Car insurance rates and metaphorical sodomy

[Sijray21]

If you've stuck with them that long and been happy might be worth mentioning to him/her that you did some rooting around and found some better deals. Maybe they can match the other deals/offer you some incentive to stay?

that's what i was thinking -- if not, i've had progressive and have been very pleased with their service and payback amounts when i've had to make claims on my previous motorcycles.

[WRXtranceformed]

Unfortunately for insurance agents, from my experience they have 0 room to haggle on pricing. All of their rates are generated from their underwriting departments. Usually the only way you can get a lower premium without switching providers is to lower your coverage or increase your deductible.

Rates change between companies sometimes on a semi-annual basis, so like I said before it definitely never hurts to shop unless you don't want to hurt your agents feelings.

[Ryan T]

I think it depends on who your carrier is. When I went insurance shopping a few months ago I told my current agent that I was looking around and she tweeked a few things and got my premium down ~$80 every 6 months, which was nice, but not enough to make me stay with them.

Also (and god forbid this be the truth) if they've been overcharging him the last few years just to make money they might be able to drop their premiums some to keep him onboard.

[Apoc]

I was a Financial Analyst with Allstate when I first graduated college and I can attest that rates are for the most parts determined by statistics. The agent does have some room to play, but a vast majority of rates are determined by the estimated loss per unit. New companies also have a tendency to apply "new customer" rates to get you in the door but they have a habit of climbing over time.

I'm going to check rates on our two cars on Progressive to see what they have to say. I'm on a first name basis with my agent (we're even friends on Facebook) so wherever Progressive beats them, I'll talk to him about it.

[WRXtranceformed]

I think it depends on who your carrier is. When I went insurance shopping a few months ago I told my current agent that I was looking around and she tweeked a few things and got my premium down ~$80 every 6 months, which was nice, but not enough to make me stay with them.

Also (and god forbid this be the truth) if they've been overcharging him the last few years just to make money they might be able to drop their premiums some to keep him onboard.

Yeah, she probably just tweaked your coverages or deductible...which sucks. I mean it never hurts to ask, but unless your agent is the godparent of your children or something I don't see any reason to be tied to one or the other.

[Apoc]

2008 spec.B + 2005 Mazda 3

Nationwide: $696
Progressive: $355

6 Months for basically the same coverage. Guess I shoulda been shopping around before now. That's what blind allegiance gets you, which is very unlike me. :?

[fiveoh2go]

Sorry if this has already been brought up, but at what different ages do premiums decrease? Reason I ask is when I turned 25 my payment decreased noticeably. When can I expect this to happen again?

[Apoc]

When you get married.

[fiveoh2go]

Damn, that's gonna be awhile..

[WRXtranceformed]

It helps if you can do package coverages too...like if you own a house you generally get a discount for homeowners insurance + car insurance. Or motorcycle etc.

[fiveoh2go]

Yeah, all my policies are bundled together and the Cobra's policy is categorized as "pleasure use only" so I think I've got State Farm down to about as cheap as they'll go.

[Apoc]

I ended up staying with Nationwide for the cars. If you take off the one-time discounts for Progressive, it was $400 vs. $650. That $650 includes things like accident forgiveness, traffic violation forgiveness, super premium roadside assistance and diminishing deductible. We also get a $500 discount on homeowners for multi-line, so it was a no-brainer.

I did move the Ducati to Progressive, though. Saved me $340/year.

[Evan]

time to start shopping, methinks. with allstate what started out at $200 /mo a couple years ago is now $270 /mo without any changes to policy.
wont be shopping flo' and funding the moveon.org liberal agenda though.

[Steve85]

Also starting to shop our Allstate stuff. Increases of nearly 20% in homeowners in the last year and steady increases in auto. We just dropped a minivan and our daughters Cabrio and added an 07 Camry, dropped cars lowered price by $179 and adding the Camry raised it $297!! (6 months)

For the vette, I just got off the phone with Hagerty and thanks to VA not having a competition exclusion clause, they will not cover dual purpose vehicles. They can only provide comp and collision for dual purpose cars and in VA you must also have liability to drive on the street.

Not sure how to get around that, other than not tell them I'll be tracking it and just expect that I can't file a claim for something that happens on the track. Through Allstate, with no tickets or accidents in ten years of ownership and limited mileage I pay $500 every 6 months for the car.

[.RJ]

I got a letter in the mail from USA Cycling for some $$ savings on insurance with Liberty Mutual. Usually I just throw those things away, but since I'm adding homeowners insurance on soon I figured this is a good time to shop around. So I called. Auto insurance went from $90/mo to $49. I'll pay homeowners and auto for less than I was paying for just homeowners....

I probably should have done this sooner but, I'm looking for ways to offset/reduce living expenses since I just blew my wad on a house...

[Steve85]

Welcome to Hagerty Collector Car Insurance, you may remove Allstate plunger from your ass. $216 a year, down from just over $1000 with Allstate.

[WRXtranceformed]

Nationwide has some killer rates for me right now, and my accident is about to drop off when my cycle renews. Hooray.

[Feersty]

Here we go again.

$882/ 6 months

Car Insurance in San Antonio is expensive.

Clean Record
2 Drivers
2 Cars(2002 SVT Focus, 2007 Honda Civic)
Full Coverage
Married

Everything is the same, and my wife has not commuted since February due to a severe medical condition. Been with this company my whole life. Perhaps I should shop around. Commuting with the SVT and it is more expensive than the Civic. Ridiculous. I am getting every discount I can possibly get too.

[flintster55]

Yea that sounds high. I'm sure San Antonio is higher than where I am in Roanoke, but i'm paying less for my Sti and 600RR than youre paying for 2 non-performance cars (I know it's an SVT but it's still a focus). AND i'm 24, not married and have 2 tickets in the last 3 years

[Apoc]

Insurance is expensive in WA.

Moto @ Progressive - up from $650/year to $9xx
Car @ Nationwide - up from $640/year to $1240

I've adjusted the Ducati coverage to get it down to the low 700s. I need to shop around on my auto and see if that rate is typical. If it is, my car ain't gonna last long.