Confused By Abnormally High Auto Insurance Quotes

[JackRyan709]

New to the forum here, so apologies in advance if I'm asking something that's often answered (I looked, I promise!). ;-)

I'm a 39 (nearly 40, ahh!) year old male who's never been in an at fault accident, never had any claims, and who hasn't had even as much as a speeding ticket in 10+ years. Lived in Nevada, just moved to Texas.

In short, the bulk of auto insurances quotes that I get from major companies are stupidly overpriced. $350 - 650 a month for a decent policy. I'm currently driving a new Subaru WRX, but I've been having this problem with the last several cars, including a car that had only what can be described as an excessively over priced (if not predatory priced) liability coverage for a 1984 Mercedes. Literally, I was paying $178+ a month for **liability** insurance on a 36 year old, $3500 car with 250,000 miles on it....that had a 0-60 time of about 5 years and pretty much a 0% chance of getting a speeding ticket.

The easy explanation was that there was a period of time that my credit score had taken a huge hit and I understand that's a determining factor. It shouldn't be. Having brief financial issues doesn't suddenly make someone a bad driver ("Oh, my FICO is a 570, geeze, let me run this stop sign!") -- nor should it be remotely more relevant of a risk factor than 20+ years of a clean driving record....nor should that even be legal to hit people when they're down, but it's at least an explanation.

The thing is, my credit has long since recovered. Wallet is full of Tier 1 credit cards. Decent interest rate on the car loan, on and on. The only thing that is still affected seems to be my car insurance rate.

Is there something that I'm missing? Something to look up to see why my risk factor is allegedly high, even though it shouldn't be?

 

[Al3x Lee]

New to the forum here, so apologies in advance if I'm asking something that's often answered (I looked, I promise!). ;-)

I'm a 39 (nearly 40, ahh!) year old male who's never been in an at fault accident, never had any claims, and who hasn't had even as much as a speeding ticket in 10+ years. Lived in Nevada, just moved to Texas.

In short, the bulk of auto insurances quotes that I get from major companies are stupidly overpriced. $350 - 650 a month for a decent policy. I'm currently driving a new Subaru WRX, but I've been having this problem with the last several cars, including a car that had only what can be described as an excessively over priced (if not predatory priced) liability coverage for a 1984 Mercedes. Literally, I was paying $178+ a month for **liability** insurance on a 36 year old, $3500 car with 250,000 miles on it....that had a 0-60 time of about 5 years and pretty much a 0% chance of getting a speeding ticket.

The easy explanation was that there was a period of time that my credit score had taken a huge hit and I understand that's a determining factor. It shouldn't be. Having brief financial issues doesn't suddenly make someone a bad driver ("Oh, my FICO is a 570, geeze, let me run this stop sign!") -- nor should it be remotely more relevant of a risk factor than 20+ years of a clean driving record....nor should that even be legal to hit people when they're down, but it's at least an explanation.

The thing is, my credit has long since recovered. Wallet is full of Tier 1 credit cards. Decent interest rate on the car loan, on and on. The only thing that is still affected seems to be my car insurance rate.

Is there something that I'm missing? Something to look up to see why my risk factor is allegedly high, even though it shouldn't be?

Hi Jack,

Good job on having a clean driving record. That is one of the factors that goes into determining your rate, the other factors can be confusing for those on the outside of the industry. The rates for things like the car you drive, your financial history, zip code you live in etc. etc. are not pulled out of thin air. There are actuaries in the insurance industry that compile data to determine risk. These people help keep the insurance companies profitable.

For example, if drivers of a brand new Subaru WRX have more instances of at fault accidents, the insurance rates will be higher to make up for the claims paid out.

On your 1984 Mercedes you are referring to $3,500 in value for the value of the vehicle. What you're not taking into account is what the liability cost would be in an accident. Let's say you have $500,000 CSL liability coverage and Personal Injury Protection and cause an accident. Data has shown that particular model of Mercedes is more likely to seriously kill or injure either occupants of another vehicle or yours. The risk is higher, therefore a higher rate will be applied.

The same logic is applied to your financial history. Although logically it can be stated that those with poor finances, either current or past, are not necessarily more likely to be in an accident, the fact is that statistically they are. Someone in these circumstances may even be more likely to try and commit insurance fraud, not necessarily because they're a bad person, but because they know it could involve a payout. i.e. you're broke and driving a car you can't afford, you total the car so you can collect a check from the insurance company to get out of your payments, you might even collect a settlement check.

