Car insurance claiming an 11% increase across the board?

[AquaDame]

Is this true or am I being taken for a ride..? I have NOTHING on my record, drive a very old (1997) very reliable car, have good credit, and zero tickets. The agent I spoke with claimed that this was an across the board increase, and not me specifically. As is, I felt it was high considering I drive on average 6 miles a day.

 

[worm761]

We have heard nothing like that with our insurance. It might be time to look for another carrier.

 

[ceecee]

I just paid ours with no increase. Our homeowner's policy did go up in September though.

 

[Egdisney]

Time to shop around. My former house ins claimed a 4%raise was required each year to cover the rising cost of supplies and labor each year! Um, no.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Same thing here. I just paid my bill yesterday and it was the same price I paid last year. I would get a quote from another company.

 

[pixiedustaholic]

OP, is it State Farm by chance? I seem to remember reading something about an increase on the back of my paperwork. I will have to look more closely when I get home.

 

[summermac]

I have State Farm and my premium just went down.

 

[kiki02]

Same for us. Huge increase at renewal for no reason at all.

Called around, found geico to be the lowest and a + service.

GL. ... sure is tough out there.

 

[Disney Princess]

We just moved from Indiana to Texas, and our former company's new rate was ridiculous. They told us it was because there more undocumented drivers, thus more uninsured drivers, in Texas. We decided to call around and found that Geico had the best rates (much better than our former company!). Their service was friendly and efficient as well. Shop around!

 

[JillyBean1899]

I've got USAA. Mine went from $390.24 to $390.34.

I'd say it's time to shop around. If you really like your current company, get quotes from other places, call yours back and say "this is what I'm being quoted, can you beat it?" If not, change. Just make sure you get a copy of your current insurance policy so you know what is included and what limits it has, so you can tell that to the companies you call for quotes. It wouldn't be good if you're paying $500/6 months for something like $30k/$100k insurance, and you get quoted $450/6 months for something like $10k/$15k.

 

[Denise W]

Insurance companies review their rates all the time and if they are losing money in a certain state, or even a certain part of a state, they will file for a rate increase to the state insurance commissioner. If the rate increase is approved, everyone in that area will get a certain percentage rate increase, even if they have not filed a claim recently. That increase is different and separate from a rate increase you might be charged for a surcharge due to an at fault accident or in some states, a traffic violation.

So yes, this is possible, and fairly standard to occur.

Denise

 

[mrsstats]

Yes, insurance companies do raise rates like that. Find yourself an independent insurance agent who will shop it for you. Or if you prefer, get a direct write like Geico, State Farm or Allstate and get quotes. Rates are always changing.

 

[tvguy]

Is this true or am I being taken for a ride..? I have NOTHING on my record, drive a very old (1997) very reliable car, have good credit, and zero tickets. The agent I spoke with claimed that this was an across the board increase, and not me specifically. As is, I felt it was high considering I drive on average 6 miles a day.

First, it always pays to price shot.

Second, 11% does seem like a lot, but given the age of the car and the coverage you should have and NOT have (as in no collision), your premium should be between $200 and $250, so 11% sounds huge, but it may only amount to $22 to $27 dollars.

 

[ZachnElli]

Yes, they take rate increases like this. I am a licensed agent in an independent insurance office. I'm not THE agent, I'm the one who sits up front and does all the actual work! In my area, most companies are raising homeowner's rates, across the board. Lots of hail claims last year are to blame. I have noticed that while they are raising rates on current customers, new customers are still coming in at great rates! Shop around. State Farm is dropping a lot of people for last year's claims and I've done a lot of quoting this past week for cancelled State Farm customers! Raising rates can happen in an entire state, region, or just one zip code of a city!

 

[Kachina]

Insurance companies review their rates all the time and if they are losing money in a certain state, or even a certain part of a state, they will file for a rate increase to the state insurance commissioner. If the rate increase is approved, everyone in that area will get a certain percentage rate increase, even if they have not filed a claim recently. That increase is different and separate from a rate increase you might be charged for a surcharge due to an at fault accident or in some states, a traffic violation.

So yes, this is possible, and fairly standard to occur.

Denise

That's exactly what happened to us. While we loved Amica, we weren't above jumping ship for a much better deal when they jacked up our rate for no reason other than that their pool of customers in Montana was too small to keep things the same rate. Bad drivers ruin it for all of us. Very happy so far with farmer's, though.

 

[kristinradico]

We have State Farm and our car insurance went up $7 a month and with a clean record. We'll find out next month if our Homeowners through them increased as well.