cheetah

I am pissed! I was sans car for several years and finally had to get one about 6 months ago. Of course, I was punished for this, because I was "uninsured" previous to that (What? Was I supposed to keep paying for insurance on a non-existent car?), and got bad rates. Nevertheless, I thought, well in 6 months, my premium ought to go down, because then I will have been insured for at least 6 months! I also found a low-maintenance easy way to go through the hell of insurance via esurance.com. Very easy...for insurance that is (which I firmly believe is the biggest scam of an industry that ever existed. Any time have actually had to use insurance, I have gone through months of grief, yet I am forced to have it nontheless).

Anyway, today I receive a policy renewal, because it's comin up on 6 months since I got my policy. At first glance, I thought, well, not bad. It went down by $20. I was hoping it would be better, but ok. Then, I took a closer look and realized they had secretly deleted nearly all my coverage from my renewal offer! All my comp, collision and rental car reimbursement are GONE! And for Bodily injury, for the same coverage I have had, the costs went up by 50%. Worse yet, for Property Damage and under/Uninsured Motorist, the costs went up by literally 100%!!!! I have had no accidents, tickets or inidents of ANY sort since I became a policy holder with this company. What the hell is going on????

I did a quick quote on progressive.com and it's $50 cheaper, so I'll switch and go with them if nothing better comes along. Does it look bad to switch insurance companies often? If that's the only way to exercise my power as a consumer, I want to do it!

Am I getting screwed for some reason I don't know about or did the insurance industry as a whole really raise their rates 50-100% in the last 5 months? What can I do to avoid this? My partner's rates haven't gone up and he has a much more expensive 4x4 truck that isn't paid off and more coverage than I do! He also has a ticket in the last couple years and I have NEVER had any!! I am so frustrated that he is barely paying more for insurance than me, yet he has all these factors against him. I can't help but think I'm doing something wrong or getting screwed over, but I feel so powerless and don't know how to fix it. any insurance gurus out there? Please?

Daisy

Screwing the customer is what they do best. They are up there with bankers and used car salesman (although I have had a good experience with a ucs recently...) Consumer advice columnists (don't remember the exact ones) even recommend changing companies every six months if cheaper rates are to be had.

I don't know about car insurance, but building insurance has skyrocketed. Does your state require insurance companies to give discounts to drivers who pass the safe driving courses? In NY, we get, I think, 10% off for eighteen months.

Some companies are definitely better than others. Since you have collision and not just basic, service may also be important. Most states - you are in the States? - maintain a list of consumer complaints and their resolutions that can be check if you have the time & energy.

Good luck.

christ-on-a-stick

I was in commercial insurance (on the agency side) for seven years before entering the field I'm in now (banking) - Daisy I guess that makes me DOUBLE-evil!

I agree (from inside experience) that insurance COMPANIES (usually not the agents) try to take advantage of the customer in many ways. Some are better/more ethical than others; lowest prices DOES NOT ALWAYS make for the best coverage, however - sometimes the low-price companies really will screw ya (make your life miserable anyway) if you have a claim.

cheetah - one comment I would urge you to reconsider is this: I agree that for the most part insurance costs *too* much and a lot of that is complex shit relating to regulatory battles, litigation issues (uninsured motorists drive cost up for EVERYONE) etc.)

However - say you don't have to have insurance. It's your choice. So you're driving around, uninsured, lose control of your car and TOTAL it.

Do you have the $ to buy a new car? Or say it's not totalled but it will cost thousands of dollars to fix it. What do you do?

OR, say you're driving along (uninsured) and get hit by another driver (their fault) who is also uninsured. Who pays for your damages? What if YOU cause an accident? Can you afford to pay out of pocket for your damages AND theirs?

I'm not tryin' to bag on ya or anything, I feel your pain and frustration myself with my own car insurance and homeowner's insurance... and I definitely reccomend shopping around vigilantly for the best price/coverage (with a reputable company). But please PLEASE don't consider going uninsured, besides for driving up the rates for everyone it can screw ya if you have an accident!!!

cheetah

COAS, I would NEVER go without insurance. I am not a law-breaker.

