Is it worth switching auto/home insurers?

[Frwinkley]

I understand everything is costing more, thus the increase in our auto insurance. Last year it went up around $500 and this renewal will see another increase of about $450. Two cars, one a 2018, the other a 2016, both Mazdas. No accidents and drivers are over 60 years old. We also bundle our homeowners insurance and receive a few other discounts with this particular insurer.

Is this just one of those expenses that regardless of insurer, the cost of coverage has significantly increased over the last few years? Shopping/switching is a pain and I'm just wondering if I'll see any real savings.

 

[fla4fun]

I understand everything is costing more, thus the increase in our auto insurance. Last year it went up around $500 and this renewal will see another increase of about $450. Two cars, one a 2018, the other a 2016, both Mazdas. No accidents and drivers are over 60 years old. We also bundle our homeowners insurance and receive a few other discounts with this particular insurer.

Is this just one of those expenses that regardless of insurer, the cost of coverage has significantly increased over the last few years? Shopping/switching is a pain and I'm just wondering if I'll see any real savings.

I bundle my home and car insurance. The car portion had a small increase, about $100. I feel my car insurance is a little on the high side, but the home insurance part is reasonable. I could probably find car insurance for a little less, but then I might not be able to afford the home insurance. So I just let it be.

It certainly doesn’t hurt to price out your options though if you think you can do better. You can do a lot of it online without any sales pressure, especially if you are just looking to see if you are in line with other companies in your area.

 

[Grace&Carolinesmom]

Ya know.......I was just discussing this with my DH earlier. I was reading a thread on the Nextdoor app and someone was complaining about their homeowner's insurance going up by $$$ and asking if others had the same issue with the same insurer. Crazy right??? A Nextdoor thread that's not about dog poop or complaining about neighbors to everyone except the neighbor offender..... Anyhoo....The consensus of replies were that most people saw varying degrees of increases over the past year with most insurers due to cost of goods/replacement costs increasing exponentially across the board. Most replies also noted they had not had any recent claims for home or auto.

Our insurance is due to renew in June and we are considering getting a few quotes after August (when we drop our DD24 from our auto policies) to see if we can get a better rate with the same coverage at another top tier insurance carrier. I really have no interest in changing to a small insurer as I see too much risk involved.

 

[Frwinkley]

I hate the idea of switching insurers every few years, but I feel like that’s what is going to happen now.

I think I will call my current carrier and ask if they’ll do anything to keep me as a customer (after I get quotes from others).

 

[barkley]

just got our renewal (due in june)-3 cars (drivers-60'ish, late 50's ish, 28 year old). it went down for the second year in a row. we DO bundle w/home, life, umbrella. we also get a significant discount for paying bi-annually vs. monthly and another smaller for having mileage on each vehicle under a certain amount annually.

this is with one of the bigger companies that i like b/c they have a brick and mortar near us (i also like i can call my agents office and someone picks up vs. voice mail system hell).

 

[AgentMama]

That seems like 2 pretty big jumps, I'd definitely shop it around.

 

[princesscinderella]

I typically price out a different car insurance at each 6 month renewal just to make sure I’m getting the best rate. Progressive has been the cheapest for me the last few years with teen drivers.

 

[focusondisney]

I have 2 family members that work for different insurance companies. Both said the extreme weather events the last few years are beginning to have an impact on insurance companies. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more companies increasing rates.

 

[mrsstats79]

Shop your insurance. Rates are always changing.

 

[barkley]

That seems like 2 pretty big jumps, I'd definitely shop it around.

VERY big-the 2 combined runs more than what i pay (and i get max coverage levels).

 

[tvguy]

I used to price shop but never ended up not switching because if they saved me money on the auto, their rate for the homeowners was more than I was saving. Or the Umbrella premium was too high. Or the Auto was high, and the homeowners lower, but now low enough.
Net cost for all coverages always ends up being more and I lose my 50 year claim free tenure.

 

[amylevan]

Our car insurance is going up about $600/year…BUT it went down about $400/year in 2020 (plus a rebate that year) and this is our first rate uptick since then. So in reality, it’s not as big of an increase as I initially felt when I opened the bill.

 

[DisneyHardin]

It can't hurt to call around and get some quotes. Those seem like really big jumps.

 

[Genie+]

I hate the idea of switching insurers every few years, but I feel like that’s what is going to happen now.

I think I will call my current carrier and ask if they’ll do anything to keep me as a customer (after I get quotes from others).

We (50yo’s) starting switching over the last 10+ years. Usually every 2-3 years. Before that only changed once.

Seems to me companies each have their specialty, like a demographic where they have very competitive pricing. But they all keep making adjustments each year, so maybe 2 or 3 years later they’re no longer the best in that category, now best in a different category/demographic.

