bitsy teeny weenie" pension.

I don't know but maybe you are thinking of the older CSRS retirement system, instead of the newer FERS retirement system that I am under, then. :)
 
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I do have my homeowners and auto combined. I have Travelers currently. I guess its time to shop around some.

Earlier this year, Mr B (my BF) did a review of my combined auto, home, and boat with umbrella with Travelers with a local multi-company broker I had been with for 20+ years. The lady who used to handle my account quit the firm over 2 years ago. I was assigned a new agent.
Mr B had a close friend in the insurance business who came up to the house and did a similar review, in the role as a potential new insurer. His local insurance company could not underwrite all 3 policies (no boat coverage possible). So the agent recommended I go to another Traveler's broker he periodically sub-contracted some business to.
She did a full review, enrolled me in the Traveler's Quantum Plus program for squeaky-clean safe drivers, then did a full requote with the exact same policies, coverage and deductibles. The cost savings for the Quantum Plus discount on the auto alone was substantial. I'm too lazy to go look it up, but it was several hundreds of dollars per year.
I also got a full year auto policy, not the 6 month auto policy renewal the previous firm (20+ year customer) had me pidgeon-holed into. For some odd reason, I had been changed from a 1 year renewal to a 6 month renewal. No tickets except for 1 cell phone violation in 2005, which was not put on my driver's license record.
I paid the full auto premium upfront. I pay the house, boat and umbrella insurance premiums on a monthly basis via auto-pay from my checking account.

I now have a new agent. :D

I would suggest agent shopping first if you don't want to change companies. A different agent will most likely be a broker for competing insurance companies, so you can kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

Good luck! :flowers:
 
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I complained last year to my agent about my car insurance increasing. I also ended up on the full year auto policy. Now why would it be cheaper to go this route when you can still pay monthly if you chose, and can cancel at any time.

I reminded my agent that I changed agents a few years ago because my rates kept going up and he was cheaper than my old agent. And they were both with Travelers. And I'm sure my credit numbers havn't changed any.

I think its just their normal policy to increase rates as most don't keep track of them.
 
I am glad this thread came along. I have also noticed the upward creep in my insurance. I have everything together with State Farm. I will shop around.

I wonder if you can renegotiate with your agent face to face with the printed results? At least give the guy a fighting chance before changing?
 
Got a letter today about my LTC insurance rate. Mainly, the letter said, there's gonna be about a 23% premium increase with the current coverage I have. They (John Hancock) understand that some can't afford this increase but one way to keep the premium the same is the lower the inflation protection coverage :mad:

Decisions..decisions...
 
Got a letter today about my LTC insurance rate. Mainly, the letter said, there's gonna be about a 23% premium increase with the current coverage I have.
Out of curiosity, how long have you had the coverage? What has been the history of rate increases prior to this one?
 
Out of curiosity, how long have you had the coverage? What has been the history of rate increases prior to this one?

This is the third year I've had it. The first time of rate increase.
 
Thanks. A 23% increase after only three years doesn't bode well for the future, does it...:(

No it doesn't. Starting to make me wonder if LTC insurance is a necessity or a luxury.
 
Just one more thought about insurance rates......Insurance companies invest the premiums they collect, and the reserves they have for claims. Mainly these investments are in the Bond Market. And, while the values of bonds have been going up the interest payments have been going down. When an insurance company's investment income declines, they have to make more on the difference between premiums and claims, and this always means rate increases.
 
Thanks. A 23% increase after only three years doesn't bode well for the future, does it...:(

Just to clarify a bit. My current policy has a 5% inflation adjustment. I do have the option to drop it to 3.9% and keep the same premium (for now, but no guarantee for the future).

I dunno...

Buying insurance always feels like throwing money away until you really need it.
 
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Both auto and home insurance went down approx 8% due to Allstate discount when you reach age 55 (if you are also retired). Health ins was up just over 8%.
 
This thread got me curious so I looked at all my policies and WOW:

homeowners - where I reside - increase 0%
homeowners - 3 rental properties - increase 0%
auto - increase 0%

I insure with State Farm. YAY ME! :smitten:

Now...if I could get some serenity around my health insurance...my cobra expires December 1 and the company quoted me a price to convert to an individual policy at $230 (gauranteed coverage with no exclusions, I forget the deductible but it was probably in the $5000 range), which seems like a great deal, but that was 16 months ago. Has me a bit nervous.
 
I just got an email from my agent. It looks like I'll be going from travelers to safeco. The difference is 12%. At least that puts me a little bit lower than last year. I wonder what would happen if I ever had a claim?
 
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I just got an email from my agent. It looks like I'll be going from travelers to safeco. The difference is 12%. At least that puts me a little bit lower than last year. I wonder what would happen if I ever had a claim?

My advise is not to have a claim so you don't find out. You can live vicariously through me and save the money! I backed into a car, couldn't see the little rice eater, and did $500 in damage to the other car. My premium is jacked up with a $65 ( every 6 months ) accident surcharge for the next three years so my monthly payment went from $29 to $40 a month. I will wait a year and then maybe some other companies won't hold that against me and rate shop then.
 
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