Auto Insurance... WTF is Going on? And what's the best way to shop around?

[NextTime]

I know, inflation blah blah blah.

I've been with Geico for about 4 years now.
My rate just went from $85/month the last 6 months to $116 for the next 6 months. That's a 36% increase.
Called them up and he verified we've had no accidents, no tickets, no claims or changes in years.
He then told me it's just inflation and it's gone up across the board.

In 2021 I was paying $68/month, so in 3 years it's up 70% without a single ding on our records.

So. What's the best way to shop around, because I'm not buying this 36% inflation bullshit.

[dcheesi]

On the one hand, that's still a very good rate. I'm paying more than that w/ Progressive, for a single older vehicle and a good record.

OTOH, it does seem like a fast increase.

Maybe they're raising everyone's rates by a fixed $ amount, and you just happen to feel it the most because your rate is lower to start with?

[snic]

Contact a local insurance broker that works with many insurance companies. A good one will know the market inside and out and will be able to get you the best deal, usually better than you can get by walking into a State Farm office or whatever. They may encourage you to move your homeowners or renters insurance to them as well as often there is a multi-line discount.

I've been *very* pleased with my agent. She answers my questions very quickly and accurately, and when I complain about the rate she does the shopping for me and/or figures out things to change to get a better value.

There is nothing to stop you from talking with two or three brokers, as well as calling up Geico etc. Just be aware that insurance is complex and it's hard to make apples-to-apples comparisons.

[Gremlin]

There's a lot of inflation worldwide in auto insurance right now.  The supply chain issues for the motor vehicle industry is having a spillover effect into the second hand and parts industries.  Poor availability of replacement parts is driving up repair costs very significantly, which is driving up insurance costs very significantly.

[rosarugosa]

I learned this on another forum, and it has literally saved me thousands of dollars over the last several years.  Insurance companies will raise your rates year after year, and unless you are interested in subsidizing their bottom line, you need to shop around and switch carriers every few years.  It's like the complete opposite of a loyalty reward; it's an actual loyalty or inertia penalty to stay with the same carrier.  As mentioned upthread, we have a broker who works with several companies, and he does the actual comparison shopping for us when I request it. 

[ATtiny85]

I learned this on another forum, and it has literally saved me thousands of dollars over the last several years.  Insurance companies will raise your rates year after year, and unless you are interested in subsidizing their bottom line, you need to shop around and switch carriers every few years.  It's like the complete opposite of a loyalty reward; it's an actual loyalty or inertia penalty to stay with the same carrier.  As mentioned upthread, we have a broker who works with several companies, and he does the actual comparison shopping for us when I request it.

A concern/question that I have is whether there is any impact to how you are treated if you actually have to use it. I have been with USAA insurance just shy of 30 years. I have had to call them four times, three vehicles (one deer, one case of me driving off a mountain road, and one other guy accident when he ran a stop sign and got creamed by me) and one house roof. Each time I received what I consider wonderful service in what is almost by definition a stressful time.

Every time I read a thread about someone having difficulty with an insurance claim I wonder if they have jumped every year or so. I have read cases of people having trouble getting through on the phone. I can get a person within a minute or so, so also wonder if they are impacted due to either jumping around, or simply due to the low costs. I just don’t know, nor do I see any method of answering the questions. So I stay with USAA. Rates have not really moved in many years.

Just thought I would put my experience (?) and thoughts down.

[snic]

I learned this on another forum, and it has literally saved me thousands of dollars over the last several years.  Insurance companies will raise your rates year after year, and unless you are interested in subsidizing their bottom line, you need to shop around and switch carriers every few years.  It's like the complete opposite of a loyalty reward; it's an actual loyalty or inertia penalty to stay with the same carrier.  As mentioned upthread, we have a broker who works with several companies, and he does the actual comparison shopping for us when I request it.

A concern/question that I have is whether there is any impact to how you are treated if you actually have to use it. I have been with USAA insurance just shy of 30 years. I have had to call them four times, three vehicles (one deer, one case of me driving off a mountain road, and one other guy accident when he ran a stop sign and got creamed by me) and one house roof. Each time I received what I consider wonderful service in what is almost by definition a stressful time.

