Geico increased my 6 month auto insurance premium by $600

[Markthebroker]

I understand that no driving record can bump up the premium but this is ridiculous.

I'm not trying to be funny or sarcastic, I'm really curious your thought process on this. When you say they are being ridiculous, what were you expecting when you bought insurance from a company that has tv commercials with actors dressed like cavemen and a talking lizard?

 

[Allen Trent]

actors dressed like cavemen and a talking lizard?

So, you are trying to tell me some super tiny midget actor squeezes into that Lizard costume. I honestly don't buy it. Real talking lizard until I have proof otherwise. Sweet dreams thinking about that tiny midget actor

 

[Markthebroker]

We've already covered this. Midgets aren't real. It's just something liberals made up to scare me.

 

[marindependent]

what were you expecting when you bought insurance from a company that has tv commercials with actors dressed like cavemen and a talking lizard?

This might be your best quote yet!

 

[adjusterjack]

Back to the topic. It's a rating classification called "inexperienced operator" and is typically surcharged for the first three years that a person is licensed.

However, I agree that there are likely more factors involved including the move to MA and the new car. One more factor is that the insurance industry, as a whole, seems to be in the throes of massive rate increases everywhere. I'm finding that out myself in my search for competitive rates.

So far, State Farm and Progressive have the lowest rates across about a dozen companies that I have tried so far.

Yes, Allen Trent, two of my quotes came from independent agents. I have one more independent agent to work with who has over 20 companies in his stable.

 

[Allen Trent]

Yes, Allen Trent, two of my quotes came from independent agents

Always amazes me that market share reports show the Big captives & direct writers having most of the market share & the carriers selling through independents have so much less marketshare. You would think the marketing message of an independent has all the carriers & can shop to get best rate would lead to independent carriers having most of marketshare

 

[Markthebroker]

Always amazes me that market share reports show the Big captives & direct writers having most of the market share & the carriers selling through independents have so much less marketshare. You would think the marketing message of an independent has all the carriers & can shop to get best rate would lead to independent carriers having most of marketshare

Celebrity sponsors, catchy jingles and branding will win more business from the public than a strong logical argument. I'm just glad I am dealing with business people that will respond to logic almost every time. I frankly don't think I'd survive in this business if I had to deal with the general public.

 

[Patriot1]

Hello "Bob456", you definitely need to shop around with but try to have each auto insurer quote you the same way, as best as you can...there can be some coverage nuances, but in general, you should be able to get as close as possible what you want to be quoted for.

-You didn't mention if you own a home/condo/manufactured home OR if you rent. Among the auto insurers that you will get quoted from, have them ALSO quote your homeowners insurance or renters insurance in order to see what that discount will do for your vehicle(s). Just for quoting purposes, if you rent, have all of the companies quote $20,000 renters ins policy with replacement coverage.

-If you purchase another vehicle, even if it is worth a couple hundred dollars and add that to your auto policy, you will get a multi-car discount.

-Some auto insurers will allow you to assign a car to a specific driver and I know of 1 company that doesn't allow it. If you can assign a car to your wife, then do so with the "liability only" car and you will then be assigned to your new car. I would think by now that she would have a driving record, but it may take at least 12 months or beyond until there is a record. I would suggest that you contact your texas dept of motor vehicles and see if you can purchase an MVR on your wife. A recent MVR copy might be able to help you with rates among some of the auto insurers you will be getting a quote from.

-How do you pay your premium? 1-pay? OR monthly auto-draft from your checking acct? Those premium payment methods tend to be the best discounts that can be applied to your auto insurance.

-Find out if there is an "early shoppers" discount. If available, that discount tends to apply when you get a quote at least 7 days before you actually need to start the policy. Ask agent about it.

-What is your occupation? Are you a veteran? Some insurers offer discounts on occupations or being a veteran.

-Since your wife just got her drivers license in May 2021, did she take a defensive driving course? If so, it may be eligible for a discount but you'll need a copy of a certificate of completion and so on...as the ins agent about that.

-There are other discounts, but you need to ask each person you speak to when getting quotes.

-I don't know what your collision and comprehensive deductibles are for your new car, but if it is $500 or less, you may want to consider increasing it to $1,000 and see what that does. Lenders typically allow up to a $1,000 for deductibles.

-I suggest the following for requesting auto insurance quotes among all of the insurers so that you can be consistent and be as close as you can to compare "apples vs apples":
Liability: 50/100/50 (this will be the same amount for all household vehicles)
Comprehensive/Other Than Collision: $1,000 Deductible
Collision: $1,000 Deductible
Glass Coverage: Yes (probably not available for liability-only vehicle)
Towing/Roadside Service (Not Loss of Use/Car Rental): Yes (may not be available for liability-only vehicle)

You can always add to/subtract from these coverages, but I suggest that you start from these coverage amounts when getting quotes from everybody.

-As suggested by an earlier reply here, if you don't have a cheap vehicle as a 2nd vehicle then go to autotrader.com and look up the kind of vehicle that you would consider purchasing. The ads normally will have a VIN that you can give to the person who is quoting.

Also have them quote just 1 car, the new car that you recently purchased.

I would contact your current auto insurer and ask them to quote a home or renters ins policy and tell you what your new auto insurance premium would be with that discount applied. Find out if there is a better discount available when paying your premium and also ask them to tell you how much your insurance would be based upon the coverages I suggested to uniformly get quotes from all of the other carriers. Ask them about all of the discounts that are available for your auto insurance.

I hope that this can help you with your shopping around for auto insurance quotes.

 

[Downeast Agent]

Source please.

I would bet Mass requires at least $20k min BI & carriers offer much,much higher optional limits which consumers should buy

You are correct, I'll go edit that out.

 

[adjusterjack]

You would think the marketing message of an independent has all the carriers & can shop to get best rate would lead to independent carriers having most of marketshare

I can't imagine anybody thinking that at all. I can't remember the last time, if ever, I saw an independent agency advertising on TV. Ditto for an agency repped company.

It's the advertising and online purchasing that's puts direct writers over the top.

When I worked at Progressive 20 some years ago it was a two bit company catering to high risk drivers. I don't remember any Progressive advertising before Flo. According to internet sources, the actress is paid at least $1,000,000 per year.

GEICO was originally for government employees only until 1974 when it expanded to insuring consumers in general. The lizard was pure genius, the cavemen not so much but still made GEICO a household name.

USAA originally for active military only. Now insures veterans and their relatives.

Liberty Mutual, originally repped by independent agents went to online availability and broadened its market share by advertising. I don't think anybody will forget Limu Emu and Doug, despite wanting to.

Still, there are several agency repped companies in the top 25 for market share but you don't see much, if any, advertising for them.

NAIC Market Share Report 2021: The Top 25 U.S. Auto Insurers | Agency Checklists