Recently shopped my insurance...wow.

[RearAdmiral]

I currently use nationwide for home / auto. My costs are $1600 and ~$3500 / year respectively. I started to first shop for collector car insurance for my viper. Which would have reduced my yearly cost on that car to ~$820 from ~$1550. I then decided to shop my entire policies and I wound up on Lib. mutual's site. Lawd what a potential savings:

Home = $1027 / year instead of 1600
Auto w/ viper = $1222 / year instead of 3500.
Auto w/o viper(get agreed value through collector car insurance) = $876 + 820 from agreed value insurance.
Lib. mutual + collector = $1696 / year.

So my yearly savings could be in the order of:

Home = $573
Auto = $2278 or $1804
Total= $2851 or $2377

All of this is with equivalent or better coverage. In fact I added a couple extra insurance things(jewelry / home computer) or increased some limits(liability if I get sued for instance). Frankly it is such an absurd difference and I am shocked. Of course it will go up after some initial customer discounts wear off but it is still a huge difference. I also currently am in the Farm Bureau to get a discount from nationwide, and that is another $70 or so a year I could not pay.

Anyone have results like this?

 

[shortylickens]

I've got USAA.

Dirt cheap and they take very good care of me.

 

[nakedfrog]

Do you actually drive the Viper in way that complies with collector insurance? IIRC when I looked at it before it was kind of restrictive.

 

[highland145]

Yep, left State farm after 30 years and saved $800/yr with auto owners. New premium for the house/cars went up $200 this year. I'll be shopping again before the next time it's due.

 

[snoopy7548]

Dang. Your auto insurance was $3.5k/year? How many tickets/accidents did you have and where do you live?

My home insurance is somewhere around $700-800/year, and my auto is around $650/year, but I don't drive a fancy car. I've been with Liberty Mutual for maybe eight or nine years and haven't shopped around, though I should because my insurance keeps going up with zero claims and tickets/accidents. My home insurance six years ago was around $550, and my car insurance was around $500 I think.

 

[lxskllr]

Yep, left State farm after 30 years and saved $800/yr with auto owners. New premium for the house/cars went up $200 this year. I'll be shopping again before the next time it's due.

Why do they do that shit? I suppose the answer is "Cause the can", and their data probably indicates most people will stay instead of switching, but it's kinda lame. Insurance is one of the few places where loyalty is punished.

 

[Red Squirrel]

When I first bought my house I got home insurance through a local company. $170/mo, did not think much of it. At some later point I decided to shop around, and got a quote for like $45/mo. I just signed up on the spot. Did not realize how badly I was getting robbed by the first company. At the time I was under 25 so there was no way I could insure the car under my name so it was under my dad's name and I just paid him the difference.

Now I pay around $133 for house AND car together.

Before I turned 25 I had no choice but to keep the car in my parents' name. The insurance company wanted like $400/mo it was ridiculous.

 

[ponyo]

Yep, I was with State Farm for over 20 years and finally got tired of them jacking up my rates and switched to Amica like 2 years ago. Saved well over $2k a year with better coverage on home, auto, and umbrella. This thread reminded me I need to deposit the yearly dividend check I received from Amica. I remember when State Farm used to send me dividend checks. That was years ago when State Farm used to be better.

 

[TXHokie]

I shop around every year or two. Insurance company idea of loyalty is that they hope they can screw their current customers by increasing prices every year and you don't switch. Alternately the first year you switch is always the cheapest and will definitely increase next renewal cycle and thereafter. The Allstate agent actually told me one time the only way they can get me lower price is to go away a year and then come back. They don't even try to match.

That being said, check to make sure the insurance company you switch to is good for their word and reputable at paying when you have to make a claim. I made the mistake of switching to a home insurance policy that was cheaper and then had some roof damage due to hailstorm. My neighbor had his insurance come out and replaced the roof within a week. I had to fight with mine for two months and ended up with no replacement roof but made repairs out of pocket. So much for savings.

 

[Herr Kutz]

I shop around periodically for car insurance and liberty mututal is always several times higher than the lowest quote I receive. The lowest insurance quote I receive is usually in the $700/6mo range and liberty mututal is usually in the 2k+/6mo range for the exact same coverage.

 

[highland145]

Why do they do that shit? I suppose the answer is "Cause the can", and their data probably indicates most people will stay instead of switching, but it's kinda lame. Insurance is one of the few places where loyalty is punished.

1 hail damage claim in all of that time.

And I need to remember Amica next go round.

 

[ponyo]

1 hail damage claim in all of that time.

And I need to remember Amica next go round.