Every time I read a thread about someone having difficulty with an insurance claim I wonder if they have jumped every year or so. I have read cases of people having trouble getting through on the phone. I can get a person within a minute or so, so also wonder if they are impacted due to either jumping around, or simply due to the low costs. I just don’t know, nor do I see any method of answering the questions. So I stay with USAA. Rates have not really moved in many years.

Just thought I would put my experience (?) and thoughts down.

Well, you sort of answered your main question - you filed several claims and your rates didn't jump.

And you can actually get good answers to your questions by asking the right people. Again, an independent insurance agent will typically give you straight answers about insurance-related questions. My guess is that accidents in which you're not at fault won't increase your rates, whereas at-fault accidents would - but this may vary by state and local market, and agents would know the answer for your specific area.

Different insurance companies provide different customer experiences, which would explain why some people say they wait on the phone to talk to someone and others get treated well. When I hit a deer a while back, the entire process was easy and relatively painless. That was with a relatively small insurance company that my agent set me up with. But dealing with State Farm, who provides insurance for my elderly mother, has been much more aggravating. She has a local agent who is quite good, but any time something has to go through "corporate", it takes forever. Two years ago, they sent a premium refund check, which never got cashed due to my mother's disability at the time. To this day I am still trying to get them to replace the check.

[Dicey]

I third snic and rosarugosa. Our independent agent has saved us a ton of money. She figured out a not-obvious affiliation because of DH's work and set us up with a highly rated company that few have ever heard of, because they don't waste millions on advertising.

[simonsez]

I hear about catalytic converters being stolen all the time now.  Something about the rare earth metals in there that are already super valuable normally but prices spiked during the pandemic with supply chain issues causing prices of rhodium and palladium to be higher still.  Anyway, I wonder what % of the price increases were pure profit vs. inflation vs. how much was due to higher rates of theft/claims being made?

Check out the 10Y graphs:
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/rhodium
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/palladium

You'd think that overall number of driving accidents would've gone down during the pandemic with fewer drivers, on average, on the roads.  But if a vehicle is parked for weeks on a residential side street, now it becomes a valuable sitting duck to thieves.

Note: for those worried without a garage, it's best to NOT have a vehicle with high clearance so it's harder for thieves to get underneath and snip the housing.  So another Mustachian "win" for those that don't default to the huge SUVs and stay with smaller lower to the ground sedans and coupes.

It sucks to shop around for insurance, but that's the game.

[Miss Piggy]

I hear about catalytic converters being stolen all the time now.  Something about the rare earth metals in there that are already super valuable normally but prices spiked during the pandemic with supply chain issues causing prices of rhodium and palladium to be higher still.  Anyway, I wonder what % of the price increases were pure profit vs. inflation vs. how much was due to higher rates of theft/claims being made?

Yep. And in my area, car break-ins are a new way to make a living for some thieves. They are prolific. Anything visible in your car? Plan to come back to broken windows and...well...nothing visible in your car anymore.

Sometimes it's really hard to not hate people.

[snic]

I hear about catalytic converters being stolen all the time now.  Something about the rare earth metals in there that are already super valuable normally but prices spiked during the pandemic with supply chain issues causing prices of rhodium and palladium to be higher still.  Anyway, I wonder what % of the price increases were pure profit vs. inflation vs. how much was due to higher rates of theft/claims being made?

Check out the 10Y graphs:
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/rhodium
https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/palladium

You'd think that overall number of driving accidents would've gone down during the pandemic with fewer drivers, on average, on the roads.  But if a vehicle is parked for weeks on a residential side street, now it becomes a valuable sitting duck to thieves.

Note: for those worried without a garage, it's best to NOT have a vehicle with high clearance so it's harder for thieves to get underneath and snip the housing.  So another Mustachian "win" for those that don't default to the huge SUVs and stay with smaller lower to the ground sedans and coupes.

It sucks to shop around for insurance, but that's the game.

If cat thefts are rampant in your area, you might be able to get an insurance discount by installing a cat shield https://catshield.com/. (Meow?)

[BlueMR2]

Ouch, yeah, auto insurance definitely spiked end of 2022.  Mid-2022 they actually lowered it slightly and issued a refund.  Then end of year we got nailed with a 40% increase.

