How Often Do You Change Car Insurance?

[daughtersrus]

I've never switched. I've had State Farm since I was covered under my parents plan when I started driving 36 years ago. I compared plans a few years ago when I had a dispute with State Farm over an accident DD #1 had in a parking lot. Every plan I looked at was considerably more than State Farm. Long story but our agent went to corporate and got the claim handeled like we all felt was the right way it should be. Our girls have kept State Farm for their cars, rental and home owners at rates other companies couldn't give them.

 

[here757]

Did you become a USAA member through your grandfather? Usually becoming a member enables you to keep the insurance.

My ex son in law has USAA insurance because he was married to my daughter and her father was military. He became a member by being able to open a banking account, if I recall. He was able to keep his accounts and membership after divorce.

Employment.... Now has a spouse. Husband is retired.
Usaa now operates in all 50 states. They are dicey in Florida though..
I was licensed to sell insurance in MI.. Home , auto and VPP

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I honestly apologize for this long post

It can't hurt to call your existing company and ask. They might be willing to reduce it if you have a hard quote with comparable coverage from another company - they might want to see it though to confirm that you're not blowing smoke.

Insurance companies can't actually reduce your rate to match another company. That's called rebating which is illegal. You would have to do that for every single person. Unless the State's DOI (Department of Insurance) had stipulations on when a company could actually do something like truly match the rate. What they can do is a few things:

1) The insurance company I worked for in RARE instances would give a person credit on their account. This did not actually change their insurance premium but would mean so this time around they wouldn't owe as much. Let me tell you that was the worst thing we did because too many people expect their rate to actually be lower and it wasn't.

2) The can adjust your coverages to get you closer to what your other quote is which may or may not mean you have less coverage on your policy in order to get that. When comparing rates between companies you really have to compare apples to apples not apples to oranges and that is something virtually no one gets (i.e "this company is $100 less than yours why..well that's because you have BIPD coverage at 25/50 with that company but with us you have 100/300" just as an example)

3) Move you to another one of their products which may lower your rate

4) Add discounts to your policy that you are eligible for

5) Re-run your credit score. This however is regulated by the State in how often you can do this.

I'm probably missing a few other ways.

Thanks for all the feedback, guys. Yeah I could definitely understand staying if I had an agent I had a relationship with or anything, but that's not the case here. It's just such a savings to go with Geico, and I made sure the coverage was exactly the same when I got the quote. If it was $10 a month or something then I'd let it slide, but a $40 a month difference is a lot.

There isn't a problem with switching but do keep a few things in mind:

1) Initial rates for switching do not in any way reflect what your rates will be down the line. You may have a low rate now but that may not be true over several renewals. While this could be part of diminishing percentage of certain discounts it can also be due to the insurance company's claim ratio (it's common for people to not understand insurance is a pool of money therefore events happening across the county can impact your rate) or their need for a rate increase for other reasons.

2) Switching too often can result in a negative Insurance Score. Insurance Scores consist of your credit (CA is pretty much the only state where the DOI prevents factoring one's credit score into insurance rate), your past coverages as well as having insurance (with or without a lapse) over a pre-determined amount of time (usually with auto it's 6 months to 12 months), your claim and driving history. These are regulated by each state's DOI. Some states have rules on which claims or driving history can impact your rate and some states say you can't use a person's history of insurance (with or without a lapse). This could be important if for say you just got a speeding ticket or you filed a claim.

 

[angierae]

Never. We're Emerald Members with Progressive. We got huge discounts when we had a teen driver, and just recently we had accident forgiveness on her totaling a car - we had a check within days and our rates didn't go up one penny when we renewed. I can't even imagine what it would take for us to switch. It isn't worth it.

 

[SandyinMonterey]

I've been with the same insurance company for 34 years. Started with car insurance. When I got married, husband came onto Liberty Mutual and from there have added more policies such as cars and home owners. We save more having multiple policies. Been very pleased especially after our most recent experience. We purchased a new home in a different state while still owning in another. Had to buy another policy for new home and when I compared what Liberty Mutual offered versus all the others, I was more than pleasantly surprised at my savings. Others weren't even close. I'm sure being with them so long has something to do with it.

 

[here757]

I honestly apologize for this long post
Insurance companies can't actually reduce your rate to match another company. That's called rebating which is illegal. You would have to do that for every single person. Unless the State's DOI (Department of Insurance) had stipulations on when a company could actually do something like truly match the rate. What they can do is a few things:

1) The insurance company I worked for in RARE instances would give a person credit on their account. This did not actually change their insurance premium but would mean so this time around they wouldn't owe as much. Let me tell you that was the worst thing we did because too many people expect their rate to actually be lower and it wasn't.

