Car/house insurance

[two_bit_score]

I use an independent agent. He is able to shop rates from multiple companies. I have been with AAA, Safeco (librerty mutual).. He has me at this time with met life..

From time to time ,my independent agent will check to see if any of the companies he carries is less than the one I have at the time. He is only checking with the few companies he represents, not the marketplace
If they are, he will switch me. I have been changed several times .. Most companies pay higher commissions for "new business" than they do for "renewals"

There is no reason to stay with an insurance company for as long as you have. I'm quite sure there is an independent out there that can save you some cash ! Just be aware, not all independents carry the same insurance companies.

nt

A couple thoughts above in Red

TBS

 

[two_bit_score]

What the trick to find a good honest one?

Companies are heavily regulated. They also have no loyalty to customers. It's all percentages.

The TRICK is to find a good agent that you KNOW.

TBS

 

[kenmac]

A couple thoughts above in Red

TBS

that's right, he doesn't check the allstates, alfas. nationwides,state farms, etc. He has several companies to choose from , all of which beat the after mentioned

I have already checked the market place..

 

[TheMan419]

What the trick to find a good honest one?

Ask local friends who they use. Look on google for reviews.

 

[two_bit_score]

that's right, he doesn't check the allstates, alfas. nationwides,state farms, etc. He has several companies to choose from , all of which beat the after mentioned

I have already checked the market place..

.

If you are happy, that's all that counts.



TBS

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Been with State Farm for 53 years.....accident free for that time too. BUT 6 months ago did a stupid thing in a car wash and it resulted in a claim to repair the car wash. I had minor black fender trim messed up, and I fixed my self. The claim was about $1000.

As with any insurance...that has a premium impact....but the 53 years with them means...NOTHING. So I've decided I will shop for insurance. Told them that too. They said be sure...any insurance is underwrited so you don't have large increases in later years. Not sure I understand that.

SO....what insurance is everyone using?

Nationwide. Cars and Homes. 35 Years.

 

[EarPlug]

Being loyal to an Insurance Company can be costly. It called rate creep or "price optimized".

How loyal insurance customers can pay higher rates - CBS News

 

[kenmac]

Being loyal to an Insurance Company can be costly. It called rate creep or "price optimized".

How loyal insurance customers can pay higher rates - CBS News

They love their loyal customers:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[kenmac]

.

If you are happy, that's all that counts.



TBS

I am.. I'm not loyal to any one company. If there's a less expensive rate out there, you can bet I would have it. Well, except for the low rated stuff . I also shopped for my umbrella policy. I couldn't beat his price on it either.

I pay home by the yr in full, and vehicles every 6 months in full. Most companies charge xtra making drafts ,or payments vs paying in full

 

[teejk]

Being loyal to an Insurance Company can be costly. It called rate creep or "price optimized".

How loyal insurance customers can pay higher rates - CBS News

I requested quotes last year from 3 different companies and most were much lower than my current carrier (AmFam). When I requested a policy review and showed my agent the quotes all of the sudden contacts from the competing companies stopped...guessing they all read that CBS News story and probably "whisper" to each other now. Everybody involved had a local agent so I guess it's time to check those that don't have a local presence. I don't file claims so my need for a local agent is zip/zero/nada.

 

[rekees4300]

Being loyal to an Insurance Company can be costly. It called rate creep or "price optimized".

How loyal insurance customers can pay higher rates - CBS News

"Most consumers accepted modest annual rate hikes without balking."

That's an interesting article, thanks for posting it. It's true most consumers will accept a modest rate hike ... chalk it up to inflation. However AMFAM hiked my rate by 38% this year! Modest is one thing but greed is another. I'm in the process of switching to USAA.

 

[jcummins]

"Most consumers accepted modest annual rate hikes without balking."

That's an interesting article, thanks for posting it. It's true most consumers will accept a modest rate hike ... chalk it up to inflation. However AMFAM hiked my rate by 38% this year! Modest is one thing but greed is another. I'm in the process of switching to USAA.

I didn't mention in my original post, they are hitting me with a 20% increase. The world I know at least will hear about it. I let it ride all those years, actually think the premiums were ok, but what I missed, is as soon as they have a claim they put the screws to you, NO MATTER WHAT. They will recoup practically the whole claim they had to pay in three years.....I ain't going to let them...it is why I'm switching..NO MATTER WHAT, just like them.

 

[kenmac]

Funny, it's not insurance but related to rate increases..
My Termite company sent me an annual renewal notice stating my yearly rate was increasing from $85.00 per yr to $170.00 per yr.
I called them and told them to cancel my termite contract. When they asked why, I told them because of the increase, I was going to shop around.. They said If they keep my renewal at the current rate of $85.00 would I satay with them ? I said yes. They said to send them a check for $85.00 for the next year's renewal. LOL

My alarm monitoring company tried the same thing. I told them to cancel . They said they would leave me at the same monitoring rate..

Don't let these insurance companies play games with you. Call around. It won't cost you a dime to check prices with other companes

 

[ultrarunner]

This happened with a boat policy... and they waved the increase.

Yesterday it happened with the newspaper subscription... was thinking of cancelling anyway... but the lady was so nice on the phone and waived the 37% increase I said OK

 

[jcummins]

This happened with a boat policy... and they waved the increase.

Yesterday it happened with the newspaper subscription... was thinking of cancelling anyway... but the lady was so nice on the phone and waived the 37% increase I said OK

It was the FIRST thing I told them....big company, local agent can't do a thing.

