Must cut somewhere...tell me about your insurance!

[EKW]

Due to two changes of jobs (one voluntary, one due to budget cuts) in the past four years, I am living far below the standard I lived at 5 years ago. I'm making 7K less...and looking at a paycut for next year. In addition, my health insurance for my family has doubled in that time.

I went shopping today and could have cried. Everything is SO much more than it was just 4 years ago. One example: Little Debbie snacks were .98 then...today they raised the price to $1.70!

Looking at my lifestyle, there's not much to cut. I can't afford for my boys to do sports or music lessons. I don't have credit cards. I'm stuck in my internet/phone/directv bundle for the next 15 months. We rarely go out to eat...and don't spend much on entertainment (this month the entertainment budget was $15...the boys went to the movies this week). I've stopped the paper. We each have one pair of everyday shoes and one pair of dress shoes. As for clothing, I get my boys' stuff on clearance at Kohls...they take what they get. I have two pairs of dress pants and two good dresses...and three older dresses I can swap into the rotation. Fridays is jeans day at work, so my wardrobe just works.

The one thing that feels completely out of line is my car/renters insurance. I've had the same company for 32 years...in that time I've had a total of 2 claims. The most recent was in the 1980's. I've had a grand total of one ticket...and that was 8 years ago. Despite that, my insurance does nothing but go up. When I called my agent, she told me my rates are due to not using credit cards. That is such bull. I'm tired of being discriminated against because I pay cash! For the past 10 months I've had a car payment...and have always paid on time...so I guess that doesn't count as "credit" to Farmers.

My insurance has gone up repeatedly these past 4 years. Both times I moved, it went up. My agent had an excuse each time. To give you an idea...I previously drove a 95 Nissan Sentra...no violations, several supposed discounts...only carried liability...and was paying $75 a month!!!! Everyone tells me that is crazy. I'd love to hear recommendations for a better company...especially if you've ever had to use their services, such as towing or had a claim. I want to save money, but, should I need to use the service, want it to be there!

Thanks!

 

[Darcy03231]

If you're a AAA member, check them out. We were with GEICO for 10 years and I thought their rates were pretty good. We went with AAA last year and upped our coverage and still saved $1000/yr.

 

[labdogs42]

Shop around. I got a good deal on my insurance through my employer. I now pay my car and homeowners insurance through payroll deduction and I saved about $400 a year by switching. It was a win- win! I'm sure you can find a better deal out there.

 

[herdtoDisney]

I've been with State Farm for over 20 years-I've always been very happy with them and my rates are very good. I've never used their towing, but my van got broken into and they had a glass guy come the next day to my work and fix my van right in the parking lot. In your case, I'd defenitely shop around and see if you can get a better deal.

 

[ancestry]

I too use State Farm and have been quite pleased with them. Without knowing the details of your insurance plan I can't say if $75 per month is high or not. I just bought a 2011 Chevy Equinox. Our cost for that is $50 per month and we have a low deductible and carry way OVER the minimum required by law. We also have a 2001 Ford Taurus on the plan which my 19 year daughter drives and the cost for that is $82 per month.

In my mind it makes no sense. The car that has a value of $35K is $30 less per month than the car that is worth less than $1K. But the difference apparently is the main driver. I'm the primary driver of the new car and the primary drive of the Ford is my 19 year old.

 

[kathie859]

With the pp's who suggested that you "shop" your insurance coverage. I do this every year and have saved $1000's over the years. I am currently back with State Farm but have had coverage with GEICO and Met (thru my employer) in the past. Also, be sure you have the right coverage for you. There's a variety of deductibles and extras (like rental car replacement, roadside assistance) that may be increasing the premium.

Good luck! I totally sympathize with you re: food increases, too. I'm really trying to economize by not wasting food and by using less processed foods.

Good luck

 

[amcnj]

The "experts" have always advised checking your insurance rates (homeowners as well as auto) every few years to make sure your company is not pricing policies out of line. Just make sure you are comparing applies to apples, and that you are also taking into account any dividends that some companies pay.

 

[JENOS]

I agree with shopping around as well. We received a pamphlet for Travels insurance through my wife work offering us a discount. I called them up and was amazed on how much money I would save and with higher liabilities. When I called Allstate to notify them that I had a new policy with Travelers starting in three weeks, not only did they match the liabilities but the beat the price I was quoted by an additional 10%.

 

[seashoreCM]

The My insurance has gone up repeatedly these past 4 years. Both times I moved, it went up. My agent had an excuse each time. To give you an idea...I previously drove a 95 Nissan Sentra...no violations, several supposed discounts...only carried liability...and was paying $75 a month!!!! Everyone tells me that is crazy. I'd love to hear recommendations for a better company...especially if you've ever had to use their services, such as towing or had a claim. I want to save money, but, should I need to use the service, want it to be there!

Thanks!

How old is the car? If more than 8 years old (some say more than 6) you should drop the comprehensive and the collision portions of the insurance.

 

[bjscheel]

You said your family health insurance has doubled- have you looked around for other options? Is it through your work? The insurance offered to employees is not always the cheapest way. I am covered through work, because it is 100% paid for, but my family is on a plan we bought ourselves. It just went up to $289/month. It has a deductible of $3400/year, so we pay everything up to that point, and then it pays everything.

Just saying you might want to shop that around too, as well as your car insurance.

We were on GEICO for car insurance, then checked with a local small-town insurance agent- I thought sure he couldn't beat *GEICO* but he sure did. It is IMT Insurance- don't know what states they are in.

 

[EKW]

I too use State Farm and have been quite pleased with them. Without knowing the details of your insurance plan I can't say if $75 per month is high or not.

Oops...I didn't make that very clear, did I? That was on my previous car...a 15 year old Nissan Sentra that had a book value of about $500! All I had was liability...no actual coverage on the car. I lived less than 2 miles from work and supposedly had numerous discounts. When I moved to CO three years ago I dropped full coverage...and the result was that my insurance premium went UP about $20 a month! What seemed very odd was that I lived in a high crime area in Kansas City, MO prior to the move...and moved to a tiny town that had a nonexistant crime rate. I was floored when the price went UP!

 

[EKW]

How old is the car? If more than 8 years old (some say more than 6) you should drop the comprehensive and the collision portions of the insurance.

It's only 4 years old...but it's still financed. Last year I lost my job...and two weeks later was told that my car was about to go. I ended up having to buy this car...and finance it because I was facing an unplanned move. Luckily, I had cash to cover the moving costs, car down-payment, and title/tags. Had I not been facing the unplanned move I could have pretty much paid cash for the car!

 

[scrapquitler]

My insurance has gone up repeatedly these past 4 years. Both times I moved, it went up. My agent had an excuse each time. To give you an idea...I previously drove a 95 Nissan Sentra...no violations, several supposed discounts...only carried liability...and was paying $75 a month!!!! Everyone tells me that is crazy. I'd love to hear recommendations for a better company...especially if you've ever had to use their services, such as towing or had a claim. I want to save money, but, should I need to use the service, want it to be there!

Thanks!

That seems low to me, but I guess auto insurance depends a LOT on where you live. Can you raise your deductible? That should save some money.

 

[My3kiddos]

Call a broker. We have Liberty Mutual and State Farm right now, but come April 22nd we will be with Auto Owners. Liberty Mutual has our cars and home and State Farm the motorcycle since Liberty wouldn't cover it. The reason I decided to shop around was last year our homeowners increased 48% and this year it went up another 49% . I'm starting to think they lowballed us to get us to switch to them. The broker we called told us that if our premiums went up with Auto Owners he would continue to shop around every year and find us a better price. That's the advantage with a broker. They work with more than one company.