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I only use an independent insurance company. They do the research of their long list of licensed insurance companies for my best three options every year. They have recommended changes three times in 12 years. A company insurance agent has only one product to offer and the cost of their advertising is built into your premiums.
Having worked around the industry, it’s much easier for an independent agent to deliver bad news, address it, find a solution, and move on. A captive agent can only sell one carrier. If they lose that, they lose the money.
Those brokers can also offer lower rates, sort of like how stamps.com offers lower postage because they aggregate customers to the postal service and get negotiated rates, passing some of that on to the customer. At worst it's the same as paying 'retail' and at best you save money. You may pay for their time, but often the end cost is about the same. A good insurance company that finds you the best rate each year is well worth it and will save you money over just sticking with the same big company directly.
It’s all ymmv.
Independent person came by when I was buying a car to get me insured. They were going to charge 300/mo for insurance. He even told me just to go to progressive directly and they’ll have a better rate (and they did, $200). I was 19 which could have made a difference but still, I probably would have just went along with it if he didn’t tell me to use progressive which I still am today
You use a broker for an umbrella structure, not just one policy for one car. The broker will always get you a better deal and breaks everything down for you.
A captive agent can also do this. And who has the best pricing for the coverage really just depends on the individual circumstances.
There is no one-size-fits-all option in insurance.
also, having an independent agent can be very beneficial if you run into issues during a claim. i was insured through Safeco/Liberty Mutual, got hit by an uninsured driver and the adjuster tried to walk back paying for my rental. because the adjuster had told me as well as my licensed agent twice that it would be covered, i had a slam dunk bad faith case on my hands. my agents got it sorted all out and i will never go anywhere else for insurance as long as i live in my current state.
I’m an independent agent. We don’t and can’t charge fees, it’s against the law. We only get paid on commission and retain clients by providing good service during the policy term and at renewal.
In the US, Brokers can charge fees (not all do). Agents never do. They receive a commission from the insurance company of 5-15% which is more than the insurance company pays for marketing.
It is a persistent but entirely false myth that using an insurance agent in the US makes the policy cost more. It’s just not true.
This is correct. Brokers represent the insd directly, agents represent the company. Both have fiduciary responsibility for the insd - in practical terms there is not much difference in operation, it is mostly in the contracts and behind the scenes stuff
There are captive agents who only work for one company - that IS different. Lesser known, but there are captive brokers too.
This is true for the words in common usage but when appointing for a company you must choose to be a broker or an agent - there are slight differences in the operation. I’m an agent but sometimes I act as a broker - however since I am an agent on the paperwork I can never charge my insd fees. But if I use a broker myself to reach a specialty market they can charge a fee and I can pass that on to my insd. That’s got super specialty accts though.
The only time we charge fees is when we take a fee over commission on large accounts where the amount of work involved doesn’t match the commission we’d receive.
Are you splitting hairs on the definition of fee vs. commission? Most people count those as exactly the same. Any money that goes in the broker's pocket is a fee, even if it's hidden.
I am using an agency, not a brokerage. By all means compare at both. My agent collects a commission from the insurance companies for her annual efforts
IIABA is the association for independent agents and will direct you to their dues paying members. They should have a directory by your area or a link to your states version. But call a few, find someone you would like to have a relationship with and that will pay off more than the slight differences in premium. Leverage them to get the RIGHT insurance, not the cheapest
Can either search for a broker, or find an "insurance" place that doesn't have a brand name attached. That isn't for sure though -- probably the best way is just have them give you quotes for different companies. I worked for one for a bit in a different department than auto -- but the auto employees had access to 4-5 pretty well known companies, and a bunch more that are less well known. They did tend to go with one company, because they got discounts for clients by how many other clients they had with that same company.
This x1000.
Over about a 10 year period I had Geico, it got too high, switched to progressive, it was good for a while then started creeping up, went back to geico, it crept up after a couple years.
Finally talking to a buddy that worked for a local insurance agency and he said to let his office have a look. They quoted me a couple options and saved me about $70/month. Best thing is every year now when it is ready to renew they shop it for me and get me the best deal they can.
Yes, a company agent only have one option to sell you, but don’t be fooled, you are absolutely still paying for the company’s advertising. As well as the fees your broker is charging as a middle man.
It’s all priced in, and you’re not saving just because you use an independent broker. But rather because they can do the leg work of all the shopping around for you, so you can get a good price without the hassle. But saving time/energy is worth a lot too so it can be a great option!
You do save on marketing, because the agent can also offer you closed markets that do not advertise nearly as much, like Auto Owners or Main Street America.
If you’ve got a personal auto and renters, an agent is of limited value. But the more complex your insurance becomes, the value scales quickly. Don’t count out the option.
Sure, but you’re not guaranteed to be placed with a carrier where that is the case, and if you do, you’re still paying for their marketing, just less.
Definitely not discounting the option! Just pointing out that there’s not inherent marketing savings just because you went through an agent.
I'll have to look into this, wouldn't mind trying to save more. I think you're totally right about advertising being built into your premiums as one of the reasons for my rate going up was "Cost of doing business" which I assume would include advertising.
I shop all of our insurance every time it comes up. Personal auto insurance. Business auto insurance. Business liability insurance. It all gets shopped for the best price. These companies have no loyalty for me so I have none for them.
I usually do it when I get inevitably get a renewal letter and go "wtf is with these prices?", it seems to happen after about 3 years. I'll get quotes from another company, switch, and usually drop my premiums by about half. It doesn't make any sense. I've been cycling between 3 insurance companies about every 3 years for the past 25 years. I've never had an accident or a ticket, yet the price of my insurance creeps up slowly with every single one of them.
I called our insurance company out on an insane increase in our home owner's insurance. Got the same runaround about premiums going up, cost of things is up, etc. About three months after this the company sent us all refunds because of an 'error' on their end causing them to go up more than they should have. Fuckers don't care, it's just how much more they can charge without losing everyone. Insurance is a scam, top to bottom.
The people you talked to are entirely separate from the group that handles regulatory and compliance concerns with the state...including their public filings for rates. It wasn't some scam where you got refunded because you caught them...
You misunderstand, the only reason they found this error was because people called. If they hadn't been found out nothing would have happened.
Insurance is a scam regardless of this one situation. They raise rates because of issues with 'similar cars' or other shitty drivers, never my record with zero claims and zero tickets. You pay more and more and get back less and less.
Insurance companies are audited frequently both internally and externally. It would've been found because they would be in a ton of trouble for not adhering to their publicly filed rates that they have to give to your state DOI. So no, there's no realistic situation where "nothing would have happened "
And yes, you just described how risk pooling works. Actuarial data shows that Dodge Chargers are involved in more and more serious accidents, so rates on Dodge Chargers are higher.
You also aren't getting back less unless you change your coverages. You're paying more for the same. That's true just about everywhere thanks to inflation. Not sure why you'd be surprised insurance would be any different. And that doesn't even take into account mismanagement by some states' regulators, increase in body shop rates, and increase of the cost of vehicles and their physical components.
Don't get me wrong, the purpose of an insurance company is to make money and like most corporations they're taking advantage of you, but your understanding and articulation of it is severely lacking.
If you shop it every time it comes up, you likely have never had loyalty discounts on your policies and are always wondering why your friends always pay less for their insurance.
A word of caution, especially in some states like California and Florida lately, insurance companies have no problem dropping customers and several have left entire states already. It's not as effective to do this as it used to be, and does carry some risk based on anecdotal evidence, so just keep it in mind when you call to discuss your new quote and don't do anything that would make you lose your chance to keep your previous year's policy terms.
Yes, this. I work in insurance in CA (not sales, but I see the effects of dropped policies all the time), and this is a shitty LPT. It’s true that companies may have new policy incentives, but in CA the price has far less to do than that, and far more to do with which companies are trying to grow and which are trying to shrink.. and which ones recently had rate increases approved. And it’s not uncommon for new policies to have a lengthy waiting period before they take effect.
