Auto insurance: Did checking around get you a bett

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better price. i have been with Pemco for almost 30 years. insurance the past couple of years has gone up quite a bit. i have never really shopped auto insurance as pemco is well known in this area for being the least expensive.

So when you went shopping for another auto insurance company, did you find the same coverage for less? if yes, did they raise the rates after a little once they got you?
 
Yep!

When I went to add the truck I had to shop around since my previous company wouldn't insure a F350. Ended up being $100 / cheaper for 6 months with better coverage!
 
Yes I shop around and yes I found better deals. I am not Insurance company loyal. Often if you tell your insurance company you are going to get another carrier they suddenly find cheaper coverage they weren't going to automatically give you.
 
It sure did for me. I was stunned by the price difference--for the same coverage--among different companies.

I kept Farmers (for car and home insurance) for several years. The only reason why I checked, was that they emailed me telling me that I needed to set up a new login for my web access to the account. Before going to the trouble, I just made a call to an old coach of my daughter's tee ball squad (he's a broker). It turned out Mercury was giving me, for the price of my Farmers car policy, both auto and home insurance--so after the change, it was as if I was getting home insurance for free. I would have assumed that there would be some difference, but just not that much.
 
Last year, my motorcycle coverage finally exceeded $500 a year with MetLife, so I'd had enough of that.

My independent agent shopped it, and got me in at $290 with Progressive, for the same limits... and a bit more coverage as far as accessories, trip interruption coverage.

The $290 went up 10% this year. I'm not surprised, as the $290 was teaser rate.

I'd like to shop my pickup truck, but it is tied to my house (an auto/home policy) that has a 25 year old roof. As soon as I get my roof replaced, I *will* be shopping that policy as well.
 
Find an independent agent, they can quote it all for you rather than you calling around for hours.
 
Yes, shopping around may save you quite a bit of money.
I learned that lesson in 1993, when I purchased a house and two new cars.
My company at the time decided they would upcharge me for what they considered as a "High" risk vehicle (A 1993 Chrysler Fifth Avenue.) While I found that humorous, they were going to upcharge me $60./year, and when I got the bill, they actually did it twice ($120./yr.)
I was po'd to the point that I got quotes from 12 difference insurance companies, for home/auto.
The one that I selected saved me $550./yr for both, and I am still with them 25 years later (I have never been able to beat their pricing by any substantial amount, and I cross shop every 2 years.)
Even if I would have gone with the next most expensive from the company I was with, I still would have saved over $250./yr.
The agent that I had told me that I would regret changing companies.
My only regret was that I didn't do it sooner.
 
After two years with the same broker they tried it on with my bike insurance renewal this year at 30% higher. I shopped around online and saved that 30% with another broker. Crazy thing is it's the very same underlying insurance company. Shopping around is very much the norm in the UK these days. To get the best price you often have to change every year and that's for bike, car, home insurance and even energy supplier. If you don't shop around you will get stung with big % increases.
 
Every time. About every 5-8 years it seems. One thing to look out for is an over valued house.
 
Oh yeah! Our rates dropped in half for the same coverage when we switched from State Farm to Allstate. Supposedly, those who never switch insurance companies are the ones that they look to scam the most!
 
I find it a good idea to shop around every few years as they lure you in with a cheap rate and then start to raise it annually. I won't deal with Liberty Mutual anymore though...
 
Yes, use an independent agent. I just switched companies this month. I do a full insurance review every two years, regardless if rates have stayed the same. I usually have year long policies. I only check if the premium increases significantly each year in between. Just saved $375/year by switching for the same, if not a little better coverage.
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04


I'd like to shop my pickup truck, but it is tied to my house (an auto/home policy) that has a 25 year old roof. As soon as I get my roof replaced, I *will* be shopping that policy as well.


Roof age makes a huge difference.
 
Yes, shop around... at least every few years. Seems we end up switching about every five years. If you've got a body shop you like, ask who they like dealing with in the insurance world too. You are likely to get a few strong opinions. Currently with Travelers, prior was MetLife, and prior to that was Allstate.

I won't badmouth anyone, but I will state that we will never buy insurance from Allstate again... We were long time customers, and when we switched we cut our auto bill in half, and homeowners by nearly 30% for better coverage in nearly every way.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
Find an independent agent, they can quote it all for you rather than you calling around for hours.


Do this. They usually work with 20 or more companies and will find you the best deal.
 
Skip the agent and call the 800 numbers. I switched 2 1/2 years ago and saved $1100 for a year on auto and home. They raised rates so I switched again and saved $500 with that company. They did not raise rates after one year. It's like many things that are sold, they give you a good price to get you then raise the price. I review every year. It was an independent agent who was overcharging me. He never looked at different rates even among the companies he was representing.
 
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Haven't switched in 41 years. We had several auto accidents early on that no doubt cost the insurance company money. But we received good coverage and our rates really didn't go up. I figure the real mettle of auto insurance companies is paying claims. Mine will pay claims properly. Never once been denied for anything reasonable.

I also receive annual kick backs of $200-$400 per year on my auto insurance premiums from my subscriber savings accounts...an account they build for you. Do other companies do that? While this is not set in stone, they've faithfully handed out annual rebates nearly every year. My subscriber's savings account is over $8,000 now...averages out to about $200/yr. This year I got an approx 10% automatic payout. So these are all things to consider when "comparing" rates.
 
Originally Posted By: SirTanon
I looked around a while. Once I realized I qualified for USAA, that was it. I have yet to find better priced insurance coverage.. or better coverage, period.


Funny, but they were some of the highest quotes for me. I have my independent agent do a check every 3 years.
 
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