[pdxvandal]

I was with Geico for many years and they also planned to raise my rates in a similar way last year. I called a local State Farm rep and signed up to put the driving tracker in my car. Probably paying 25% less than even before Geico wanted to raise my rates. I do like having a local insurance agent compared to contacting someone in Virginia or wherever if I need to file a claim.

[Villanelle]

Lots of car break-ins around me, too.

And yet people still keep their garages so full of stuff that many (most?) can't fit even 1 car in their 2 car garage.  Our 2 cars (I know, I know) are parked safely in our 2 car garage, so the petty thieves looking to ransack a car for valuables or to snag some parts they can sell for a nice profit don't see my vehicles as easy prey.  They don't see them at all.

Not that anyone deserves to have their car broken into. But there's a clear mitigation available to them--the garage-and they don't avail themselves of it.

[jac941]

You'd think that overall number of driving accidents would've gone down during the pandemic with fewer drivers, on average, on the roads.

I don’t know what happened to the crash rate, but motor vehicle crash related fatalities went UP during the pandemic. Dramatically. Both in an absolute sense and by rate per mile traveled. And it hasn’t returned to pre pandemic levels. It in fact appears to be continuing to increase.

I don’t foresee insurance rates decreasing when serious crashes are increasing. Insurance companies are in the business of making money based on calculated risks, and the risks have gone up a lot since 2020. Car break ins and catalytic converter thefts are small potatoes compared to a single serious injury or fatality crash for an insurance company.

Shop around, but I would expect car insurance rates to continue to increase.

Source NHTSA:
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813283

[Dicey]

Lots of car break-ins around me, too.

And yet people still keep their garages so full of stuff that many (most?) can't fit even 1 car in their 2 car garage.  Our 2 cars (I know, I know) are parked safely in our 2 car garage, so the petty thieves looking to ransack a car for valuables or to snag some parts they can sell for a nice profit don't see my vehicles as easy prey.  They don't see them at all.

Not that anyone deserves to have their car broken into. But there's a clear mitigation available to them--the garage-and they don't avail themselves of it.

We have a huge garage that we do not use for storing cars. Why? We want the cars parked in the driveway so it looks like someone's home. A house break-in would be a greater loss. Think car thieves are bold? House robberies have skyrocketed, too.

What passes me off is that nothing is being done to find and prosecute the resellers of the catalytic converters. Seems it would be a lot more cost effective to stop the problem at the source.

[chemistk]

Contact a local insurance broker that works with many insurance companies. A good one will know the market inside and out and will be able to get you the best deal, usually better than you can get by walking into a State Farm office or whatever. They may encourage you to move your homeowners or renters insurance to them as well as often there is a multi-line discount.

I've been *very* pleased with my agent. She answers my questions very quickly and accurately, and when I complain about the rate she does the shopping for me and/or figures out things to change to get a better value.

There is nothing to stop you from talking with two or three brokers, as well as calling up Geico etc. Just be aware that insurance is complex and it's hard to make apples-to-apples comparisons.

I just want to chime in here and say that YMMV with brokers - my wife and I originally had our first car insurance policy with a broker who was very nice, but ultimately wasn't able to secure us the best deals that we were able to find (with decent insurance companies). I think we ended up saving ~$10 a month by 'going it on our own' with our renter's policy. Predictably, our rates started to go up and she had less wiggle room to try and find ways to save without completely sacrificing her commission.

We left that brokerage and started just purchasing 'directly' through the insurance companies' websites. 6 months later, we received solicitations from her brokerage and another, encouraging us to come back, but the rates they were offering were ~15% higher than what we were able to do on our own.

This might just be state-specific, or it could have been because of the specific policies of those brokers - I really don't know. When we purchased our house 2 years ago, we did end up going through a brokerage for our homeowner's policy, one because the brokerage offered underwriting through a local property insurer that's known to be very good, but primarily because we receive (and will continue to do so indefinitely) a discount for using this particular brokerage as part of the purchase process through our Realtor. If this hadn't been the case, I wouldn't have gone with a brokerage.

