Car Insurance Question

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

I just got the new quote for our next 6 month car insurance policy and it went up over $300 to $1021 for six months. We have 2016 Tiguan with over 100,000 miles. 2 adults in the house (no kids). This seems nuts to me especially when we both have good driver discounts (no accidents for either of us)! We also get our renters insurance through the insurance company so are supposed to have a small discount. It's through GEICO and we've been happy with the customer service but this seems outrageous. Any input or thoughts would be very welcome. I think we need to start shopping around before the policy renews in March.

 

[MillauFr]

If you want to cut the price eliminate collision insurance.

 

[kymom99]

Does the statement give a reason?

 

[JimMIA]

Get quotes from other companies, but just be sure you are comparing identical coverages.

 

[WDWEPCOT]

Hard to comment as so many things these days go into your insurance like it or not
Area
Age
Credit history
Car
Where how far you drive
Driving record
Health
Type of license
A few things - if you have full coverage - you could consider not carrying full - carry Liab only / make sure you have uninsured motorist always !!
if your policy has medical and you already have medical coverage drop it off
AAA offers cheaper rates to members - consider that
Just make sure you compare apples to apples and keep in mind some places will offer cheap rates and hit you with charges for phone calls or any little thing they do - I won’t name them but you can PM if you like
Other companies start cheap and just raise the rates every time they bill you
Good Luck I hope you find good coverage at a decent price !!
i am about to start this process again myself

 

[_19disnA]

If you haven't had any accidents on that vehicle recently, the amount of increase seems excessive. I would certainly look around and get some quotes from other companies. Regardless of what you see on those TV ads, car insurance is basically a commodity so if you compare quotes for the same amount of coverage and deductible, you should be able to save some money.

 

[msmayor]

Wow...we live in one of the most expensive states for car insurance, and our premiums are $2300 for TWO cars for a full year. Both are 2018 Subarus with full coverage.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I usually got the question when agents would call asking about increases "but my client has no claims" well insurance is a pool. Your rate isn't just about you, it's about your area, it's about the company's loses in general. Natural disasters states away can impact your renewal rate.

You can def. shop around if you'd like.

What might be more helpful for both posters and yourself is to look at where the increases are coming. For example a large increase in comprehensive coverage could come from increase in thefts reported, or costs to repair a vehicle, UM/UIM coverages could come from an increase in uninsured/underinsured drivers, etc.

Also discuss with your agent if they have any insight as to why but be aware some of the stuff can be unknown to them as the company may not disclose all the nitty gritty details. The company I used to work for the agents would get newsletters advising of the increase (like a 1.5% increase for example) sometimes it would explain why (CAT losses=catastrophe losses, increase in thefts, type of clients, etc) sometimes it would be more like an across the board increase.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Hard to comment as so many things these days go into your insurance like it or not
Area
Age
Credit history
Car
Where how far you drive
Driving record
Health
Type of license
A few things - if you have full coverage - you could consider not carrying full - carry Liab only / make sure you have uninsured motorist always !!
if your policy has medical and you already have medical coverage drop it off
AAA offers cheaper rates to members - consider that
Just make sure you compare apples to apples and keep in mind some places will offer cheap rates and hit you with charges for phone calls or any little thing they do - I won’t name them but you can PM if you like
Other companies start cheap and just raise the rates every time they bill you
Good Luck I hope you find good coverage at a decent price !!
i am about to start this process again myself

Just know some of the stuff you talk about is state-specific.

Health would be state-specific. Medical coverage is another. Do you live in Michigan by any chance? In my state PIP (Personal Injury Protection) is mandatory and cannot be waived. MedPay is an optional coverage though. The two coverages are not mutually exclusive, MedPay is considered supplemental coverage to PIP.

Credit can be used in a variety of states but not all.

How far you drive isn't always a factor anymore many companies have long-since gone to more complicated ways of deriving your rate. AAA was one long time ago that still had a simplistic way of rating compared to other companies.

Etc.

Most companies increase over time some more than others but it's rare for someone to stay the same rate for years. Generally speaking you'll always be hunting for lower premiums.

 

[cvjw]

We insure 2 cars - a 2019 Honda Pilot elite with 22,000 miles and a 2014 Acura MDX with 40,000 miles for less than $1000 every six months. Really closer to $900 for both. We have full coverage with a $1,000,000 in liability on each car. We also have a 22 year old son on our policy, so that makes our rates higher. We use State Farm.