2) The can adjust your coverages to get you closer to what your other quote is which may or may not mean you have less coverage on your policy in order to get that. When comparing rates between companies you really have to compare apples to apples not apples to oranges and that is something virtually no one gets (i.e "this company is $100 less than yours why..well that's because you have BIPD coverage at 25/50 with that company but with us you have 100/300" just as an example)

3) Move you to another one of their products which may lower your rate

4) Add discounts to your policy that you are eligible for

5) Re-run your credit score. This however is regulated by the State in how often you can do this.

I'm probably missing a few other ways.
There isn't a problem with switching but do keep a few things in mind:

1) Initial rates for switching do not in any way reflect what your rates will be down the line. You may have a low rate now but that may not be true over several renewals. While this could be part of diminishing percentage of certain discounts it can also be due to the insurance company's claim ratio (it's common for people to not understand insurance is a pool of money therefore events happening across the county can impact your rate) or their need for a rate increase for other reasons.

2) Switching too often can result in a negative Insurance Score. Insurance Scores consist of your credit (CA is pretty much the only state where the DOI prevents factoring one's credit score into insurance rate), your past coverages as well as having insurance (with or without a lapse) over a pre-determined amount of time (usually with auto it's 6 months to 12 months), your claim and driving history. These are regulated by each state's DOI. Some states have rules on which claims or driving history can impact your rate and some states say you can't use a person's history of insurance (with or without a lapse). This could be important if for say you just got a speeding ticket or you filed a claim.

Reminds me of my all time favorite call.
Young guy 23. Drove mustang. Called said progressive gave him a quote 2400 less then USAA..
I did the normal side by side.
Then I asked the big question ...did u tell them about your brand new 10 pt drag racing ticket you just got? He went quiet . Said ur not supposed to know yet, because everyone knows usaa only runs driving records once a year. I corrected him. Told him I'm willing to bet progressive will run one right after u switch and change your policy to reflect this ticket. He stayed lol

 

[Pumbaa_]

I just checked and geico is 700 less a year! Yup, I am changing

 

[kymom99]

I haven't price checked and have had State Farm all my life. (I am 51 years old) Well, I take that back. When I got married my husband and I had different companies. We each checked to see whose offered the best price and mine won out. They always help me look for ways to save a few dollars. Low mileage discounts, good students, etc. They helped me match up drivers to cars when my son started driving so that I would get the best prices. I know all companies should do this but not sure if this is the case. What I do know is that I know the people in the office by name and they are easy to deal with. That makes me feel comfortable with them. I have a friend who swore to me that when her son got a license (he is a year older than mine) that all insurance companies match the highest risk driver with the highest value vehicle, hence a higher rate for the teen driver. When I contacted my agent for my son, they right away looked at our vehicles and matched him with the one that is cheapest to insure. They ensured me he could drive any of our vehicles, but this would get us the best rate. They also gave a discount for drivers training, good students, and their own steer clear program.

So could I save a few bucks with another company? Maybe, but I feel comfortable with what I have and I know how they operate, so I have stayed with them.

 

[DisneyMandC]

Made the jump today. Thanks for all the feedback, everyone! Did not end up with a bundled home and auto with Geico because the homeowner's rate was through the roof (we have a log home). I am still coming out $200 ahead each year keeping home with Progressive and moving auto to Geico though.

 

[Fire14]

I switch when I moved out of state, than when I got married I switched because I could get better deal with multi car discount and orig co wouldn't cover hubs. Than WE got quote from AAA for some reason and it was like 100+ cheaper so we switched, than hubs got wild hair in butt and looked into employee discount thru work and switched us. about year ago HUbs got hurt while on vacation and that created a BIG mess with all our insurance coverage and he cancelled policy unbeknownst to me, well I got in minor acct and that created a super mess. IT just so happens Hubs had gotten quote few days prior so we ended up going with them, got my mess fixed and I handle car ins. now

 

[Dashzap]

This is a timely thread for me since July is my renewal date on my homeowners, and I've considered switching because it is expensive. I have homeowners and auto with Amica. I've been with them since the early 1980s.

It's a tough call since on the one hand you have the premium expensive. On the other hand, you have to consider what they pay out on and how easy it is. I wish it was easier to compare companies.