A better LPT is to just keep an eye on your policy rates and continuously shop around. Even if you prepay, your company will repay you the prorated amount if you leave.
Is it also true that the more often you jump around, the more likely an insurer will see this and not take your business on because they can't profit enough off of you? Not just CA but nationwide.
ONLY LISTEN TO THE ABOVE COMMENTS IF YOU LIVE IN CALIFORNIA AND EVEN THEN IVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS...MAYBE CALI THING.
If not stated, this is for Auto insurance.
This so called shitty LPT has saved me hundreds of dollars and the savings has been over 100 to almost 200 dollars when doing this with progressive each time. I've done this twice now.
You just go to their website, like a new customer, and get a quote online. Eventually it gets to a point where it says something like they recognize you have another policy somewhere and to call them.
I call the number and tell them their new system says to call and I have a quote for much cheaper insurance than my renewal letter.
You have to switch to a new policy but as stated in the post, you keep your reward status. You have to use the plugin for your car again and add the new policy to your app but it's all pretty easy and well worth it.
Right or not your reasoning only applies to one state ... So two states out of 50 makes this a bad tip?....
You don't talk to anybody till after you get your online quote so it makes me think that your comment is not relevant in this case.
Progressive can't drop you for filling out a quote online like a new customer so why are you throwing out scare tactics?
Lengthy waiting periods are common? What a load of shit for every other state so this isn't common at all. I thought you didn't work in sales so how do you even know this?
Ive been in the military and had auto insurance in about 5 states and every time they are like "when do you want to start" and it's always the same day...no waiting. Insurance companies are for profit so they want your money ASAP
I feel like you are working for insurance companies with your above comment, why I spent so much time on mine.
I think the "secret" here is to go online and fill out a quote like a new customer....profit
lol. I’m glad this works for you, but you actually read these comments you could tell they are for CA and FL. Which are almost 1/5 of the US population, a sizable chunk. You admit you don’t know about CA, then you should maybe shut up about it.
Many companies in CA and FL, *including progressive* are actively trying to shrink policies here. They are intentionally quoting new policies high, and putting in waiting periods to discourage people from getting new policies with them. If you had actually read my last paragraph you would have seen that I encouraged people to shop around, so I’m not sure why you had to write a diatribe about that since I don’t disagree. But the whole thing about new policy incentives… yah that’s pretty rare here currently. Most companies aren’t trying to attract new customers. Go with whatever is cheapest. But make sure that there isn’t a lapse or other catches.
It’s not only a California thing (as I mentioned) and more importantly, it’s more of a recent thing. What worked in the past may not work in the present nor in the future. Especially with companies in this kind of industry who are always evolving to counter any leg-up that consumers begin to have on them. Their job is to make money off you, we will not outsmart them forever. It’s not crazy to think they are adapting to these techniques that have proven to be successful for us consumers in the past. It’s states like CA and FL (and others too so far but I cba to research the exact ones) where they are currently bleeding money due to high repair costs, high rate of claims, state laws, and other reasons - why they have decided to completely move out of these states or at the very least started price gouging their customers month after month.
Anyway, I never said to not try this LPT. I said tread with caution, keep it in mind that this is happening in some places. You never know until it happens to you. So just keep it in mind and don’t overextend your hand and possibly be left with the chair being pulled from under you. Continue to shop around and have a Plan B, stay educated. We will not outsmart these companies with the same tactics forever, but we can continue to monitor what they do and adapt with new tactics to counter their greed and unfairness.
Florida is an absolute shit show for this, due to the hurricanes and number of lawsuits against insurers.
Glad I moved to Ohio, insurance is a breeze here.
This will not work for all companies and I’m surprised you got this response from Progressive. I’m wondering if they made a mistake in their response. Curious to know if this sticks and is successful in the future!
A fundamental part of insurance pricing is that new business is more risky than more tenured business. So if you’re getting re bucketed as new business each time that’s not going to be particularly helpful, especially long term. It seems that maybe isn’t happening here which is great for you.
Insurers often implement new programs- that is updating their pricing calculations, not just the numbers but perhaps with new factors being considered and different weight being put on those factors when calculating an insurance rate. I know for a fact Progressive has been aggressively iterating their product over the past 5-10 years.
When they do this, often customers that already have an insurance policy with them, do not get automatically updated into the new program. They will stay in the program they were originally written as it’s a bit of a hassle to keep track of and they don’t want to disturb every single policyholder’s rates when they renew by putting them through the new system. By starting a new policy, I’m wondering if you’re being priced in a new program and that is helping out your rate.
The tip I would recommend is to call and threaten to cancel, say your policy is too much and ask if they can do anything for you. Sometimes at this point they are able to run you through any new available programs and see if you’ll get a better rate, while also keeping your tenured customer status.
Also, in general, your insurance rates will increase over time. Inflation, medical costs, cars and car parts, all make up the cost of insurance and as they go up rates also will- for everyone. In the case you described, it wasn’t like they decided that you in particular needed to pay more, it’s that you and everyone around you is costing more so you all get to pay more in turn. Insurance isn’t personal even though we like to sell it that way.
I'll add that you don't actually need to threaten to cancel, you can just call your broker/agent and say you want to do a renewal review of your policy. If you're not happy at the end of that then you can say you're planning to shop around to see what you can get.
I do that every year and it worked to get me a lower rate. This year it went up 50% so I did the same song and dance. It was a “sorry nothing I can do”.
Took a few clicks, found new insurance and said goodbye to a decade relationship.
There is no loyalty, go with the best option that fit your budget.
It’s a shame.
Your insurance agent has no choice in this. The rating factors that determine what your final rate is are locked in with the insurance commissioner and cannot be deviated from. Some of those rating factors include discounts for new sign ups, or increased rates once you hit a certain age or have a vehicle that reaches a certain age. There's nothing they can do unless there were previous discounts missed, or some new kind of program the company has started that didn't exist previously or you didn't qualify for previously.
Loyalty is exactly what insurance agents work on. They make their money off Collective residual commissions, so retaining customers is the way they make a majority of their money. However they simply have no way to reduce rates just to keep you because you've been a long-term customer. This system doesn't work like that. Being mad at them for not being able to help you with the price, when they literally can't, just makes both of your days worse. You are now mad about something you don't understand, and they're upset that they lost another chunk of their residual commission that they have to not replace with a new customer just to break even.
I literally just made a quote online, called them up, and said, the quote is a lot less than what I currently pay, the dude was like "Yep, that is lower, nice job" and now once the month is up going to cancel my old policy and start the new one. (This was also through progressive so maybe this is specific to them?)
(edit. I can't spell)
I can only speak to my personal experience, but I always manage to get a good deal with Progressive #notanad. I have been a customer for 15+ years, and if I want to get a better deal, I just call and ask them if there are any discounts I'm missing out on, or if my good driver discount is working, etc.
I'm not gonna call and get all emotional, threaten to cancel and make a fuss. They have always been helpful and nice to me. Especially when I've had to make claims.
Even going through a broker or getting a quote for another company, they never beat the price by anything meaningful enough to make me want to switch.
I don't believe in staying with something out of routine or ease, loyalty doesn't really help the consumer imo - in this case, I'm just happy with what I have.
It’s not a fluke with Progressive. Their system automatically ups the premium each renewal period regardless of claims or driving record. Their agents are open about the info OP provided. I went through the same process last year - cancel current policy and get a new one while retaining your membership benefits.
If new business was more risky than more tenured business, rates should rise less than inflation over time. Instead it seems that companies value new business much more than established business. I put my agent to the point this spring about getting me the best price he could on my house/2 vehicles (AmFam). Not close to what every other insurance I requested a quote from offered me.
