Will the fleecing ever end

H

Hyper

Full time employment: Posting here.
Joined
Nov 4, 2014
Messages
528
Received 26' vehicle insurance bill today.
Up 41% !!! No claims
Is this bs fleecing ever going to end?
I already repair all our PDR great Lord forbid we get hail damage.
Yes we can afford it but dang sure we didn't kill ourselves all our lives just to keep being fleeced by all the insurance co!!
This has to stop!!!!!
 
Good luck finding another insurer. Seems like we have to switch every other year or so after we get charged extra for our loyalty. Reminds me it's time again.
 
Here’s what someone in the industry on here taught me a few years ago. Insurance is regulated so everyone theoretically gets charged the same. However companies view risks differently, It should be the job of your independent agent to find an insurer who views you as a lower risk.
Find a good independent agent and let them do their job.
 
COcheesehead said:
Here’s what someone in the industry on here taught me a few years ago. Insurance is regulated so everyone theoretically gets charged the same. However companies view risks differently, It should be the job of your independent agent to find an insurer who views you as a lower risk.
Find a good independent agent and let them do their job.
Click to expand...
X100
 
If our home or our auto insurance policies increase by more the five or six percent I go out to the market and test the rates. On line. It takes very little time.

I do something similar for com costs when I see competitive offerers heating up. Internet, cable, cell phones. These are recurring montly costs so the deltas over a year can add up. No desire to change supplies but more often than not we end up with either a lower monthly or more add ons that we can actually use for the same dollar.
 
Hyper said:
Received 26' vehicle insurance bill today.
Up 41% !!! No claims
Is this bs fleecing ever going to end?
I already repair all our PDR great Lord forbid we get hail damage.
Yes we can afford it but dang sure we didn't kill ourselves all our lives just to keep being fleeced by all the insurance co!!
This has to stop!!!!!
Click to expand...
When this happens, don't fight 'em, join 'em!

(This is a summary of a quick search if investing in owning the companies doing the raising might be a smart move.)

You can invest in:
Individual insurance stocks (e.g., MetLife, Markel, Kinsale, Progressive)
Insurance ETFs (broader exposure)
Financial-sector ETFs (insurance is a major component)

U.S. News notes that insurance companies offer reliable cash flows and strong dividend income, making them attractive for long‑term investors

Deloitte, (2025 Outlook), Bain (2025 Global Insurance Report), U.S. News all stipulate that insurers remain financially strong, improving underwriting margins, as well as offering consistent cash flows, strong dividend income and obvious resilience in good or bad economic conditions.

Short term future returns are likely strong. Even with climate risks, regulatory pressure, etc, better data from AI improves risk modeling and makes insurance a stable, recession-resistant option.

I live in California and I can attest to the fact; you can not rely on state insurance regulators. While well intentioned, they are killing the industry to where most major carriers are leaving the state if they haven't already. Their latest "too little, too late" action has allowed insurance here to raise 100% or more over night. My home owners insurance last year was $2,500. This year it is $5,800. Not one other carrier would take me or anyone on as a new client, and I was told the only reason this company will is if they carry my cars as well as the house. If I shop car insurance and leave, then they drop my homeowner policy.
 
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skipro33 said:
When this happens, don't fight 'em, join 'em!

(This is a summary of a quick search if investing in owning the companies doing the raising might be a smart move.)

You can invest in:
Individual insurance stocks (e.g., MetLife, Markel, Kinsale, Progressive)
Insurance ETFs (broader exposure)
Financial-sector ETFs (insurance is a major component)

U.S. News notes that insurance companies offer reliable cash flows and strong dividend income, making them attractive for long‑term investors

Deloitte, (2025 Outlook), Bain (2025 Global Insurance Report), U.S. News all stipulate that insurers remain financially strong, improving underwriting margins, as well as offering consistent cash flows, strong dividend income and obvious resilience in good or bad economic conditions.

Short term future returns are likely strong. Even with climate risks, regulatory pressure, etc, better data from AI improves risk modeling and makes insurance a stable, recession-resistant option.

I live in California and I can attest to the fact; you can not rely on state insurance regulators. While well intentioned, they are killing the industry to where most major carriers are leaving the state if they haven't already. Their latest "too little, too late" action has allowed insurance here to raise 100% or more over night. My home owners insurance last year was $2,500. This year it is $5,800. Not one other carrier would take me or anyone on as a new client, and I was told the only reason this company will is if they carry my cars as well as the house. If I shop car insurance and leave, then they drop my homeowner policy.
Click to expand...
Maybe try a new state...........
 
It’s a pain but I shop it every time cars or house come up for renewal. Last year I created a Google sheet showing my current coverages (100/300/100, $1k deductible collision, 2% hail, etc.). I trend what I have paid over last 5 years for like coverages. So now it is a little easier to shop online, play with coverages, talk to neighbors, etc. But my God, I should have looked into insurance stocks back when Warren Buffett bought Geico.
 