The other thing to consider, and it's definitely worth considering for folks on these forums, is that when you take your policy through a brokerage you typically cede control of your policy to your agent. For some, this is fine, but for others (like me) who want as much control over their coverages as possible, it's a big drawback. If I want to raise the deductibles on my cars on a whim on a Saturday evening, I'd like to do so without 1) waiting for the office to be open and 2) being lectured on why that's inadvisable. It already irks me enough that I don't have that flexibility on our homeowner's policy and it's enough of a bother that despite the discount, I do see myself eventually dropping the broker and just handling it myself.

I will also admit, that I generally do not find any enjoyment in working with salespeople (other than in a professional setting), and I tend to view insurance brokers as salespeople first and foremost.

-----

To the original question - our rates with GEICO went up pretty much identically. We did have an accident (to which I admitted fault to GEICO - it was indisputably my fault) which may have played into that, but I do agree with others here that insurance is probably just going to go up in general. Switching will save you money, but there's little reward for loyalty these days with the national insurers. I was speaking with a phone agent from our previous insurer (Nationwide) a few years ago who even admitted that there's no reward for sticking with a particular insurer for more than a few years - at least when it comes to the national ones. 

I'd encourage you, in your search, to find out which companies will have better customer support and more comprehensive coverage where you live. There are national trends, and there are local trends as well. Across all my interactions with insurers, the most impactful positive experiences come from companies who have agents and customer support that are prompt, helpful, and willing to work with you in a given situation.

[snic]

Contact a local insurance broker that works with many insurance companies. A good one will know the market inside and out and will be able to get you the best deal, usually better than you can get by walking into a State Farm office or whatever. They may encourage you to move your homeowners or renters insurance to them as well as often there is a multi-line discount.

I've been *very* pleased with my agent. She answers my questions very quickly and accurately, and when I complain about the rate she does the shopping for me and/or figures out things to change to get a better value.

There is nothing to stop you from talking with two or three brokers, as well as calling up Geico etc. Just be aware that insurance is complex and it's hard to make apples-to-apples comparisons.

I just want to chime in here and say that YMMV with brokers - my wife and I originally had our first car insurance policy with a broker who was very nice, but ultimately wasn't able to secure us the best deals that we were able to find (with decent insurance companies). I think we ended up saving ~$10 a month by 'going it on our own' with our renter's policy. Predictably, our rates started to go up and she had less wiggle room to try and find ways to save without completely sacrificing her commission.

We left that brokerage and started just purchasing 'directly' through the insurance companies' websites. 6 months later, we received solicitations from her brokerage and another, encouraging us to come back, but the rates they were offering were ~15% higher than what we were able to do on our own.

This might just be state-specific, or it could have been because of the specific policies of those brokers - I really don't know. When we purchased our house 2 years ago, we did end up going through a brokerage for our homeowner's policy, one because the brokerage offered underwriting through a local property insurer that's known to be very good, but primarily because we receive (and will continue to do so indefinitely) a discount for using this particular brokerage as part of the purchase process through our Realtor. If this hadn't been the case, I wouldn't have gone with a brokerage.

The other thing to consider, and it's definitely worth considering for folks on these forums, is that when you take your policy through a brokerage you typically cede control of your policy to your agent. For some, this is fine, but for others (like me) who want as much control over their coverages as possible, it's a big drawback. If I want to raise the deductibles on my cars on a whim on a Saturday evening, I'd like to do so without 1) waiting for the office to be open and 2) being lectured on why that's inadvisable. It already irks me enough that I don't have that flexibility on our homeowner's policy and it's enough of a bother that despite the discount, I do see myself eventually dropping the broker and just handling it myself.

I will also admit, that I generally do not find any enjoyment in working with salespeople (other than in a professional setting), and I tend to view insurance brokers as salespeople first and foremost.

-----

To the original question - our rates with GEICO went up pretty much identically. We did have an accident (to which I admitted fault to GEICO - it was indisputably my fault) which may have played into that, but I do agree with others here that insurance is probably just going to go up in general. Switching will save you money, but there's little reward for loyalty these days with the national insurers. I was speaking with a phone agent from our previous insurer (Nationwide) a few years ago who even admitted that there's no reward for sticking with a particular insurer for more than a few years - at least when it comes to the national ones. 