When that new policy comes with a price jump too far? Time to start shopping. The hard part is getting familiar with your policies to make sure a lower quote still has all the coverage you desire. Parts of policies aren’t exactly apples to apples.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

The number one fallacy that the general public think about is that "..but I have no claims". Insurance is a pool of money, you having no accidents or no claims is related to 1) your eligibility with a company 2) discounts available to you. Your premium can and often does include allowances for the nation's losses. From natural disasters to claims in general (like theft, water, fire). In addition things that are related to your particular state's insurance laws also impact things.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

drivers are over 60 years old.

Be aware of the bell curve here. I'm not sure of your exact age but when it comes to risk the youth have it BUT also the elderly have it. At some point you're going to be just as high of a risk as a 16 yr old

 

[Anthony1971]

Rates seemed to go up for home a lot last year almost 10% and this year over 10% got they well it could not be raised over COVID so it is being made up for called a few places but they were even higher with same saying. This can vary area by area..... I do not bundle my car as no one can touch the rate I get bundle or not but we have been with the same company for over 35 years both before and after we got married and my rate just never goes up.

 

[fla4fun]

They had a report on our local news about car insurance rates here in Florida, and how we pay so much more than other states. Based on the averages they showed, I guess my car insurance isn’t as bad as I thought.

just got our renewal (due in june)-3 cars (drivers-60'ish, late 50's ish, 28 year old). it went down for the second year in a row. we DO bundle w/home, life, umbrella. we also get a significant discount for paying bi-annually vs. monthly and another smaller for having mileage on each vehicle under a certain amount annually.

this is with one of the bigger companies that i like b/c they have a brick and mortar near us (i also like i can call my agents office and someone picks up vs. voice mail system hell).

I do the same for discounts, except my premium discount is for paying annually. I even have a spreadsheet where I track my mileage on a weekly basis to make sure I stay below my limit. Having an agent nearby is definitely a plus for me as well.

 

[sdk1231]

30 year insurance industry executive here. Worked for several extremely well known national and international carriers. I'd recommend finding a good, reputable Insurance Broker in your area. Phone them or set up a meeting to discuss your current carriers and coverages. Insurance brokers represent many different insurance companies. They will shop your package to those companies and present you with various recommendations. Insurance Brokers are different from Direct Insurance Agents. Direct Insurance Agents are "captive" to the company they represent and include State Farm, Allstate and Farmers. If you are only interested in Direct Writers, you have to do the work yourself - call around and get quotes. Direct writers are "starter" companies. A lot of people make the mistake of staying with Direct Writers even when they've outgrown those companies. Also of note, all property & casualty insurance rates are filed and approved by the State and are available for public knowledge. You can research to see what increases your company has taken year by year versus other carriers in the same state. States will not approve any rate increase that is not actuarially demonstrated need.

Advice #1: Find a good Insurance Broker and have them shop your package.

Advice #2: Take a good look at your deductibles. If you rarely file claims, and want your insurance mainly for significant / disaster scale events, do not keep a low deductible. Self-insure to some extent by increasing your deductibles. That's where all the rate is.

Advice #3: Before changing carriers, know your state law. Many states have "Guaranteed Renewal" laws built in. These laws vary. In the state of Louisiana, for example, a Homeowners policy cannot be non-renewed after 3 years in force, except due to VERY specific reasons. You don't want to switch carriers to save 100 bucks, only to find yourself Non Renewed because you make 1 claim in the first 2 years.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Advice #2: Take a good look at your deductibles. If you rarely file claims, and want your insurance mainly for significant / disaster scale events, do not keep a low deductible. Self-insure to some extent by increasing your deductibles. That's where all the rate is.

I agree about deductibles but "where all the rate is" doesn't work out IME (grew up in the insurance industry, worked in the insurance industry, step-father-in-law is our insurance agent so still have access to recent information, etc).

It's not uncommon for homes insurer's to require certain deductibles the dollar amount being the better rather than a percent often.

Then there's restrictions based on your exact area be that just your zip code, your county or region. The insurance company I worked for in my county required everyone with a wood roof to carry a 2% Wind&Hail deductible for example. Places prone to certain issues may have requirements as well. I know barrier islands (TX was the main one I dealt with, ETA when speaking about barrier islands, I dealt with close to 35 states in total) Brazoria County for instance had mandatory requirements. This is just me pulling information out of my head from what I remember.

In addition on homes the difference between some of the deductibles doesn't always amount to much on the premium. It just depends.

On the auto $500 deductible being very common well sometimes bumping yourself up to $750 didn't really amount to much at all, or if you were at $750 (or thereabouts) bumping up to a $1,000 didn't make much difference and truthfully sometimes increasing your deductible increased your rate.

I def. agree with looking at someone's deductibles but there's a ton of back algorithms at play such that going as high as possible isn't as cut and dried as thinking the insured is carrying the most burden so the insurance company will give them a break on the rate nor is it always possible for someone to reduce their deductible.

Good advice though is to check back with your insurance carrier (be it your agent or company itself) periodically as things change in one's circumstances and home. Re-evaluating what your policy has should be done every now and then.