 

[TheMan419]

Funny, it's not insurance but related to rate increases..
My Termite company sent me an annual renewal notice stating my yearly rate was increasing from $85.00 per yr to $170.00 per yr.
I called them and told them to cancel my termite contract. When they asked why, I told them because of the increase, I was going to shop around.. They said If they keep my renewal at the current rate of $85.00 would I satay with them ? I said yes. They said to send them a check for $85.00 for the next year's renewal. LOL

My alarm monitoring company tried the same thing. I told them to cancel . They said they would leave me at the same monitoring rate..

Don't let these insurance companies play games with you. Call around. It won't cost you a dime to check prices with other companes

I do this with my Satellite TV provider. Every 6 mo or so their rates rise. I check what I would get as a new customer and what the competition costs. I call to disconnect and low and behold they find a discount I am eligible for that gets me right back to the price I was paying before the increase. It might be few dollars more than if I switched, but not so much more that I want to take the time of being home when the dude comes out to install the new service etc.

As for the homeowners insurance, I would shop that at least every two years. Same with the car insurance. Even if you did not have a claim you will be able to reduce your rates.

Why have loyalty to a big insurance company? They have none to you.

 

[kenmac]

Why have loyalty to a big insurance company? They have none to you.

I have no idea why some people stay with their insurance company forever. My MIL is like that. Since she's been with Alfa for 40 yrs, she thinks she owes it to them to stay with them.
For the life of me I can't understand why she doesn't just check prices of other companies. It ain't like she's got something to lose !

 

[RedNeckGeek]

For those of you thinking about Amica, they offered me an initial low rate, then jacked it up by 20% for each of the following two years.

Switched to Liberty Mutual, and they're doing the same thing.

I live in wildfire country (just had a very close call this week) and a lot of the major companies like AAA, Nationwide, State Farm, Farmers, Allstate, Geico, Progressive won't write a policy here. So I'm all ears hoping to hear of new companies I can try when I shop around in a month or so.

 

[LD1]

I currently have Erie for everything.

I agree with others that it is worth shopping around every few years.

I am also not loyal to one company. But have 4 different policy's that I prefer to ALL be with the same company. Thats personal auto on 3 vehicles, Commercial auto for my truck, business liability to cover my ventures with the tractor as well as snowplowing for whatever part the commercial truck ins dont cover. And my house.

When I only had auto and home.....I had home with state farm....just because thats what the mortgage broker recommended when writing the loan, and it was escrowed and I never messed with it. And I had progressive for autos, as they were the only one that would cover a young unmarried male, with something like 10 speeding tickets in a 35 month period.

After all those lapsed and and I got married....I shopped. Settled in on state farm to match the homeowners ins. Kept shopping every few years and no one was any better when comparing apples to apples. All were right in the same ballpark and at best....maybe $10/yr cheaper on the package deal.....which wasnt worth the hassle of switching and dealing with the escrow setup.

I switched to erie several years ago on account of needing business ins. State farm had some policy that they would no longer insure any business that hasnt been previously insured for at least 2 years. So I called about 3 different independent agents to shop. Erie, pecan, ohio mutual, grange, allstate, nationwide, state farm, auto-owners, geico, etc etc. All of them would be priced just by dealing with a few independents.

There were slight differences that I had to adjust to be able to compare apples to apples. IE: most "standard" policys cover dwelling extensions (detached buildings) at 10% of the homes value. Well, with having a nice shop at my old house, and now at my current place....10% wasnt enough. erie does 20% as their standard, as do some others, but the ones that only do 10%.....gotta have them bump it to 20% and re-compare. Deductibles is another one to make sure you are comparing apples to apples on.

In the end, I have commercial on my truck/trailer, and 3 personal autos all insured to the max which is something like 250k/500k w/300k liability....I have my home insured with the shop covered at 20% of the home value (which is sufficient), and I have a 2m/4m business liability policy. All of that cost me ~$250/month.

With 4 policies comparing the total as a whole, erie was the cheapest apples to apples. IF I wanted 4 different carriers, like allstate for autos, erie for business, auto-owners for home, and ohio mutual for comm truck.....taking the cheapest of each itemized quote....I could have saved ~$10-$15 per month. But for me it wasnt worth the hassle. $240/month broken up over 4 separate bills. Or $250 and one bill and done. And if I have any issues.....its one call. Dont have to worry about weather a claim should go on my commercial truck ins, or business ins if I damage something plowing, etc. And about every year or two, I call around again. no one has offered me any better yet.

 

[ultrarunner]

For those of you thinking about Amica, they offered me an initial low rate, then jacked it up by 20% for each of the following two years.

Switched to Liberty Mutual, and they're doing the same thing.

I live in wildfire country (just had a very close call this week) and a lot of the major companies like AAA, Nationwide, State Farm, Farmers, Allstate, Geico, Progressive won't write a policy here. So I'm all ears hoping to hear of new companies I can try when I shop around in a month or so.

This is exactly what I have run into... not available for love or money or not unless it is a lot of money.

The common theme is distance to a fire hydrant being used to exude writing and then there is a rating system depending on topography if there is a hydrant so many feet from the property.

Looked at two homes on the same road less than a 1/4 mile apart... one had the last county hydrant right in front of the home... zero problem to insure... the other one had 10,000 of dedicated fire water storage, emergency pump and the shop was fully sprinklered plus a siphon pipe from the swimming pool... no dice... owner had Lloyds of London...