And yes, some things I said were purely out of frustration. Things can happen and as unlikely as they are, when they DO happen, you need protection. However, like I said, it is true that any time I have attempted to utilize insurance, they have put me through hell and back. Also, it's a bad industry because they have little accountability to the customer. You can take your business elsewhere, but you have no control to just not buy it and I wonder about collusion. I also do realize, of course, that frivolous litigation on the part of other individuals can cause these rates to go up. I still am convinced however, that there is some gouging going on! I'll pay through the nose like the good girl I am, though! Just looking for hints on how to be most savvy!

christ-on-a-stick

You're definitely right about gouging, cheetah, and the lack of accountability in the industry; it was one of the things that bugged me most. Sorry it was just my old insurance-agent-persona coming out to say "please don't go uninsured"! (cuz I don't want anything bad to happen to you )

Definitely shop around aggressively. Have you tried Mercury and Century 21?

Aravnah Ornan

Consumer Reports recommends that you shop around every six months. I don't think that will look bad. My insurance company gave me only a nominal reduction in rates when I got rid of my sports car in favor of a Volvo and when I reached the magic age of 35. It slashed my rates when it learned that I had shopped around. If the insurance company knows you're going to stay put, it has no incentive to do right by you.

cheetah

So, you can do that? Tell them that another company is offering better rates and it might do something for you? I didn't think this was a bartering type of industry! With that knowledge, I will for sure tell them I am bailing. Changing insurance companies every six months will be a pain, but I am bound and determine not to tacitly condone higher insurance rates!

Loren Pechtel

Sounds like they are being totally dishonest. Dropping those coverages sounds like a deliberate attempt to trick you.

Stephen Maturin

Cheetah,

And well you should be pissed! What insurance company pulled that drop-the-most-important-coverages-and-hope-the-insured-won't-notice crap? Insurance laws vary widely from state to state, but it's hard to imagine that tactic qualifying as lawful anywhere. Lots of states have laws under which an insurer can never unilaterally eliminate or reduce an insured's UM/UIM coverage. Some states have mandatory guarantee periods for auto policies during which no policy term can be altered without the express consent of both parties to the contract.

It's just a guess, but I suspect the company in question does this just because it can. Enough people either don't notice what's happening or don't believe they can do anything about it that the practice is profitable. In any event, the lesson here is a good one: read the billing statement and the new dec sheet carefully, then compare the information with your existing coverage forms.

I suggest that you rat out this insurer to whatever agency regulates insurance in your state. Don't expect any decisive action, though. As a rule, state insurance commission offices are staffed by knob gobbling insurance industry toadies who consider it their mission in life to safeguard helpless insurance companies from evil, greedy consumers. Even so, repeated complaints about the same insurer engaging in the same unfair/deceptive trade practice have a cumulative effect that ultimately prompts action.

Yes, by all means shop around. Price fixing is indeed rampant in the insurance industry thanks to the fact that insurers are generally exempt from antitrust laws. However, that problem is most severe with regard to professional/business liability lines. Insurers that write a lot of personal auto policies are still willing to cut one another's throats (though not all that deeply) to get your business.

I'd also suggest that you find an agent to deal with, preferably one who isn't captive to a particular company. I know it's a hassle and tends to generate additional expense, but having a good agent can pay off big time in the event of a claim. Your premiums are the agent's bread and butter. As a general rule, you'll get much more prompt and competent service from a real, live agent than you would from some phone jockey in Burnt Scrotum, Mississippi.

cheetah

Well, esurance didn't care at all that I was going to switch to another company! In fact, as I talked to them about their rates, I said, "OK, so the renewal offer reflects an increase in rates for the state and a decrease in rates for me due to the fact that I have now been insured for 6 months?� and she said, �No.� and I said, �Why? I mean, the company charged me more because I hadn�t been insured for 6 months, so why not now charge me less for being insured for 6 months?� She basically said that as long as I was a customer of theirs, I would retain that high risk status that I came in with. I�m thinking, whoa! What happened to the days when insurance companies gave you loyalty bonuses for being a customer of their�s for 2 years, 3 years, etc. Now, instead, they are punishing me and if I stayed with them for 20 years, I would still be high risk because originally I came in as uninsured. Dumb. So, anyway, I said I don�t want them to renew my policy and how can I make sure they don�t (if I don�t take action, they would automatically charge my credit card and renew, which would be super convenient if they were actually worth it). She told me where to send an email and DIDN�T CARE AT ALL that Progressive is offering me a lower premium. Whatever. I sent the email and will be going with Progressive, unless I find something even cheaper. I�m still not super-happy, but this lower premium does save me the equivalent of one whole month of insurance costs each 6 month period! And, in 6 more months, I�ll shop around again. If I am not gonna get any benefits for being a long-term customer, I�ll just take my business to the next best place every freakin' time!

Thanks for the advice, all. I feel a lot better!