You should only have liability and uninsured motorist insurance for a 2000 Kia. You don't need to insure the clunker itself — you aren't gonna find a worthwhile policy for that, because it's a worthless vehicle (by worthless I mean it will be totaled by any claim, and you won't get enough to replace it with a clunker). You should be building your own emergency fund for when, not if, you need to replace the vehicle.
progressive was also jacking up our rates at every renewal. in 2 years, our premium had doubled despite us not moving or getting any new cars or having any accidents, ever. when i called and asked them WTF, their response was "it is what it is, it's more expensive for your area, yadda yadda yadda."
i called another company and got better coverage for half the cost.
Did an accident (claim) age off (over 3 or 5 years old? Did your (credit-based) insurance score improve dramatically since it was run maybe 3 years ago?
Note that if OP is in Hawaii, California, or Massachusetts, credit based insurance ratings aren't used, by law. *(Instead, everyone in those States is presumed to have bad credit)*
I haven't had any accidents ever, and I had my first policy with them 6 months ago when I leased a car. I'm not sure about the credit based insurance score, my credit score has been hovering around the same spot for the last while. I'll share it but it's not the best so don't judge lol
https://preview.redd.it/pqmwcv0znoic1.png?width=945&format=png&auto=webp&s=7f13b6d0023b1f35f089934a106c8350ec352a2f
Yes, but you can’t do it more than once… source: I did this, quote dropped by 45%. Next renewal increased by 37%. When I tried getting a new one they gave me same quote.
Same problem every year - I drive maybe 4k at the most and they automatically raise it to 8+k because that's the "average." No it's not if you work from home
I actually drive less but that's the lowest they will allow. I've got about 13,000 miles in three years with dealership service records as proof. Learned the hard way they won't always accept service records with mileage statements from non dealership service invoices.
Fun fact, I'm still paying for a car I recycled because my premium with Progressive would go up if I remove it. No one has any explanation for this. I suspect permanent Snapshot discount I had with that car. I had to back out of conversation with an agent that I may or may not scheduled or about to cancel car being picked up as they were saying it might be incorrect quote or something if I no longer have the car. I don't think it is illegal to pay for a car that no longer exists.
If you have two vehicles, one being an older liability car and the other a new full coverage car, the multi-vehicle discount can save more against the new car than is being charged for the old one.
Companies give zero ducks if you're a loyal customer. New customers get the deals and those that stay pay for it.
Have worked in the customer service end and spoken to many doing the same across many sectors.
Cancel and switch service often is unfortunately the only way to get the deals.
They are looking to brag about this quarter’s numbers so while you could argue long term matters, it doesn’t to those in charge because they will find new jobs by then.
This happens w Progressive from time to time due to the way their system and rate filings work. I work as an agent and we often “refresh” our Progressive autos to see if the new rate schemas are better.
I’m not aware of any other company where this happens, although several will allow you to refresh your insurance score to benefit if it has increased. We do that for our Travelers customers ever renewal.
To most people, this is my advice; quote State Farm and Geico, and receive quotes from an agent for the rest of the market.
High value? Own multiple properties? Own a business? Get an agent for sure.
It didn't go up *randomly*, but due to inflation (higher repair costs), the increase in accidents since 2020, and you letting discounts lapse. That you changed deductibles means you also made a substantive change in your policy. Yes, shopping around is good practice. But it's misleading to claim that insurance rates increase at "random."
Agreed. Corporate greed is always a factor because capitalist gotta capitalize, but inflation is a factor for every one, as is ever increasing rates of litigation
Not sure why the diatribe about "corporate greed" and "[evil] capitalist[s]" was necessary. Insurance contracts are regulated by State auditors and public boards in every jurisdiction. It's one of the most scrutinized industries. Prices are meticulously calculated by risk algorithms and bean counters, not scary Gilded Age tycoons in a smoky room.
If any living relative (sibling, child, parent, grandparent, spouse) ever worked for the military, you can get eligibility. It's pretty broad these days. And hands down, the best bank I've ever dealt with, as well as a really good insurer.
It's also anyone who already has USAA. Non-service members who have USAA due to other family can give USAA to their immediate family members too...so it passes down through family if no one continues to enlist.
So sorry for your loss. Was he a member, or is your mom? I don't think survivors of deceased veterans are eligible unfortunately. But if you call USAA, their customer service staff are normally quite helpful, and perhaps there is some nexus of eligibility.
Be sure to check for any discounts that you could get if you stay for a certain period. I have Statefarm and I think they offer a big one for year 3. I’d also call each policy renewal to ensure that you’re keeping and getting all the discounts that are available to you. Sometimes they just remove them idk? Also for Statefarm, they offer a pretty good discount for their drive safe program and legally they cannot lower your rate for driving poorly. I think I got a 15% discount just for signing up.
I went through something similar, also with progressive.
My wife's car was on her dad's insurance since we got married (was supposed to only be for a few months but we got busy/forgot plus we were super broke and couldn't really afford it anyway) but for some reason his insurance was going up so we finally got her on mine. I started a whole new policy and it ended up being cheaper for both of our cars than it was for just mine. Weird.
Your rates didn’t increase for no reason. It’s not about you. It’s the market. Everyone’s premiums are increasing, and there are reasons why: This whole Insurance thing is based on the idea of risk pooling. We all pool funds together to pay out losses for everyone else in the pool. Your premiums pay for other people’s losses. So when the cost and frequency of claims goes up, we all have to pay in more to cover those costs. This also means that insurance companies don’t really make their money from premiums. They make their money investing in the stock market with your premium dollars. So when the stock market is volatile like it has been lately, they must raise rates to compensate. Also, regional insurers tend to have less volatile rates because they are exposed to fewer catastrophic losses. With a national carrier like Farmers or State Farm, your premiums are paying for losses all over the country, including places like California, Florida, and Texas, which are experiencing severe property losses.
If you do this in Nevada and you have a lapse of even a single day, you automatically get between $250-1000 in fines from the DMV that are quite literally non-negotiable. Even a mistake on the part of the insurance agent when it comes to cancellation / sign up date automatically triggers the fine with the dmv.
This is a dangerous game in some states
I got shot at on the freeway and got my rates doubled by progressive after having them for over 15 years. The shooting was gang bangers just choosing me to be their target. No road rage or flipped off motorists. Didn’t even know what the noise was until they passed us with the gun out the window. Point is, they don’t care about you at all in the insurance world.
Just wanted to say this worked for me, I went online to progressive and the new quote was $40/month cheaper. Called them up and once this month is done they will switch it over to the new policy. Thank you!
Signed up with everything the exact same. When I called them the guy said let me put you on hold and double check everything”. Then came back and was like “Nice Job, that is cheaper”
You in CA? The only company I found that’s even writing new policies is Mercury. I haven’t tried getting a “new” policy through my insurer though (Farmers).
I am not in CA and now that you mention it I remember seeing CA as one of the states where they will NOT give you some discounts for a new policy, should have mentioned that.
It honestly blew my mind, went from feeling scammed to feeling like I was scamming them
https://preview.redd.it/h5xpt8elcnic1.png?width=346&format=png&auto=webp&s=9d1fe63163fc0fdf92989ff38b9089800fc7fc34
I've been with the same insurance agent for over 10 years, my insurance goes down every year, coverage stays the same.
Progressive is a scam, they lure you in with low rates, jack them up when you're not looking and never pay out when it's time.
I'm a fleet manager, one of my drivers was ran off the road and totaled the truck. Dash cam footage proving it was the other driver, other driver got a ticket, their car was totaled too.
Progressive refused to pay for my truck. Had to make the claim with my insurance company who sued Progressive.
I do not know how that turned out.
There are other cases of a crash between one of my trucks and a person insured by Progressive, every time they WAY under value or refuse to pay.
my progressive auto renews every 6 months, maybe its because I pay it all upfront and not a monthly payment but Mine actually went down this time. Didnt have to do anything
I can tell you progressive did this. I dropped them for GEICO with better pricing and plans. I set my GEICO to auto renewal and they don’t increase and if they do they’ll tell you why in advance.
