OT: Car insurance rates

[cliftonparksufan]

Just trying to do a little homework before calling my agent up. Been with State Farm for at least 25 years and never had a claim. I've always been very happy with my rate as it generally has gone down a little bit as I have gotten older. Last year I was paying about $300 for six months. I just received my bill, and it went up about $35 (for the six months). My wife pays a little more than me (not sure why except she has a little bit nicer car and she has had a couple claims) and hers went up about $45 for six months.

I see in this attached article that rates are going up due to a couple factors and obviously with the pandemic and the inflation we are experiencing if everyone is having the same issue before I call up my agent and yell at him.

Car insurance rates to rise 8.4% in 2023: Report

The average cost of full coverage car insurance will be $1,780 a year, report finds.

abcnews.go.com

 

[Ozone!]

Try​

 

[UnknownOrange]

Just trying to do a little homework before calling my agent up. Been with State Farm for at least 25 years and never had a claim. I've always been very happy with my rate as it generally has gone down a little bit as I have gotten older. Last year I was paying about $300 for six months. I just received my bill, and it went up about $35 (for the six months). My wife pays a little more than me (not sure why except she has a little bit nicer car and she has had a couple claims) and hers went up about $45 for six months.

I see in this attached article that rates are going up due to a couple factors and obviously with the pandemic and the inflation we are experiencing if everyone is having the same issue before I call up my agent and yell at him.

Car insurance rates to rise 8.4% in 2023: Report

The average cost of full coverage car insurance will be $1,780 a year, report finds.

abcnews.go.com

I use a family friend who works at a brokerage who shops around for me -- dropped my rate significantly by switching from farmers to Erie

important note: i hate insurance, so I will go with whatever coverage is best + cheapest

 

[MSOrange]

Just trying to do a little homework before calling my agent up. Been with State Farm for at least 25 years and never had a claim. I've always been very happy with my rate as it generally has gone down a little bit as I have gotten older. Last year I was paying about $300 for six months. I just received my bill, and it went up about $35 (for the six months). My wife pays a little more than me (not sure why except she has a little bit nicer car and she has had a couple claims) and hers went up about $45 for six months.

I see in this attached article that rates are going up due to a couple factors and obviously with the pandemic and the inflation we are experiencing if everyone is having the same issue before I call up my agent and yell at him.

Car insurance rates to rise 8.4% in 2023: Report

The average cost of full coverage car insurance will be $1,780 a year, report finds.

abcnews.go.com

Yes rates are going up for almost everyone, regardless of company. I believe State Farm's combined ratio is around 117 which means they are paying out 1.17 in claims for every $1 in premium taken in - not ideal.

As your article mentions, inflation has a lot to do with it along with just the weather around the country. There are a few carriers with under 100 combined ratio and rates might not be impacted as much with them, but not many. Might be worth it to shop around though.

 

[texascpa]

I have a company that shops my rates every year...and I absolutely will not use a driving app/monitor to "help" reduce my rates.

 

[Capt. Tuttle]

Whatever you do:

1. Be sure that you have uninsured/underinsured coverage. This can provide you with coverage for bodily injury if someone with little to no insurance hits you.

2. Look into an umbrella policy. It’s additional liability coverage are very low rates.

Insurance is the worst deal there is, until you need it.

If you go for low coverage, you are self insuring against a liability event.

 

[atlanticuse]

Our GEICO has gone up by $500/6 months ($1k/year) in the past two years.

Perfect driving records. Two adults no kid drivers. Only lost new car discount since we bought our cars during C19.

Big issue is uninsured motorist and part shortage/costs.

 

[two3zone]

Had my first claim in over 15 years a few months back, jacked my deductible up as high as it went years ago. Had a single car incident where my wheel, while backing up at 3mph, hit a telephone pole perfectly flush. Busted mirror, bent control arm, body damage, tierod busted, and there was something else that busted too which I forget. Anyway, insurance company came out and checked it out, priced it all out to just a little less than the deductible. Brought it to the shop and their estimate was twice the amount of what my deductible was. Insurance is an absolute scam.

 

[newmexicuse]

Had my first claim in over 15 years a few months back, jacked my deductible up as high as it went years ago. Had a single car incident where my wheel, while backing up at 3mph, hit a telephone pole perfectly flush. Busted mirror, bent control arm, body damage, tierod busted, and there was something else that busted too which I forget. Anyway, insurance company came out and checked it out, priced it all out to just a little less than the deductible. Brought it to the shop and their estimate was twice the amount of what my deductible was. Insurance is an absolute scam.

The insurance industry has made it not worth putting in claims for relatively small amounts. Even the act of putting in a claim, whether denied or not, is an excuse for a rate hike.

I think the answer is raising the deductible so in effect you are self insuring for smaller incidents. I have GEICO and they also have the driver forgiveness option made famous by Allstate. I also agree with CT above that Umbrella coverage is important.

If you feel your claim was mis-handled you should be able to escalate your denial or even go to small claims court if worse comes to worse.

 

[ar inj]

I shop around for my homeowners and auto policies every three years. I find no matter how good a rate and price drop I got three years before I can always find a better deal. Sometimes the best deal is to not combine homeowners and auto. Currently with Farmers for both. Best of luck.

 

[atlanticuse]

Had my first claim in over 15 years a few months back, jacked my deductible up as high as it went years ago. Had a single car incident where my wheel, while backing up at 3mph, hit a telephone pole perfectly flush. Busted mirror, bent control arm, body damage, tierod busted, and there was something else that busted too which I forget. Anyway, insurance company came out and checked it out, priced it all out to just a little less than the deductible. Brought it to the shop and their estimate was twice the amount of what my deductible was. Insurance is an absolute scam.

AND they use (or force using) used parts.

 

[atlanticuse]

The insurance industry has made it not worth putting in claims for relatively small amounts. Even the act of putting in a claim, whether denied or not, is an excuse for a rate hike.

I think the answer is raising the deductible so in effect you are self insuring for smaller incidents. I have GEICO and they also have the driver forgiveness option made famous by Allstate. I also agree with CT above that Umbrella coverage is important.

If you feel your claim was mis-handled you should be able to escalate your denial or even go to small claims court if worse comes to worse.

There's something else we found.
Even if you do not have the same agency for auto + home insurance, ANY claims made against ANY policy work against you.
Example: we have home insurance with Allstate, and car with GEICO.
My wife was hit by an anonymous (hit-and-run) in a parking lot, then a week later she tapped another car in the same place.
A little under 5 years later, when we switched to Allstate for home, the auto claim was flagged.

 

[OburgOrange]

Snake Farm is evil

 

[Nicknack]

I shop around for my homeowners and auto policies every three years. I find no matter how good a rate and price drop I got three years before I can always find a better deal. Sometimes the best deal is to not combine homeowners and auto. Currently with Farmers for both. Best of luck.

Yep, that's a good idea. I have found that regardless who I have insurance with, over time there is price creep. Switching every 3 years keeps them honest.