Insurance Rant!

[HP942]

Wow, time for renewal and my homeowners went up 37% and autos up 55%. Never had a claim on either. Time to start shopping around…..may have to sell a kidney to pay!

 

[Joel/ak]

So far, ours maybe went up $100 a month ( total, not every month it raises 100) over the last 9 years. 3 vehicles with full coverage, the house with out buildings and a million dollar rider for injuries. State farm.

Had a few small claims nothing in the last couple of years

 

[kenmac]

Wow, time for renewal and my homeowners went up 37% and autos up 55%. Never had a claim on either. Time to start shopping around…..may have to sell a kidney to pay!

I suggest shopping with an independent agent. They can shop many different companies to get you the best rate.
A captive agent doesn't have that capability !

 

[Joel/ak]

I suggest shopping with an independent agent. They can shop many different companies to get you the best rate.
A captive agent doesn't have that capability !

Not always. Our local independent that we started out with gave us great prices, within 6 months they about doubled the premium.

Dropped them and went with state farm. Our guy is great. My wife backed into a maple in yard. Crushed the rear piller and killed the windows in her jeep grand Cherokee. He wrote it up as an act of nature. He asked her if the tree attacked her vehicle while smiling. $100 deductible vs a 500 deductible. Local guy in a podunk town.

I smoked a deer with my truck once, they never even looked at the truck. They were amazed I had a police report. They fixed it

Service wise, I can't argue

 

[RustyA]

Just got out renewal for autos yesterday 50% increase, homeowners went up about 15%. I think the crazy prices for vehicle replacements, parts, and repair are showing up in claims costs.

 

[kenmac]

Not always. Our local independent that we started out with gave us great prices, within 6 months they about doubled the premium.

Dropped them and went with state farm. Our guy is great. My wife backed into a maple in yard. Crushed the rear piller and killed the windows in her jeep grand Cherokee. He wrote it up as an act of nature. He asked her if the tree attacked her vehicle while smiling. $100 deductible vs a 500 deductible. Local guy in a podunk town.

I smoked a deer with my truck once, they never even looked at the truck. They were amazed I had a police report. They fixed it

Service wise, I can't argue

then your independent didn't shop, or may not have many companies to choose from . I have yet been able beat my independent agent's prices. When my rates rise, he shops me with another company

 

[MossRoad]

We just renewed all our stuff in November. Not much changed. We have a pretty high deductible on cars and home. Cars are 10 and 20 years old, so I'm sure that has something to do with it.

 

[Bearsixty7]

State Farm email for renewal came in today, rate is increasing over 15% for the 6 month policy.

TV/Internet provider sent an email notice that rates increased 3/1, I looked at the account online and its a 8% increase, and no improvements or additional channels. I will do some research and probably cut the TV and just have internet.

 

[scootr]

Unfortunately the cost of repair and replacement is going up up up with the current economy. I imagine part of the increase is cost covering and part of it is projected cost covering. (future cost increases)

 

[riptides]

52 or 53 percent increase on Home Owners for us. Letter stated materials issues and cost of materials.

So when lumber comes down my prices will adjust accordingly. Right? /S

 

[Thomas]

Our insurance company gave us $75 for safe drivers award but auto insurance went up $130.00.

 

[scootr]

52 or 53 percent increase on Home Owners for us. Letter stated materials issues and cost of materials.

So when lumber comes down my prices will adjust accordingly. Right? /S

Rates coming down! oh - that's a good one

 

[ddbackhoe]

52 or 53 percent increase on Home Owners for us. Letter stated materials issues and cost of materials.

So when lumber comes down my prices will adjust accordingly. Right? /S

Double check the value of the property. Farmers had increased the “value” of my house by ~150k and raised the rate accordingly.Took a little convincing to get the bean counters to agree that “someone” made a mistake and overvalued the market price.

 

[5030]

Unfortunately the cost of repair and replacement is going up up up with the current economy. I imagine part of the increase is cost covering and part of it is projected cost covering. (future cost increases)

...and every insurance company is in business to make money, not loose money. It's a business after all and living in inflationary times with prices skyrocketing, expect your rates to increase as well. Least here we can writ off the cost as a business expense for the farm and we do.

 

[riptides]

Double check the value of the property. Farmers had increased the “value” of my house by ~150k and raised the rate accordingly.Took a little convincing to get the bean counters to agree that “someone” made a mistake and overvalued the market price.

Yeah, I tried that route too. My assessed value for taxes has not doubled.

But your advise is sound. Market value/replacement costs factor into it.

My case, certainly not double. That's ridiculous.

 

[2manyrocks]

Most are just going to blame their insurance company, but this is another example of what happens from spending 6 trillion dollars and financing it by printing money over a two year time span.

 

[Oaktree]

Double check the value of the property. Farmers had increased the “value” of my house by ~150k and raised the rate accordingly.Took a little convincing to get the bean counters to agree that “someone” made a mistake and overvalued the market price.

Assessed market value and replacement costs are two different things. It's not just materials cost, but every other expense a contractor faces has gone up too.
Even if you just went by market value, housing prices have soared in the last 5 years.

My home insurance has gone up maybe 20% over the the 18 years I've had this house (and part of that is that I increased coverage at one point).

I suggest shopping with an independent agent. They can shop many different companies to get you the best rate.
A captive agent doesn't have that capability !

I'm done with independent agents. I've gotten jerked around more than once by them and the small potatoes companies they represent. Never saw any meaningful savings going thru them, and at least in my experience the customer service sucked. The big boys have a brand to protect, Acme Fire & Life not so much.

Another vote here for State Farm, had them for 20+ years. My auto rates have actually gone down over the last 3-4 years. Maybe it's different here since my state doesn't require you to have it. Don't states that DO require auto insurance have an agency that sets rates?

 

[KennyG]

We haven't seen any significant increases in several years. As a note to those who whine about insurance company policies - Check what kind of company your insurance is. Many are either Mutuals or non-profits. State Farm (which we have) is a mutual, meaning the policy holders actually own the company. Occasionally we get dividend checks when the company is too profitable. Our medical is Blue Cross/Blue Shield. We've gotten rebates the last couple of years because claims were lower than expected.

 

[ruffdog]

Around here, it makes a big difference if you are near/far from the fire station. It also makes a difference if your fire department has a high rating. Insurance companies know if your FD is fully staffed, has quality and ample equipment, and is fully trained. I have also noted lately that Ins co's are starting to charge more the people that live in areas that are more apt to have a claim. Are you in a flood plain, tornado alley, hurricane, fire, or landslide area? Your premiums probably went up more than people that are not.

 

[3Ts]

I've been with our auto insurance company for many decades and get a rebate on our insurance based on the profitability of the company (USAA) which can be substantial at times.