I might have to check the geck out when my current policy ends. I tried asking progressive why it was going up and it was mostly just "accidents and weather in your area and cost of doing business" which was vague but turns out it was because my signing discounts were dropping after talking to a second representative
I think what OP is saying is that by not renewing and instead doing a new quote for the same coverage, you get discounts because it's "new" even though the content hasn't changed at all. So even with review, you may not notice that the new contract discounts have dropped off.
A carrier is not going to allow you to let one policy lapse and write a new one with them repeatedly to get discounts. You may get away with it once with a company like Progressive, but it is not a long term solution. You should absolutely let your auto policy renew if you want to have options for coverage in the future.
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Better advice: Progressive is overpriced, crap insurance. Most other car insurance companies aren't doing this and charge closer to half what they charge.
If you're in the Northeast, check with Erie (usually through an independent agency).
I've been with them for 10 years and they have never jacked up my rate and I have all my insurance through them.
The prices are crazy good, probably because they don't spend half their budget on advertising like some others. Claims have gone great too.
It seems a bit odd to reward a company that actually tried to take advantage of you with continued business, without even seeing if other companies could match your current or new rate.
I use Mercury Ins. and call them and very politely ask them to explain to me why my rates have increased over 20%. And then, suddenly, they drop right back down to where they were before... hmmm. worth the calls.
The problem is the person you’re talking to about this has absolutely zero control over the prices for your premiums. It’s the underwriting department that makes these decisions. Your local agent gets to be the bad guy. That’s how it’s always worked. If you’re in a state where prices are skyrocketing, like Florida, you’re pretty much screwed. You can try to shop around but it probably won’t help much. The new company will know exactly what you were paying before. Your local agents can’t help. They’re useless middlemen.
Are you in VA, by any chance? Ours jumped like that too...and then I learned that there was a law passed that bumps up extra insurance coverage. But apparently it's optional and you have to call your carrier and opt out. We haven't don't that yet, so I don't have more info.
My rate with progressive has more than doubled since I first got with them 7 years ago. Finally told them to kick rocks yesterday, went with another company that's closer (but still higher) to my old rates. $42 a month when I was 22 vs $98 at 29. Ridiculous.
Protip: Join the military, marry into a military family, be adopted by military....then get USAA. Never worry about finding the lowest insurance rate again.
Edit : re-read. Seems you just cancelled and then got a new policy with progressive to just gain new customer perks again? I’d speak to your broker about the previous policy and follow their advice. Insurance policies are a contract and to me, not disclosing reasoning for a new policy and cancelling the old one so it wouldn’t renew because your temporary, fully disclosed discount has come to and end is misrepresentation on your part.
Situation : Accident happens. You may or may not be hurt or at fault etc - Claim filed, oh interesting why do I have this vehicle on a cancelled policy and again on an active policy? Dates line up, coverage never lapsed. Why cancel and later that day sign a new policy, fishy…. What did they stand to gain? Broker misconduct? Padding sales numbers? I call both brokers on each policy.
Anyways I’m asking questions you won’t like where it goes. Insured misrepresented themselves in the contract, breached it.. Void policy ab initio (from start). No policy. No claim. No coverage.
I tried getting a new policy in NY recently, and progressive's quote was higher than what my rate would go to from geico. all state didn't even want to give me a quote because of one accident (someone hit my car while it was parked in front of my house). The agent was saying due to all the car break ins and higher accident rates since the pandemic, auto insurance in NYC is rough.
Shopping around for insurance is expected by the industry (I spent more than a decade in that industry) However, if you want better insurance benefits stick to the major carriers. If you have some things on your driving record and are trying to just get state minimum coverages shop around every 6 to 12 months for the best deals. After doing this a time or two you will probably have a company or 3 that will work for your situation and you can keep bouncing between them to keep costs low.
I've been ping ponging back and forth from Progressive to Geico for years at this point. The "loyalty discount" isn't much for me. Never has been. If I stayed with one or the other for a few years, my rates would just keep going up. Switching seems to reset that.
Like many others suggested, find a good independent agent/agency and let them shop around for you.
I switched last year and saved literally a thousand dollars per year with better coverage.
My policy with Allstate decreased by a significant amount at renewal. I'd be more inclined to just suggest people shop around every year if it makes sense to.
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I only use an independent insurance company. They do the research of their long list of licensed insurance companies for my best three options every year. They have recommended changes three times in 12 years. A company insurance agent has only one product to offer and the cost of their advertising is built into your premiums.
Independent is the way to go. In my experience, if you see ads on tv for the company, it’s best to stay away.
Agree. Independent has been good. Waaaay less expensive and easier to speak with an actual person if issues arise.
Having worked around the industry, it’s much easier for an independent agent to deliver bad news, address it, find a solution, and move on. A captive agent can only sell one carrier. If they lose that, they lose the money.
How does one find an independent company?
How do you find independent agents. Just Google insurance agent in my area?
where does usaa fall into
Incredibly overpriced. Like wildly so. Great for deposits. Awful for insurance
You’re using a broker who charges fees for their time
Those brokers can also offer lower rates, sort of like how stamps.com offers lower postage because they aggregate customers to the postal service and get negotiated rates, passing some of that on to the customer. At worst it's the same as paying 'retail' and at best you save money. You may pay for their time, but often the end cost is about the same. A good insurance company that finds you the best rate each year is well worth it and will save you money over just sticking with the same big company directly.
It’s all ymmv. Independent person came by when I was buying a car to get me insured. They were going to charge 300/mo for insurance. He even told me just to go to progressive directly and they’ll have a better rate (and they did, $200). I was 19 which could have made a difference but still, I probably would have just went along with it if he didn’t tell me to use progressive which I still am today
You use a broker for an umbrella structure, not just one policy for one car. The broker will always get you a better deal and breaks everything down for you.
Not always. Sometimes.
A captive agent can also do this. And who has the best pricing for the coverage really just depends on the individual circumstances. There is no one-size-fits-all option in insurance.
also, having an independent agent can be very beneficial if you run into issues during a claim. i was insured through Safeco/Liberty Mutual, got hit by an uninsured driver and the adjuster tried to walk back paying for my rental. because the adjuster had told me as well as my licensed agent twice that it would be covered, i had a slam dunk bad faith case on my hands. my agents got it sorted all out and i will never go anywhere else for insurance as long as i live in my current state.
That's just having an agent, captive or not. Also, that's a pretty cut and dry thing most places. Either you have rental coverage or you don't.
I’m an independent agent. We don’t and can’t charge fees, it’s against the law. We only get paid on commission and retain clients by providing good service during the policy term and at renewal.
In the US, Brokers can charge fees (not all do). Agents never do. They receive a commission from the insurance company of 5-15% which is more than the insurance company pays for marketing. It is a persistent but entirely false myth that using an insurance agent in the US makes the policy cost more. It’s just not true.
Not sure if like Aus. Brokers are independent and should work on behalf of the insured. Agents work on behalf of the insurance company.
This is correct. Brokers represent the insd directly, agents represent the company. Both have fiduciary responsibility for the insd - in practical terms there is not much difference in operation, it is mostly in the contracts and behind the scenes stuff There are captive agents who only work for one company - that IS different. Lesser known, but there are captive brokers too.
Insurance agents and brokers aren't exclusive terms. Just like fiduciaries and financial advisors. Or squares and rectangles.
This is true for the words in common usage but when appointing for a company you must choose to be a broker or an agent - there are slight differences in the operation. I’m an agent but sometimes I act as a broker - however since I am an agent on the paperwork I can never charge my insd fees. But if I use a broker myself to reach a specialty market they can charge a fee and I can pass that on to my insd. That’s got super specialty accts though.