What I'm trying to convey here is that there are a multitude of factors that determine the price you pay for insurance that aren't always immediately apparent.

 

[fed up]

Also take into account that Subarus are inherently safe, have all wheel drive, and nationally go through bad weather like a sure footed billy goat. They are also involved in more accidents because people drive them in crap weather. Your previous credit score is an indicator to underwriters that you are more likely to place a claim for something that could be handled out of pocket. Best advice to lower your premium is to raise your deductible to $1000 and find the carrier with the best price on reliability that you want to carry

 

[marindependent]

Welcome to the Forum!

never been in an at fault accident, never had any claims, and who hasn't had even as much as a speeding ticket in 10+ years.

Has this been confirmed by the insurance agents that you have worked with?

Have you had continuous auto insurance and a license for the past 5 / 10 years?

 

[Markthebroker]

New to the forum here, so apologies in advance if I'm asking something that's often answered (I looked, I promise!). ;-)

I'm a 39 (nearly 40, ahh!) year old male who's never been in an at fault accident, never had any claims, and who hasn't had even as much as a speeding ticket in 10+ years. Lived in Nevada, just moved to Texas.

In short, the bulk of auto insurances quotes that I get from major companies are stupidly overpriced. $350 - 650 a month for a decent policy. I'm currently driving a new Subaru WRX, but I've been having this problem with the last several cars, including a car that had only what can be described as an excessively over priced (if not predatory priced) liability coverage for a 1984 Mercedes. Literally, I was paying $178+ a month for **liability** insurance on a 36 year old, $3500 car with 250,000 miles on it....that had a 0-60 time of about 5 years and pretty much a 0% chance of getting a speeding ticket.

The easy explanation was that there was a period of time that my credit score had taken a huge hit and I understand that's a determining factor. It shouldn't be. Having brief financial issues doesn't suddenly make someone a bad driver ("Oh, my FICO is a 570, geeze, let me run this stop sign!") -- nor should it be remotely more relevant of a risk factor than 20+ years of a clean driving record....nor should that even be legal to hit people when they're down, but it's at least an explanation.

The thing is, my credit has long since recovered. Wallet is full of Tier 1 credit cards. Decent interest rate on the car loan, on and on. The only thing that is still affected seems to be my car insurance rate.

Is there something that I'm missing? Something to look up to see why my risk factor is allegedly high, even though it shouldn't be?

My only question is when are you releasing season 3 on Amazon Prime?

 

[adjusterjack]

When you buy a performance car, be prepared for the cost of insurance.

From Suburu's website.

Suburu WRX:
The rally legend for the next generation.
271 HP, 258 lb-ft torque.
Track Tuned Suspension.
Aggressive - rally inspired design.
Born to perform
Turbocharged
6 Speed performance transmission
Designed for endless fun
The WRX represents decades of rally racing experience translated and re-engineered for unleashed power, precision handling, and thrilling performance.

 

[Markthebroker]

Lol

Subaru: "Rally legend, 271 HP, 258 lb-ft torque, Track Tuned Suspension, Aggressive - rally inspired design,Born to perform, Turbocharged"

Insured: "I don't understand why my insurance is so high!?"

Lol. I don't mean to be mean, but this is just really funny to me.

Also, for what it's worth, I have seen a direct inverse correlation between financial responsibility and points on a driving record. The better a person is at paying bills, the cleaner their driving record. The worse their driving record, the more likely they are to miss payments. I'm not making any judgements, just a history of facts.

 

[ehall2]

Hi Jack,
If you aren't in the insurance industry you don't know the intricacies involved in rating. The rating formula has exceeded what a human can do and it is rated by computer. You mentioned you don't have any accidents on your record but in my state of Georgia if you have a not at fault accident your rate will increase with Progressive. In addition to your credit score here are other factors considered. How long you have lived at your address, how long you have owned your vehicle, zip code, make and model of vehicle and how many miles you drive per year, and yes they even have a report that shows how many miles per year you drive. Every company I know is going to raise rates this year. Current rates were based on the value of vehicles but the price they companies have to pay to replace or repair today has skyrocketed. I know this doesn't help but this is the way it is today.

 

[fed up]

Jack Ryan went poof, just like the TV show

 

[marindependent]

Jack Ryan went poof, just like the TV show

I think he was just upset that his 15 minutes couldnt save him 15% or more.