 

[tvguy]

If you want to cut the price eliminate collision insurance.

I priced that out with my 2007 Taurus in California and it only cut my premiums by $23 for 6 months.

 

[LuvOrlando]

That's nearly a 30% jump without explanation. Is there any possibility your partner got a ticket you don't know about? Was there another adjustment, lowering of deductible? I'd call the carrier & ask for an explanation & if there is no reason they just gave you a teaser rate, I'd go elsewhere.

 

[MillauFr]

I priced that out with my 2007 Taurus in California and it only cut my premiums by $23 for 6 months.

Isn't that about you would get if you totaled the Taurus? No way they are going to pay more than $500.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

Thank you everyone for your advice. My credit has shot up in the past year (over 730 maybe) , not gone down. I’ve lived in the same zipcode for the past 6 years and have off street parking. Definitely no tickets. And the same car has been insured 4 years with no claims or accidents. Previous vehicle insured with them with no accidents, claims, or tickets either.

I think I might be overinsured since we do not own a house or really have assets someone could attach in a lawsuit in the case of a terrible accident, but I have had the same coverage for years. Of course that’s not relevant to the current price hike at hand but just food for thought.

I think I got complacent and haven’t shopped around. Of course I know if I drop collision/change deductibles etc I could play with the price, but this just seemed like a huge price increase to me with no reason I could come up with and I’m glad to know I’m not off base with that. I'll call this week and shop around. My husband is also a veteran so I should probably look into USAA as well.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Thank you everyone for your advice. My credit has shot up in the past year (over 730 maybe) , not gone down. I’ve lived in the same zipcode for the past 6 years and have off street parking. Definitely no tickets. And the same car has been insured 4 years with no claims or accidents. Previous vehicle insured with them with no accidents, claims, or tickets either.

I think I might be overinsured since we do not own a house or really have assets someone could attach in a lawsuit in the case of a terrible accident, but I have had the same coverage for years. Of course that’s not relevant to the current price hike at hand but just food for thought.

I think I got complacent and haven’t shopped around. Of course I know if I drop collision/change deductibles etc I could play with the price, but this just seemed like a huge price increase to me with no reason I could come up with and I’m glad to know I’m not off base with that. I'll call this week and shop around. My husband is also a veteran so I should probably look into USAA as well.

If your husband is retired (usually defined as 20 years) you may also see if the company has a discount for veterans. The company I worked for did although it was strictly those who were retired having served 20 years with their DD214 papers stating as such. Some companies may give to military not having served 20 years. Some also give to current/active military.

 

[tinkerbellandpeterpan]

If your husband is retired (usually defined as 20 years) you may also see if the company has a discount for veterans. The company I worked for did although it was strictly those who were retired having served 20 years with their DD214 papers stating as such. Some companies may give to military not having served 20 years. Some also give to current/active military.

Thank you. He's a veteran but not retired from the military. He served 8 years in the Coast Guard, but I appreciate the advice!

 

[luvnwdwgal]

We live in Ohio. Have 3 vehicles with full coverage. 2022 Subaru, 2012 Chevy pick-up, 2010 GMC pick-up. My husband is 66, I’m 59. Clean driving records, no accidents. Neither of us drive far. We pay $475 every 6 months. We switched companies a couple years ago and saved almost $1200 a year with car and home owners insurance. Pays to shop around.

 

[gncntry]

We live in Florida. We have a 2019 van and a 2015 Corolla. Two adults, no kids.
Our yearly insurance is $1700. When we lived in Maryland (we moved a year ago) our insurance was $1200 a year.

 

[tvguy]

Isn't that about you would get if you totaled the Taurus? No way they are going to pay more than $500.

Not sure what Actual Cash Value is. CarMax gave me $1,200 for it. The dealer they sold it too listed it for $4,995. No idea what they actaully sold it for. My son crashed his 2006 Taurus 3 years ago. He and his wife went out and bought another car because they assumed it would be totaled with $6,000 damage. Wrong. The insurance company was willing to fix it. They did agree to total it for $3,500 when they found out they didn't want it fixed.

 

[mjkacmom]

Wow...we live in one of the most expensive states for car insurance, and our premiums are $2300 for TWO cars for a full year. Both are 2018 Subarus with full coverage.

We pay over $6000 for three, only one with collision, but have a 19, 19 and 20 year old on it (2007 civic, 2007 odyssey, 2016 odyssey).