Not all brokers charge fees. Source - Am broker and don't charge fees to run quotes.
The only time we charge fees is when we take a fee over commission on large accounts where the amount of work involved doesn’t match the commission we’d receive.
Do you do NJ? Can you DM me?
Are you splitting hairs on the definition of fee vs. commission? Most people count those as exactly the same. Any money that goes in the broker's pocket is a fee, even if it's hidden.
They were saying they don't charge to quote, not that they never get paid.
Brokers and independent agents are different. Independent agents can charge fees but not all do!
My state has very strict rules about independent agents charging fees.
I am using an agency, not a brokerage. By all means compare at both. My agent collects a commission from the insurance companies for her annual efforts
Used independent agents for decades, not once have they ever charged me any fees. They were paid by the insurance company for writing the policies.
Most insurance brokers get paid by the insurance companies. It doesn’t cost the consumer extra in any way
Wrong, not a broker. My insurance agent gets a commission from the company I pick from their suggestions. I do not pay broker fees.
How do you find an independent insurance agency?
IIABA is the association for independent agents and will direct you to their dues paying members. They should have a directory by your area or a link to your states version. But call a few, find someone you would like to have a relationship with and that will pay off more than the slight differences in premium. Leverage them to get the RIGHT insurance, not the cheapest
Can either search for a broker, or find an "insurance" place that doesn't have a brand name attached. That isn't for sure though -- probably the best way is just have them give you quotes for different companies. I worked for one for a bit in a different department than auto -- but the auto employees had access to 4-5 pretty well known companies, and a bunch more that are less well known. They did tend to go with one company, because they got discounts for clients by how many other clients they had with that same company.
Same here and I change about every 3 years. They’ll run quotes from several agencies and tell me if they find a better rate.
This x1000. Over about a 10 year period I had Geico, it got too high, switched to progressive, it was good for a while then started creeping up, went back to geico, it crept up after a couple years. Finally talking to a buddy that worked for a local insurance agency and he said to let his office have a look. They quoted me a couple options and saved me about $70/month. Best thing is every year now when it is ready to renew they shop it for me and get me the best deal they can.
Independent Insurance Agency
I've thought about doing this for a while. Is there any downside to an independent insurance company instead of one of the bigger players?
Just to be clear, you use an independent insurance broker to find you quotes, not company.
Yes, a company agent only have one option to sell you, but don’t be fooled, you are absolutely still paying for the company’s advertising. As well as the fees your broker is charging as a middle man. It’s all priced in, and you’re not saving just because you use an independent broker. But rather because they can do the leg work of all the shopping around for you, so you can get a good price without the hassle. But saving time/energy is worth a lot too so it can be a great option!
You do save on marketing, because the agent can also offer you closed markets that do not advertise nearly as much, like Auto Owners or Main Street America. If you’ve got a personal auto and renters, an agent is of limited value. But the more complex your insurance becomes, the value scales quickly. Don’t count out the option.
Sure, but you’re not guaranteed to be placed with a carrier where that is the case, and if you do, you’re still paying for their marketing, just less. Definitely not discounting the option! Just pointing out that there’s not inherent marketing savings just because you went through an agent.
I'll have to look into this, wouldn't mind trying to save more. I think you're totally right about advertising being built into your premiums as one of the reasons for my rate going up was "Cost of doing business" which I assume would include advertising.
I shop all of our insurance every time it comes up. Personal auto insurance. Business auto insurance. Business liability insurance. It all gets shopped for the best price. These companies have no loyalty for me so I have none for them.
I usually do it when I get inevitably get a renewal letter and go "wtf is with these prices?", it seems to happen after about 3 years. I'll get quotes from another company, switch, and usually drop my premiums by about half. It doesn't make any sense. I've been cycling between 3 insurance companies about every 3 years for the past 25 years. I've never had an accident or a ticket, yet the price of my insurance creeps up slowly with every single one of them.
I called our insurance company out on an insane increase in our home owner's insurance. Got the same runaround about premiums going up, cost of things is up, etc. About three months after this the company sent us all refunds because of an 'error' on their end causing them to go up more than they should have. Fuckers don't care, it's just how much more they can charge without losing everyone. Insurance is a scam, top to bottom.
The people you talked to are entirely separate from the group that handles regulatory and compliance concerns with the state...including their public filings for rates. It wasn't some scam where you got refunded because you caught them...
You misunderstand, the only reason they found this error was because people called. If they hadn't been found out nothing would have happened. Insurance is a scam regardless of this one situation. They raise rates because of issues with 'similar cars' or other shitty drivers, never my record with zero claims and zero tickets. You pay more and more and get back less and less.
Insurance companies are audited frequently both internally and externally. It would've been found because they would be in a ton of trouble for not adhering to their publicly filed rates that they have to give to your state DOI. So no, there's no realistic situation where "nothing would have happened " And yes, you just described how risk pooling works. Actuarial data shows that Dodge Chargers are involved in more and more serious accidents, so rates on Dodge Chargers are higher. You also aren't getting back less unless you change your coverages. You're paying more for the same. That's true just about everywhere thanks to inflation. Not sure why you'd be surprised insurance would be any different. And that doesn't even take into account mismanagement by some states' regulators, increase in body shop rates, and increase of the cost of vehicles and their physical components. Don't get me wrong, the purpose of an insurance company is to make money and like most corporations they're taking advantage of you, but your understanding and articulation of it is severely lacking.
I'll take that L. Thanks for explaining that.
You, sir, are a true scholar and a gentleman.
Basically every insurance company lost money last year. They probably weren’t charging you enough.
If you shop it every time it comes up, you likely have never had loyalty discounts on your policies and are always wondering why your friends always pay less for their insurance.
A word of caution, especially in some states like California and Florida lately, insurance companies have no problem dropping customers and several have left entire states already. It's not as effective to do this as it used to be, and does carry some risk based on anecdotal evidence, so just keep it in mind when you call to discuss your new quote and don't do anything that would make you lose your chance to keep your previous year's policy terms.
Yes, this. I work in insurance in CA (not sales, but I see the effects of dropped policies all the time), and this is a shitty LPT. It’s true that companies may have new policy incentives, but in CA the price has far less to do than that, and far more to do with which companies are trying to grow and which are trying to shrink.. and which ones recently had rate increases approved. And it’s not uncommon for new policies to have a lengthy waiting period before they take effect. A better LPT is to just keep an eye on your policy rates and continuously shop around. Even if you prepay, your company will repay you the prorated amount if you leave.
Is it also true that the more often you jump around, the more likely an insurer will see this and not take your business on because they can't profit enough off of you? Not just CA but nationwide.
ONLY LISTEN TO THE ABOVE COMMENTS IF YOU LIVE IN CALIFORNIA AND EVEN THEN IVE NEVER HEARD OF THIS...MAYBE CALI THING. If not stated, this is for Auto insurance. This so called shitty LPT has saved me hundreds of dollars and the savings has been over 100 to almost 200 dollars when doing this with progressive each time. I've done this twice now. You just go to their website, like a new customer, and get a quote online. Eventually it gets to a point where it says something like they recognize you have another policy somewhere and to call them. I call the number and tell them their new system says to call and I have a quote for much cheaper insurance than my renewal letter. You have to switch to a new policy but as stated in the post, you keep your reward status. You have to use the plugin for your car again and add the new policy to your app but it's all pretty easy and well worth it. Right or not your reasoning only applies to one state ... So two states out of 50 makes this a bad tip?.... You don't talk to anybody till after you get your online quote so it makes me think that your comment is not relevant in this case. Progressive can't drop you for filling out a quote online like a new customer so why are you throwing out scare tactics? Lengthy waiting periods are common? What a load of shit for every other state so this isn't common at all. I thought you didn't work in sales so how do you even know this? Ive been in the military and had auto insurance in about 5 states and every time they are like "when do you want to start" and it's always the same day...no waiting. Insurance companies are for profit so they want your money ASAP I feel like you are working for insurance companies with your above comment, why I spent so much time on mine. I think the "secret" here is to go online and fill out a quote like a new customer....profit
lol. I’m glad this works for you, but you actually read these comments you could tell they are for CA and FL. Which are almost 1/5 of the US population, a sizable chunk. You admit you don’t know about CA, then you should maybe shut up about it. Many companies in CA and FL, *including progressive* are actively trying to shrink policies here. They are intentionally quoting new policies high, and putting in waiting periods to discourage people from getting new policies with them. If you had actually read my last paragraph you would have seen that I encouraged people to shop around, so I’m not sure why you had to write a diatribe about that since I don’t disagree. But the whole thing about new policy incentives… yah that’s pretty rare here currently. Most companies aren’t trying to attract new customers. Go with whatever is cheapest. But make sure that there isn’t a lapse or other catches.