Every year Amica is rated among the top 2 best insurance companies along with USAA. Since I'm not military or related to military family, I can't join USAA. I figure Amica is my best bet. Clark Howard loves Amica. https://clark.com/insurance/best-auto-insurance-companies/

State Farm is usually rated middle pack or towards the bottom.

 

[Fritzo]

Protip- Log into your auto insurance website and look for cheap options. Progressive didn't offer it to me, but they have "Premium car rental" for an extra $1 a month, free windshield replacement for $1, and a $250 deductible was only $5 more.

I got into a fender bender two months ago and they gave me a Cadillac CTS to drive for two weeks

 

[Skel]

I've got USAA.

Dirt cheap and they take very good care of me.

Me too, there is no better insurance than USAA.

 

[paperfist]

Every year Amica is rated among the top 2 best insurance companies along with USAA. Since I'm not military or related to military family, I can't join USAA. I figure Amica is my best bet. Clark Howard loves Amica. https://clark.com/insurance/best-auto-insurance-companies/

State Farm is usually rated middle pack or towards the bottom.

Pretty sure you can still join, I’m not military and was able to use their investment programs a couple of years ago.

Liberty quotes were higher for my auto than Travelers. Travelers was the lowest but then they did 2 price increases. Haven’t found lower yet, but thanks for this thread!

 

[RearAdmiral]

Do you actually drive the Viper in way that complies with collector insurance? IIRC when I looked at it before it was kind of restrictive.

Yes, according to Grundy and their reps. They are not super restrictive. I can drive it to work occasionally and for pleasure drives, just not for errands and such. I don't put many miles on it / year.

Dang. Your auto insurance was $3.5k/year? How many tickets/accidents did you have and where do you live?

Yes. Three cars, live in eastern PA and commute mostly in NJ. Zero tickets, 2 comp. claims(deer), 1 hit and run against my wife's car. I signed up with Nationwide when I started to drive and when I bought my house. I'm in my 30's now, married, etc so I guess underwriter stuff can change quite a bit...why would nationwide lower my rates if I keep paying.

 

[RearAdmiral]

Every year Amica is rated among the top 2 best insurance companies along with USAA. Since I'm not military or related to military family, I can't join USAA. I figure Amica is my best bet. Clark Howard loves Amica. https://clark.com/insurance/best-auto-insurance-companies/

State Farm is usually rated middle pack or towards the bottom.

Amica was pretty pricey for me, even more than I'm currently paying. I can't get USAA either

 

[olds]

I've got USAA.

Dirt cheap and they take very good care of me.

This

 

[kt]

Amica was pretty pricey for me, even more than I'm currently paying. I can't get USAA either

I just got a quote from Amica and my jaw dropped. Amica's quote is more than twice my current insurance AFTER they already jacked up the price on the renewal. How is that even possible?

 

[paperfist]

You guys ever try https://autoandhome.selectquote.com/

They shop around your policy for the lowest rates. Worked a couple of times for me.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Honestly everytime my policy renews and the price went up by more than $20 I'll at least take a peak and shop at a couple. It's something I do all the time.

 

[Brainonska511]

July last year, I switched my auto in NY from State Farm to Allstate, which resulted in a savings of ~$500 (~$1400 for full coverage on a 2012 Fusion through Allstate). I then had to shop around 3 months later when I moved to Massachusetts - settled with Geico and got an additional savings (now at ~$1050/year for equivalent coverage)

 

[Scarpozzi]

I'm using an insurance company that's about a quarter of a mile from my house. My biggest complaint is that my mortgage lender forces me to use an escrow account. Prior to my last refinance, I paid all my taxes/insurance out of pocket. I've tracked their increases, but it's a pain to change my escrow account because it's already setup and has been making payments on time. It's like, I'm afraid to touch it. One of these days, I'll probably bump my coverage up and add even more life insurance...but plan on waiting on my escrow requirement to go away in 4-5 years.

 

[nakedfrog]

I'm using an insurance company that's about a quarter of a mile from my house. My biggest complaint is that my mortgage lender forces me to use an escrow account. Prior to my last refinance, I paid all my taxes/insurance out of pocket. I've tracked their increases, but it's a pain to change my escrow account because it's already setup and has been making payments on time. It's like, I'm afraid to touch it. One of these days, I'll probably bump my coverage up and add even more life insurance...but plan on waiting on my escrow requirement to go away in 4-5 years.

Isn't it pretty standard for mortgage lenders to force you to use an escrow account?

 

[Scarpozzi]

Isn't it pretty standard for mortgage lenders to force you to use an escrow account?

I've been with the same credit union for many years and didn't have that problem. The last time I refinanced, I got tagged with it in 2012... Their change in policy was a result of the junk from 2008 and trying to insulate themselves from people that don't pay their home owner's insurance.