Car insurance rates and metaphorical sodomy

[Rupertfl]

I really need to shop around for full coverage. I know eventually something stupid is going to happen, plus I feel like $114 a month is a lot for just liability.

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[*insertusernamehere*]

I really need to shop around for full coverage. I know eventually something stupid is going to happen, plus I feel like $114 a month is a lot for just liability.

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That is alot holy shit. I pay $90 for comprehensive on the Fit lol (I fucking love this car) and I have a pretty mean reckless driving ticket.

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[Jake]

I really need to shop around for full coverage. I know eventually something stupid is going to happen, plus I feel like $114 a month is a lot for just liability.

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That is definitely a lot, although some of the cost (compared to, say, Matthew's Fit) is the cost of repair. I'm guessing body panels and various bits of a Mini are generally more costly than a Honda. 

I was pretty staunchly "liability only on cheap old cars" until I had the white E36 convertible. Old cars are cheap, save the money you would spend to have full coverage and just fix it if it breaks or is hit, right? A friend of mine got run into in his E36 M3 in a parking lot and it was totaled... he got a bigger check than he thought. 

Anyway, I upped my coverage on the white car - keep in mind, this was a $2500 BMW that had a Total Loss marking on the Carfax but had a clean title. When I hydrolocked it in the OBX, Geico covered it under flood damage, given there was only the one road out of the OBX and it was flooded, thus impassable. I got a check for double what I paid for that car. I also easily had the car towed to a shop in Richmond due to my towing coverage, and could have had a rental car while it was either being inspected or repaired.

Long story short - the extra cost for full coverage is probably worth it, even on an older, paid-for car, otherwise you could be fairly SOL. When I drive that 15-year-old Ranger home in a few weeks, it'll have full coverage just as a CYA.

[Sijray21]

keep in mind, this was a $2500 BMW that had a Total Loss marking on the Carfax but had a clean title.

That reminds me :

Always keep a copy of any car fax that you run on your car (email or physical copy). When I bought my Integra in 2006 it had a clean car fax and title. When the car was stolen and deemed totalled in 2008 the car fax came back as Salvaged and the insurance company tried to give me half of what the car's value was worth (what I was paying premiums for its time with me). They honored my initial car fax, but without that I would've been out a few thousand $.

I have a feeling it was title washed since it was a GA car initially.

[Rupertfl]

Yeah I think over the summer I'm going to make the switch to full. Progressive just emailed me that they've been charging me too little because of my reckless. The ticket is what was keeping me from changing anyway, they waited so long I figured they would just ignore it if I didn't say anything. [emoji23]

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[WRXtranceformed]

It's nice to get good news from your insurance agent for a change. State Farm apparently just dropped their rates in NC and SC because they built up a cushion by having higher rates over the last few years. My Esurance policy is up for renewal at the end of next month and my rates surprisingly didn't change that much by dropping off the Canyon from the policy. Also, my State Farm homeowner's insurance went up about 40% last year without the bundled discount. I just had the auto requoted today and I'll be saving about $100 every 6 months ($516) and my howeowner's insurance premium will be dropping by about $325 per year despite being rated a bit higher due to a survey assessment of our home (State Farm making sure they had all of my materials correct, etc.). I'll take that all day!

[JustinG]

Well, Esurance is gonna be short lived.

A "Vehicle Rate Spike" jumped our coverage up an extra $220 for 6 months. We lost no discounts outside of the "Online Sign up" which was only about $20.

$899 vs $681 for 6 months

Top is first 6 months, bottom is our renewal starting in October.

Vehicle 1 = Mazda
Vehicle 2 = BMW

[Sijray21]

Did esurance just realized that you owned a BMW? Seems like a bimmer tax.

[JustinG]

I called, they blamed it on the Mazda, then I did this comparison and was like.....uhh and ya jacked up the other car too.

[Apoc]

This is a common tactic among insurance companies. Set the initial rates artificially low and then readjusted on renewal, hoping inertia and ignorance prevails.

[WRXtranceformed]

Agreed with Chris, some companies just take longer (ie a few years) than others but it seems like they all jack rates up eventually. I would love to be a fly on the wall in the room with their underwriting leadership. It almost seems like some companies intentionally try to chase away business in some states. Others will drop rates when it seems like they want to go into growth mode. Esurance jacked our rates up for this year as well, so I went back to the homeowner's bundle with State Farm

[.RJ]

So far my esurance rates are holding steady... let's see what the next renewal looks like.

[JustinG]

I'm ok with a slight increase. But close to + $100 per car....nah I'm good.

[Sijray21]

This... Especially if no claims were filed in the past year. That's BS and I'd be shopping, too.

I'm ok with a slight increase. But close to + $100 per car....nah I'm good.

[.RJ]

esurance trying to hit me with a 40% rate hike, no accidents/claims/changes, bye felicia

[WRXtranceformed]

esurance trying to hit me with a 40% rate hike, no accidents/claims/changes, bye felicia

Yeah man it seems like companies go in cycles where they just flat out don't want business, so they jack their rates up.  They have to know they are chasing away customers, insurance is mostly a commodity so people are going to chase the lowest price.  It's a foreign concept to me coming from a business (like a lot of businesses) that work on building a stable revenue run rate.  Insurance companies just flat out don't seem to care, which annoys me even more because it shows how hugely profitable their business is and how little it matters to them to keep customers.

[Apoc]

You'd be surprised how much the average consumer does NOT treat insurance like a commodity.

[.RJ]

So they basically explained the rate increase (from $535/6 mo to $955/6 mo) as "increase in cost of doing business in your state". When I go to a new browser and enter in all the same info I have now, the rate comes back the same as what they quoted as my rate increase.

But, good on them, they passed me to a broker (I assume they get a cut of the business they pass on) to compare rates, and we're at $487/6 mo and $300/year cheaper on the home, too.

[JustinG]

So they basically explained the rate increase (from $535/6 mo to $955/6 mo) as "increase in cost of doing business in your state". When I go to a new browser and enter in all the same info I have now, the rate comes back the same as what they quoted as my rate increase.

But, good on them, they passed me to a broker (I assume they get a cut of the business they pass on) to compare rates, and we're at $487/6 mo and $300/year cheaper on the home, too.

Threaten to cancel and they transferred to the broker?

[.RJ]

I didnt have to, even the rep said "wow thats bullshit"