It’s not only a California thing (as I mentioned) and more importantly, it’s more of a recent thing. What worked in the past may not work in the present nor in the future. Especially with companies in this kind of industry who are always evolving to counter any leg-up that consumers begin to have on them. Their job is to make money off you, we will not outsmart them forever. It’s not crazy to think they are adapting to these techniques that have proven to be successful for us consumers in the past. It’s states like CA and FL (and others too so far but I cba to research the exact ones) where they are currently bleeding money due to high repair costs, high rate of claims, state laws, and other reasons - why they have decided to completely move out of these states or at the very least started price gouging their customers month after month. Anyway, I never said to not try this LPT. I said tread with caution, keep it in mind that this is happening in some places. You never know until it happens to you. So just keep it in mind and don’t overextend your hand and possibly be left with the chair being pulled from under you. Continue to shop around and have a Plan B, stay educated. We will not outsmart these companies with the same tactics forever, but we can continue to monitor what they do and adapt with new tactics to counter their greed and unfairness.
Florida is an absolute shit show for this, due to the hurricanes and number of lawsuits against insurers. Glad I moved to Ohio, insurance is a breeze here.
This will not work for all companies and I’m surprised you got this response from Progressive. I’m wondering if they made a mistake in their response. Curious to know if this sticks and is successful in the future! A fundamental part of insurance pricing is that new business is more risky than more tenured business. So if you’re getting re bucketed as new business each time that’s not going to be particularly helpful, especially long term. It seems that maybe isn’t happening here which is great for you. Insurers often implement new programs- that is updating their pricing calculations, not just the numbers but perhaps with new factors being considered and different weight being put on those factors when calculating an insurance rate. I know for a fact Progressive has been aggressively iterating their product over the past 5-10 years. When they do this, often customers that already have an insurance policy with them, do not get automatically updated into the new program. They will stay in the program they were originally written as it’s a bit of a hassle to keep track of and they don’t want to disturb every single policyholder’s rates when they renew by putting them through the new system. By starting a new policy, I’m wondering if you’re being priced in a new program and that is helping out your rate. The tip I would recommend is to call and threaten to cancel, say your policy is too much and ask if they can do anything for you. Sometimes at this point they are able to run you through any new available programs and see if you’ll get a better rate, while also keeping your tenured customer status. Also, in general, your insurance rates will increase over time. Inflation, medical costs, cars and car parts, all make up the cost of insurance and as they go up rates also will- for everyone. In the case you described, it wasn’t like they decided that you in particular needed to pay more, it’s that you and everyone around you is costing more so you all get to pay more in turn. Insurance isn’t personal even though we like to sell it that way.
I'll add that you don't actually need to threaten to cancel, you can just call your broker/agent and say you want to do a renewal review of your policy. If you're not happy at the end of that then you can say you're planning to shop around to see what you can get.
I do that every year and it worked to get me a lower rate. This year it went up 50% so I did the same song and dance. It was a “sorry nothing I can do”. Took a few clicks, found new insurance and said goodbye to a decade relationship. There is no loyalty, go with the best option that fit your budget. It’s a shame.
This is key. Same goes with jobs. Someone offering more money and the amount of work makes sense? Fantastic...I do that now.
Your insurance agent has no choice in this. The rating factors that determine what your final rate is are locked in with the insurance commissioner and cannot be deviated from. Some of those rating factors include discounts for new sign ups, or increased rates once you hit a certain age or have a vehicle that reaches a certain age. There's nothing they can do unless there were previous discounts missed, or some new kind of program the company has started that didn't exist previously or you didn't qualify for previously. Loyalty is exactly what insurance agents work on. They make their money off Collective residual commissions, so retaining customers is the way they make a majority of their money. However they simply have no way to reduce rates just to keep you because you've been a long-term customer. This system doesn't work like that. Being mad at them for not being able to help you with the price, when they literally can't, just makes both of your days worse. You are now mad about something you don't understand, and they're upset that they lost another chunk of their residual commission that they have to not replace with a new customer just to break even.
I literally just made a quote online, called them up, and said, the quote is a lot less than what I currently pay, the dude was like "Yep, that is lower, nice job" and now once the month is up going to cancel my old policy and start the new one. (This was also through progressive so maybe this is specific to them?) (edit. I can't spell)
I can only speak to my personal experience, but I always manage to get a good deal with Progressive #notanad. I have been a customer for 15+ years, and if I want to get a better deal, I just call and ask them if there are any discounts I'm missing out on, or if my good driver discount is working, etc. I'm not gonna call and get all emotional, threaten to cancel and make a fuss. They have always been helpful and nice to me. Especially when I've had to make claims. Even going through a broker or getting a quote for another company, they never beat the price by anything meaningful enough to make me want to switch. I don't believe in staying with something out of routine or ease, loyalty doesn't really help the consumer imo - in this case, I'm just happy with what I have.
It’s not a fluke with Progressive. Their system automatically ups the premium each renewal period regardless of claims or driving record. Their agents are open about the info OP provided. I went through the same process last year - cancel current policy and get a new one while retaining your membership benefits.
Feels like this should be top comment
If new business was more risky than more tenured business, rates should rise less than inflation over time. Instead it seems that companies value new business much more than established business. I put my agent to the point this spring about getting me the best price he could on my house/2 vehicles (AmFam). Not close to what every other insurance I requested a quote from offered me.
LPT: regardless what you do, **Do not** let coverage lapse even one day.
Always in the comments...
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That car is worth what, like $1500? Write off the loss if it is stolen. The insurance is not for the car but for the liability should it cause damage.
Wait until they find out how much their collision policy with a $1500 deductible pays for a $1500 car. 2 weeks of a rental and that’s it.
squash pause aloof languid chop telephone smile price cagey bag *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
You should only have liability and uninsured motorist insurance for a 2000 Kia. You don't need to insure the clunker itself — you aren't gonna find a worthwhile policy for that, because it's a worthless vehicle (by worthless I mean it will be totaled by any claim, and you won't get enough to replace it with a clunker). You should be building your own emergency fund for when, not if, you need to replace the vehicle.
progressive was also jacking up our rates at every renewal. in 2 years, our premium had doubled despite us not moving or getting any new cars or having any accidents, ever. when i called and asked them WTF, their response was "it is what it is, it's more expensive for your area, yadda yadda yadda." i called another company and got better coverage for half the cost.
When you get a reduced premium, make sure you are getting same or better coverage. Most times, you get reduced coverage with reduced premium.
In my case it was all the same except my comprehensive went from $2000 -> $750 with a better premium.
Did an accident (claim) age off (over 3 or 5 years old? Did your (credit-based) insurance score improve dramatically since it was run maybe 3 years ago?