I'd encourage you, in your search, to find out which companies will have better customer support and more comprehensive coverage where you live. There are national trends, and there are local trends as well. Across all my interactions with insurers, the most impactful positive experiences come from companies who have agents and customer support that are prompt, helpful, and willing to work with you in a given situation.

Of course YMMV with brokers as with anything else. One thing I appreciate about my broker is that she knows about smaller insurance companies I've never heard of. Some of them seem to compete on price and I never would have known to contact them on my own. And re salejobs - well, yes, their primary job is to sell you insurance, but that is true of the agents at large companies as well. The smart ones know which of their customers appreciate not having to put up with sales BS and would rather get the facts and make their own decisions. One example: I recently moved my mother to an assisted living facility near where I live, so I asked my broker about a rental policy for her. She explained all the reasons why it wasn't a good idea, instead of selling us something we don't need. It pays to shop around to find a good one.

[Villanelle]

Lots of car break-ins around me, too.

And yet people still keep their garages so full of stuff that many (most?) can't fit even 1 car in their 2 car garage.  Our 2 cars (I know, I know) are parked safely in our 2 car garage, so the petty thieves looking to ransack a car for valuables or to snag some parts they can sell for a nice profit don't see my vehicles as easy prey.  They don't see them at all.

Not that anyone deserves to have their car broken into. But there's a clear mitigation available to them--the garage-and they don't avail themselves of it.

We have a huge garage that we do not use for storing cars. Why? We want the cars parked in the driveway so it looks like someone's home. A house break-in would be a greater loss. Think car thieves are bold? House robberies have skyrocketed, too.

What passes me off is that nothing is being done to find and prosecute the resellers of the catalytic converters. Seems it would be a lot more cost effective to stop the problem at the source.

I hear nothing about home break-ins in my area, so I think that's not a reason.  And I know by walking my neighborhood and seeing opened garage doors that almost no one could fit 2 cars in the garage, and many couldn't fit 1.

Also, if anything I'd think parking the cars in the driveway just helps any thief paying attention.  If you usually have cars parked in the driveway and they are gone, you've announced very clearly that you are away.  For me, "cars not in driveway" isn't a sign we are gone because there are never cars in the driveway (or at our direct curb).  Any thief who spends a few days researching homes will know that and presumably target a neighbor who clearly does signal when they are gone because their driveway and curb cars announce that quite well.

[wenchsenior]

Same thing happened over the past year with Allstate, too. Also the same thing on homeowner's rates, though not as pronounced.

[Dicey]

Lots of car break-ins around me, too.

And yet people still keep their garages so full of stuff that many (most?) can't fit even 1 car in their 2 car garage.  Our 2 cars (I know, I know) are parked safely in our 2 car garage, so the petty thieves looking to ransack a car for valuables or to snag some parts they can sell for a nice profit don't see my vehicles as easy prey.  They don't see them at all.

Not that anyone deserves to have their car broken into. But there's a clear mitigation available to them--the garage-and they don't avail themselves of it.

We have a huge garage that we do not use for storing cars. Why? We want the cars parked in the driveway so it looks like someone's home. A house break-in would be a greater loss. Think car thieves are bold? House robberies have skyrocketed, too.

What passes me off is that nothing is being done to find and prosecute the resellers of the catalytic converters. Seems it would be a lot more cost effective to stop the problem at the source.

I hear nothing about home break-ins in my area, so I think that's not a reason.  And I know by walking my neighborhood and seeing opened garage doors that almost no one could fit 2 cars in the garage, and many couldn't fit 1.

Also, if anything I'd think parking the cars in the driveway just helps any thief paying attention.  If you usually have cars parked in the driveway and they are gone, you've announced very clearly that you are away.  For me, "cars not in driveway" isn't a sign we are gone because there are never cars in the driveway (or at our direct curb).  Any thief who spends a few days researching homes will know that and presumably target a neighbor who clearly does signal when they are gone because their driveway and curb cars announce that quite well.

Sure, do what works for you. Every area is different. We have more vehicles than drivers, and we move them around frequently. In our case, it's moving the RV out of the driveway that's the real giveaway, but parking it in an offsite garage runs $365/month and it's inconveniently located. MPP, I guess.