Independent agents aren't a thing in our or extended area.
Weve got calls out to other providers plus trying the out of state providers as we've never tried that before.
Not sure what the options are. Both our trucks are high mileage. Mt truck is still worth too much to put on liability only. DW's truck is borderline but given how DW drives at our older ages, I think it best to keep full coverage on her's for a couple more years.
Weve never had a totaled vehicle to see what insurance would pay if it were to happen but id like to know what they would pay out for a high mileage total??
Irregardless, I would be the one making the repairs unless it was a total so not sure the full coverage is worthwhile??
I don't see another new vehicle in my future. I like older trucks too much and despise the fleecing that comes with new vehicles!
 
Just_Steve said:
No car insurance would be illegal in most if not all states.
Click to expand...
Not recommending this, but you could reduce coverage and/or increase deductibles to reduce your premium which would in effect be self insuring the excess.

In the extreme you could drop to the legal minimum required coverage. Again, not recommending... just defining the boundary.
 
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Hyper said:
... I don't see another new vehicle in my future. I like older trucks too much and despise the fleecing that comes with new vehicles!
Click to expand...
IME for a total loss they will pay you the private party sale value... more than what you would get if you traded it in but less than you would have to pay a dealer for the vehicle. Hope that helps.
 
Hyper said:
Independent agents aren't a thing in our or extended area.
Weve got calls out to other providers plus trying the out of state providers as we've never tried that before.
Not sure what the options are. Both our trucks are high mileage. Mt truck is still worth too much to put on liability only. DW's truck is borderline but given how DW drives at our older ages, I think it best to keep full coverage on her's for a couple more years.
Weve never had a totaled vehicle to see what insurance would pay if it were to happen but id like to know what they would pay out for a high mileage total??
Irregardless, I would be the one making the repairs unless it was a total so not sure the full coverage is worthwhile??
I don't see another new vehicle in my future. I like older trucks too much and despise the fleecing that comes with new vehicles!
Click to expand...
Around where would that be? Never couldn't find an independent agent no matter where I lived.
 
Check Geico and Progressive. Use the app, allow driver tracking.

A car that is 5+ years old you could drop to Liability Only.

Raise the deductible to the highest allowed.

Make sure you are bundling cars, home/renters, umbrella.

We saved a ton on cars with Geico and allowing the app to track driving (nothing to hide). We also sold our house and are renting. One year of renters insurance is way less than a single month of homeowner's insurance. We also dumped our umbrella coverage after selling the house. Insurance went from $500 a month to $106 a month.
 
I understand the logic of shopping insurance but my reluctance revolves around the fear that the company won’t pay a claim and/or has miserable customer service. That seems harder to shop and, while you can evaluate customer service at some level, you’ll never know how well they pay until you have a claim and then it’s too late.

I’ve been with AAA for home and auto since me and DW got married over 40 years ago. I’ve had two cars stolen and probably 3 minor accidents. They’ve never hesitated to pay my claim to my satisfaction. I’m sure I’m not paying the least possible, but I’m comfortable I’m well insured with a strong company. That needs to come into the shopping equation too.
 
That’s were an independent agent comes into play. Ours tells us about the new potential company and their history so if we switch we know what we are getting. Also the agent stays the same which helpful. They are your advocate.
 
pb4uski said:
Not recommending this, but you could reduce coverage and/or increase deductibles to reduce your premium which would in effect be self insuring the excess.

In the extreme you could drop to the legal minimum required coverage. Again, not recommending... just defining the boundary.
Click to expand...
We have for many years. Cut everything as far as we can with highest deductible.
 
My low mileage older vehicle was totaled last year and the other party’s insurance company short changed me big time. The comps they found were hundreds of miles away. When you have an older vehicle that you have maintained it’s very unlikely you could replace it using the “actual cash value formula”.
 
Hyper said:
Wyoming
Click to expand...
Yep, we use an independent agent in CT. Was very helpful last year when our prior company wanted to raise our home owner insurance over 50%. Shopped it out and got a new company for only a few dollars more than we were paying.
 
bloom2708 said:
Check Geico and Progressive. Use the app, allow driver tracking.

A car that is 5+ years old you could drop to Liability Only.

Raise the deductible to the highest allowed.

Make sure you are bundling cars, home/renters, umbrella.

We saved a ton on cars with Geico and allowing the app to track driving (nothing to hide). We also sold our house and are renting. One year of renters insurance is way less than a single month of homeowner's insurance. We also dumped our umbrella coverage after selling the house. Insurance went from $500 a month to $106 a month.
Click to expand...
Never allow tracking. It has nothing to do with "nothing to hide." Those programs were never created with the consumer in mind. They were created to save the company money. Even if you think you have stellar driving habits, simply going over the speed limit by 1 mph can be used against you if you were to wreck your vehicle. To save what, $100/year? Juice isn't worth the squeeze.
 
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