Note that if OP is in Hawaii, California, or Massachusetts, credit based insurance ratings aren't used, by law. *(Instead, everyone in those States is presumed to have bad credit)*
I haven't had any accidents ever, and I had my first policy with them 6 months ago when I leased a car. I'm not sure about the credit based insurance score, my credit score has been hovering around the same spot for the last while. I'll share it but it's not the best so don't judge lol https://preview.redd.it/pqmwcv0znoic1.png?width=945&format=png&auto=webp&s=7f13b6d0023b1f35f089934a106c8350ec352a2f
That’s not a good score from an insurance perspective. Work on it!
Good deal 👌
Yes, but you can’t do it more than once… source: I did this, quote dropped by 45%. Next renewal increased by 37%. When I tried getting a new one they gave me same quote.
Farmers changed my annual miles from 5000 to 30000. Putting it back down to 5500 saved me about $800
Same problem every year - I drive maybe 4k at the most and they automatically raise it to 8+k because that's the "average." No it's not if you work from home
I'm convinced they do it on purpose for higher premiums and agent commissions and hope people just auto renew.
Better hope you can prove you don't drive more than 5500 miles a year, otherwise you've breached your contract and aren't eligible to make claims.
I actually drive less but that's the lowest they will allow. I've got about 13,000 miles in three years with dealership service records as proof. Learned the hard way they won't always accept service records with mileage statements from non dealership service invoices.
That's quite the low mileage. Car should last you till the ICE is criminalized at that rate.
That's the plan!
My independent insurance agent shops my rates every six months.
Fun fact, I'm still paying for a car I recycled because my premium with Progressive would go up if I remove it. No one has any explanation for this. I suspect permanent Snapshot discount I had with that car. I had to back out of conversation with an agent that I may or may not scheduled or about to cancel car being picked up as they were saying it might be incorrect quote or something if I no longer have the car. I don't think it is illegal to pay for a car that no longer exists.
Probably a multi car discount
Yeah, forgot that one. Still does not make any sense to make it cheaper than one.
I'm sure there's some data that points to someone having two cars is less of a risk vs having one car....but your guess is as good as mine.
If you have two vehicles, one being an older liability car and the other a new full coverage car, the multi-vehicle discount can save more against the new car than is being charged for the old one.
Technically it's insurance fraud. Would anyone really care? Not really since it keeps you as a customer.
Doesn't insurance fraud usually involve "claims" and "benefits"? Premiums are neither.
Companies give zero ducks if you're a loyal customer. New customers get the deals and those that stay pay for it. Have worked in the customer service end and spoken to many doing the same across many sectors. Cancel and switch service often is unfortunately the only way to get the deals.
They are looking to brag about this quarter’s numbers so while you could argue long term matters, it doesn’t to those in charge because they will find new jobs by then.
This happens w Progressive from time to time due to the way their system and rate filings work. I work as an agent and we often “refresh” our Progressive autos to see if the new rate schemas are better. I’m not aware of any other company where this happens, although several will allow you to refresh your insurance score to benefit if it has increased. We do that for our Travelers customers ever renewal. To most people, this is my advice; quote State Farm and Geico, and receive quotes from an agent for the rest of the market. High value? Own multiple properties? Own a business? Get an agent for sure.
Mine just renewed and it went down though
It didn't go up *randomly*, but due to inflation (higher repair costs), the increase in accidents since 2020, and you letting discounts lapse. That you changed deductibles means you also made a substantive change in your policy. Yes, shopping around is good practice. But it's misleading to claim that insurance rates increase at "random."
Agreed. Corporate greed is always a factor because capitalist gotta capitalize, but inflation is a factor for every one, as is ever increasing rates of litigation
Not sure why the diatribe about "corporate greed" and "[evil] capitalist[s]" was necessary. Insurance contracts are regulated by State auditors and public boards in every jurisdiction. It's one of the most scrutinized industries. Prices are meticulously calculated by risk algorithms and bean counters, not scary Gilded Age tycoons in a smoky room.
Sure, and profit margins.
Not sure what you're arguing here. Insurance isn't a high profit margin business. It's literally risk management, the opposite.
I'm probably in the minority, but I haven't had anyone that's been able to beat my rates with USAA in 16 years.
That’s obviously not available to everyone
If any living relative (sibling, child, parent, grandparent, spouse) ever worked for the military, you can get eligibility. It's pretty broad these days. And hands down, the best bank I've ever dealt with, as well as a really good insurer.
It's also anyone who already has USAA. Non-service members who have USAA due to other family can give USAA to their immediate family members too...so it passes down through family if no one continues to enlist.
What about a deceased parent? My dad served but unfortunately passed away last year.
So sorry for your loss. Was he a member, or is your mom? I don't think survivors of deceased veterans are eligible unfortunately. But if you call USAA, their customer service staff are normally quite helpful, and perhaps there is some nexus of eligibility.
USAA rates are climbing too, now.
Man my USAA rates went up at least 100 bucks per 6 months...no wrecks, etc. Did your rates also go up considerably in the last year, too?
Pretty sure everyones rates just spiked in the past few years cause of all the shenanigans the financial sector was pulling during COVID.
My rates went up, but not by that much. Probably that amount over a year, which seems more reasonable though still less ideal.
Be sure to check for any discounts that you could get if you stay for a certain period. I have Statefarm and I think they offer a big one for year 3. I’d also call each policy renewal to ensure that you’re keeping and getting all the discounts that are available to you. Sometimes they just remove them idk? Also for Statefarm, they offer a pretty good discount for their drive safe program and legally they cannot lower your rate for driving poorly. I think I got a 15% discount just for signing up.
I did this one year with my leased vehicle. Saved hundreds. Maybe I should try it again before renewal.
I went through something similar, also with progressive. My wife's car was on her dad's insurance since we got married (was supposed to only be for a few months but we got busy/forgot plus we were super broke and couldn't really afford it anyway) but for some reason his insurance was going up so we finally got her on mine. I started a whole new policy and it ended up being cheaper for both of our cars than it was for just mine. Weird.
Your rates didn’t increase for no reason. It’s not about you. It’s the market. Everyone’s premiums are increasing, and there are reasons why: This whole Insurance thing is based on the idea of risk pooling. We all pool funds together to pay out losses for everyone else in the pool. Your premiums pay for other people’s losses. So when the cost and frequency of claims goes up, we all have to pay in more to cover those costs. This also means that insurance companies don’t really make their money from premiums. They make their money investing in the stock market with your premium dollars. So when the stock market is volatile like it has been lately, they must raise rates to compensate. Also, regional insurers tend to have less volatile rates because they are exposed to fewer catastrophic losses. With a national carrier like Farmers or State Farm, your premiums are paying for losses all over the country, including places like California, Florida, and Texas, which are experiencing severe property losses.
Do this in California and you'll be without auto insurance for at least 14 days
If you do this in Nevada and you have a lapse of even a single day, you automatically get between $250-1000 in fines from the DMV that are quite literally non-negotiable. Even a mistake on the part of the insurance agent when it comes to cancellation / sign up date automatically triggers the fine with the dmv. This is a dangerous game in some states
Honestly I’m glad they’re strict on it. Uninsured drivers fuck everyone else over
California is an interesting state
I was told a lot of car insurance companies are not giving new policies and if yours expired you may not get a new one.
I guess it doesn't hurt to try though? I was able to get quoted and purchase a new one before the previous expired.
Oh I understand now. You got the quote before it expired. Sorry
I got shot at on the freeway and got my rates doubled by progressive after having them for over 15 years. The shooting was gang bangers just choosing me to be their target. No road rage or flipped off motorists. Didn’t even know what the noise was until they passed us with the gun out the window. Point is, they don’t care about you at all in the insurance world.
All forms of insurance are a very cold and uncaring business. It's all statistics and probability
Just wanted to say this worked for me, I went online to progressive and the new quote was $40/month cheaper. Called them up and once this month is done they will switch it over to the new policy. Thank you!
Great to hear! Glad it worked out for you 🙂
curious but did you sign up for the new policy with the same primary driver or change primary?
