Author Topic: Getting Auto Insurance after not owning a car for a long time  (Read 878 times)

rantk81

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Getting Auto Insurance after not owning a car for a long time
« on: January 30, 2022, 08:29:03 AM »
Hi - I'm hoping someone else might have similar experiences as this, and could offer some suggestions, please.

The last time I owned a car was in 2014.  I moved to downtown Chicago in 2014, so I got rid of my car, and hence, haven't had auto insurance since then either.

Well, I finally now want to move out of the city, so I figure I need a vehicle in order to make it more convenient to shop for houses.  So I bought a cheap used vehicle.

I tried to get it insured with Allstate.  (I've had Allstate ever since 2005 when I bought my first condo, and since then, have had a combination of owner condo policies, rental condo policies, and auto policies.)  I'd never made any claims on any policy with any home/auto insurer in my entire life.  I've also reached that "magic" 40 year age plateau.

Well, despite all this, the Allstate underwriters' math seems to think I'm a particularly high risk, merely because I haven't had any auto insurance recently.  So much so, that they don't even want to cover me at any price, apparently.

I know that some people usually shop for insurance rates on a regular basis.  For me, personally, it didn't seem worth the effort to shop around, to save a few bucks each year -- so I kind of just stayed with Allstate.  In the past, Allstate made it quick and easy to deal with paying bills, changing policies, etc.   Well, now that has changed.  If they're going to make me do leg-work, then I'm going to be "breaking up" with them finally.

I guess this is a long-winded way of describing my situation, and asking what insurance options I should be seeking out?  Would it be a waste of time to try to get a policy with another "top tier" insurance company (such as State Farm, Nationwide, Farmers, Progressive, etc.)?  Will I need to be scraping the bottom of the barrel (at least for the next 6 months) with lesser known companies?  If that's the case, are a lot of those "auto-only" insurance companies, in which case would I also need to shop around for a separate company to cover my condo too?

Any advice would be appreciated!


lutorm

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Re: Getting Auto Insurance after not owning a car for a long time
« Reply #1 on: January 30, 2022, 12:49:12 PM »
I don't have any special insight, but this sounds surprising to me. I'd definitely shop around, there can be substantial differences in underwriting, especially if you're somehow "fringe".

I assume you were only looking at liability coverage?

SailingOnASmallSailboat

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Re: Getting Auto Insurance after not owning a car for a long time
« Reply #2 on: January 30, 2022, 12:58:12 PM »
I'd also call Allstate back. Different people from the same company often offer surprisingly different options. Or even escalate, being polite. Being a customer of theirs for a number of years should get you at least the courtesy of a manager's ear. IMO anyway.

PMG

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Re: Getting Auto Insurance after not owning a car for a long time
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2022, 01:07:44 PM »
I went thru this after being car free. We still pay a higher premium a couple years later, though that might also be due to adding my spouse who immigrated and they don’t seem to recognize his foreign license and consider him as a new driver.  I’d try all the big companies, geico, progressive etc.  I know I  couldn’t sign up online, I had to speak to someone at each one.

Sibley

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Re: Getting Auto Insurance after not owning a car for a long time
« Reply #4 on: January 30, 2022, 02:34:51 PM »
Get quotes from multiple companies. Each company is entitled to set their own underwriting requirements and sometimes that doesn't work out for you. Similar issues happen with old houses. Just get more quotes. After a couple years of having insurance you won't have this problem anymore, just depends on each company's policies.

Just Joe

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Re: Getting Auto Insurance after not owning a car for a long time
« Reply #5 on: January 31, 2022, 11:42:47 AM »
Don't know about the state where you live but in my state there are Insurance agencies that specialize in providing insurance from multiple sources. They can help you find insurance that is a better fit for you.

I faced the same thing many years ago when I moved back to the states. My old insurance company didn't want to insure me so they were giving me rates similar to a high risk driver.

So, I went down the street and found a different company.

We use a national name brand company and they reliably give us excellent rates (no wrecks, no tickets, no claims). A relative in a different city, same state - claims that this same company is unaffordable. Same background - no wrecks, no tickets, no claims. They use a different brand.

So shop around. What works for me might not work for you, etc. 

I just had a thought - we have stuck with the same company for 20+ years. My relative changes companies every few years using one of those insurance agencies that represent multiple brands. Maybe they get a short term discount by changing brands but they don't build the longer term relationship with a company that might get them discounts.

Sibley

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Re: Getting Auto Insurance after not owning a car for a long time
« Reply #6 on: January 31, 2022, 02:24:12 PM »
Don't know about the state where you live but in my state there are Insurance agencies that specialize in providing insurance from multiple sources. They can help you find insurance that is a better fit for you.

I faced the same thing many years ago when I moved back to the states. My old insurance company didn't want to insure me so they were giving me rates similar to a high risk driver.

So, I went down the street and found a different company.

We use a national name brand company and they reliably give us excellent rates (no wrecks, no tickets, no claims). A relative in a different city, same state - claims that this same company is unaffordable. Same background - no wrecks, no tickets, no claims. They use a different brand.

So shop around. What works for me might not work for you, etc. 

I just had a thought - we have stuck with the same company for 20+ years. My relative changes companies every few years using one of those insurance agencies that represent multiple brands. Maybe they get a short term discount by changing brands but they don't build the longer term relationship with a company that might get them discounts.

I think your relative is right, and you are stuck several decades ago. The insurance company doesn't care about you. You are a data point. Your insurance agent might care - but they don't set the rates. So, you're free to stay with the same company, just don't tell others that shopping around is going to hurt them. Because it won't, and not shopping around probably has hurt you.

jfer_rose

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Re: Getting Auto Insurance after not owning a car for a long time
« Reply #7 on: January 31, 2022, 03:35:34 PM »
I bought my first ever vehicle about a year ago at the age of 43. I got quotes from several different companies and went with the cheapest one (none I tried were unwilling to insure me). Try a different company, someone will take your money.

Just Joe

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Re: Getting Auto Insurance after not owning a car for a long time
« Reply #8 on: February 01, 2022, 12:27:41 PM »
I think your relative is right, and you are stuck several decades ago. The insurance company doesn't care about you. You are a data point. Your insurance agent might care - but they don't set the rates. So, you're free to stay with the same company, just don't tell others that shopping around is going to hurt them. Because it won't, and not shopping around probably has hurt you.

Actually a couple of years ago I did shop around and nobody beat the rates - not enough to go through the hassle of changing insurers. I mean maybe the other brands would save me $100 per year on house and multiple cars.