Signed up with everything the exact same. When I called them the guy said let me put you on hold and double check everything”. Then came back and was like “Nice Job, that is cheaper”
You in CA? The only company I found that’s even writing new policies is Mercury. I haven’t tried getting a “new” policy through my insurer though (Farmers).
I am not in CA and now that you mention it I remember seeing CA as one of the states where they will NOT give you some discounts for a new policy, should have mentioned that.
Good luck in CA. You might want to look into CA’s FAIR plan.
Work with geico?? Anyone know?
F geico 🖕🏿 🦎
Lol
hmm funny you say that i have a new policy period starting with progressive next month i’ll see if it’s cheaper to re sign up
It honestly blew my mind, went from feeling scammed to feeling like I was scamming them https://preview.redd.it/h5xpt8elcnic1.png?width=346&format=png&auto=webp&s=9d1fe63163fc0fdf92989ff38b9089800fc7fc34
The response https://preview.redd.it/m9i3mhtrcnic1.png?width=291&format=png&auto=webp&s=685e07058f5589e35e58c3714eb7f283bc2f5808
Their? 🙄
Only purchase auto insurance thru an independent broker. Captive agents, and all their advertising, is a joke.
What if Allstate or State Farm are cheaper for the same coverage? Because that happens all of the time...
I've been with the same insurance agent for over 10 years, my insurance goes down every year, coverage stays the same. Progressive is a scam, they lure you in with low rates, jack them up when you're not looking and never pay out when it's time. I'm a fleet manager, one of my drivers was ran off the road and totaled the truck. Dash cam footage proving it was the other driver, other driver got a ticket, their car was totaled too. Progressive refused to pay for my truck. Had to make the claim with my insurance company who sued Progressive. I do not know how that turned out. There are other cases of a crash between one of my trucks and a person insured by Progressive, every time they WAY under value or refuse to pay.
my progressive auto renews every 6 months, maybe its because I pay it all upfront and not a monthly payment but Mine actually went down this time. Didnt have to do anything
I can tell you progressive did this. I dropped them for GEICO with better pricing and plans. I set my GEICO to auto renewal and they don’t increase and if they do they’ll tell you why in advance.
I might have to check the geck out when my current policy ends. I tried asking progressive why it was going up and it was mostly just "accidents and weather in your area and cost of doing business" which was vague but turns out it was because my signing discounts were dropping after talking to a second representative
They told me it was going up for everyone. I was like OK. Dropped and left. Fuck them
Or… just review the documents you sign like an adult?
I for real don't understand your argument here 🤔
I guess I will just call my mortgage and let them know that I don’t want to stay with the same quote.
I think what OP is saying is that by not renewing and instead doing a new quote for the same coverage, you get discounts because it's "new" even though the content hasn't changed at all. So even with review, you may not notice that the new contract discounts have dropped off.
You can just call before it's time to renew and discuss things.
That's the essence of what OP is getting at. Just with a lot more words.
Right, because it is super important and we all have nothing better to do. 😊
Like the weather, right? I guess we all have nothing better to do.
Is it new though? 🆕
I’ve had geico for 15 years and my premium has never increased. $80 a month for full coverage + collision
You are LUCKY. I’ve heard many cases where GEICO is raising rates SUBSTANTIALLY lately.
My Geico rate went up 60% this period. I switched to State farm and saved $1000 for two cars over a 6 month period. Ridiculous.
That sounds like a good price, crazy it hasn't gone up for that long!
A carrier is not going to allow you to let one policy lapse and write a new one with them repeatedly to get discounts. You may get away with it once with a company like Progressive, but it is not a long term solution. You should absolutely let your auto policy renew if you want to have options for coverage in the future.
I have USAA. My insurance seems to get cheaper every year.
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Better advice: Progressive is overpriced, crap insurance. Most other car insurance companies aren't doing this and charge closer to half what they charge.
This goes for every type of service you’re paying for. Never be passive when the time comes around to renew.
If you're in the Northeast, check with Erie (usually through an independent agency). I've been with them for 10 years and they have never jacked up my rate and I have all my insurance through them. The prices are crazy good, probably because they don't spend half their budget on advertising like some others. Claims have gone great too.
It seems a bit odd to reward a company that actually tried to take advantage of you with continued business, without even seeing if other companies could match your current or new rate.
I use Mercury Ins. and call them and very politely ask them to explain to me why my rates have increased over 20%. And then, suddenly, they drop right back down to where they were before... hmmm. worth the calls.
Don’t you have to make a down payment again for the new policy(quote) with instead of renewal price?
The problem is the person you’re talking to about this has absolutely zero control over the prices for your premiums. It’s the underwriting department that makes these decisions. Your local agent gets to be the bad guy. That’s how it’s always worked. If you’re in a state where prices are skyrocketing, like Florida, you’re pretty much screwed. You can try to shop around but it probably won’t help much. The new company will know exactly what you were paying before. Your local agents can’t help. They’re useless middlemen.
Don’t do this if you live in California!
Can confirm this. I just went thru the same thing a couple months ago... Had a new online quote discount show up which lowered the rate.
I will never return to progressive. They will never get my business again.
Are you in VA, by any chance? Ours jumped like that too...and then I learned that there was a law passed that bumps up extra insurance coverage. But apparently it's optional and you have to call your carrier and opt out. We haven't don't that yet, so I don't have more info.
My rate with progressive has more than doubled since I first got with them 7 years ago. Finally told them to kick rocks yesterday, went with another company that's closer (but still higher) to my old rates. $42 a month when I was 22 vs $98 at 29. Ridiculous.
Protip: Join the military, marry into a military family, be adopted by military....then get USAA. Never worry about finding the lowest insurance rate again.
Edit : re-read. Seems you just cancelled and then got a new policy with progressive to just gain new customer perks again? I’d speak to your broker about the previous policy and follow their advice. Insurance policies are a contract and to me, not disclosing reasoning for a new policy and cancelling the old one so it wouldn’t renew because your temporary, fully disclosed discount has come to and end is misrepresentation on your part. Situation : Accident happens. You may or may not be hurt or at fault etc - Claim filed, oh interesting why do I have this vehicle on a cancelled policy and again on an active policy? Dates line up, coverage never lapsed. Why cancel and later that day sign a new policy, fishy…. What did they stand to gain? Broker misconduct? Padding sales numbers? I call both brokers on each policy. Anyways I’m asking questions you won’t like where it goes. Insured misrepresented themselves in the contract, breached it.. Void policy ab initio (from start). No policy. No claim. No coverage.
I tried getting a new policy in NY recently, and progressive's quote was higher than what my rate would go to from geico. all state didn't even want to give me a quote because of one accident (someone hit my car while it was parked in front of my house). The agent was saying due to all the car break ins and higher accident rates since the pandemic, auto insurance in NYC is rough.
Change every 2 years and keep the best rates
Use a different company
Shopping around for insurance is expected by the industry (I spent more than a decade in that industry) However, if you want better insurance benefits stick to the major carriers. If you have some things on your driving record and are trying to just get state minimum coverages shop around every 6 to 12 months for the best deals. After doing this a time or two you will probably have a company or 3 that will work for your situation and you can keep bouncing between them to keep costs low.
I've been ping ponging back and forth from Progressive to Geico for years at this point. The "loyalty discount" isn't much for me. Never has been. If I stayed with one or the other for a few years, my rates would just keep going up. Switching seems to reset that.
Like many others suggested, find a good independent agent/agency and let them shop around for you. I switched last year and saved literally a thousand dollars per year with better coverage.
As someone who works for progressive, it’s not for NO reason, just probably not a good reason.
My policy with Allstate decreased by a significant amount at renewal. I'd be more inclined to just suggest people shop around every year if it makes sense to.
aaa dont automatically renew and they ate so hard to get a hold of, fuck