Homeowner Deductibles

[LostDollar]

That statement is sad but true. Loyalty is a thing of the past in insurance. You could be with a carrier for 20 years with no claims, but that won't save you from the rate increases, coverage decreases, non-renewals, capacity issues, etc. And every carriers claim handling process should be identical whether you have been with them for 20 years or 20 days.

The car insurance thing I mentioned to ehall is an example.

I have had car insurance for almost 65 years +/-. 50 years of that was with State Farm, 2 agencies, 3 agents.

(and yes I have been there, got the T shirt on your other comment. That did not stop State Farm from cancelling all coverage on "my fleet" with one week's notice when they took exception to something they said was in my son-in-law's driving record. He said they were wrong and handled the issue somehow and State Farm then reinstated our coverage. But, let me tell you, that was a very scary time because my wife and I had to have vehicles on the road to get to work.)

 

[Policy Monkey]

I don't know the exact years and the exact number of times, but for the concept:

Let's say I have been covered through your agency by Kemper for several years. I have paid my premiums. I have never asked for any rate shopping. My auto insurance is with State Farm.

You come to me in 2010 and say I can get you a better rate with another carrier. Me nope, go away.

You come to me in 2011 and say I can get you a better rate with another carrier. Me, nope, go away.

You come to me in 2012 and say I can get you a better rate with another carrier. Me, nope go away.
Then I have the final 19-20 year roof hailstorm. Kemper pays for the roof.
Completely to my total surprise and amazement, the adjuster also provides some money for fence repairs. I didn't even know that could be done.

Then you come to me in 2013, twice and say I can get you a lower rate.
Me, nope, go away. (And what I am thinking is "F+++ Off and go away).

One or two years after that, Kemper leaves the Kansas Market and I have to discuss alternate house coverage and the result is SafeCo.

Also, you come to me in 2009 and say "give me your auto business and I can get you a lower combined rate". I say no, and explain exactly why State Farm is never, ever going to get my house business and why my house carrier is never going to get my car business.

you come to me in 2010 and say give me your car business and I can get you a lower combined rate. Me. Nope go away (and thinking I explained about that last year dumbhead).

you come to me in 2011 and you are still drooling and salivating about my car business. So, I finally give you info to hear a quote. What do I hear: Crickets, Crickets, Crickets, Crickets -- I'm hanging out on the edge of a black hole. I really could care less about the quote so I don't bother asking you about it.

In 2012 when you a trying to get me to change home carriers, I mention that the car quote never showed up and you have some non-committal answer and keep trying to push me into changing home carriers.

And all that is only what happened before I was fired from my last job and saving money became very important and I had to look at the house carrier/agent to add auto coverage to. That is another saga, and after -- 2-3 years later when safeco csr would not talk to me because I didn't know my birthday -- it is my personal opinion that the agent lied about my age to Safeco in order to present me with more favorable auto rates.

My SafeCo rates increase every year, so I have no way of knowing whether there was a one-time age correction rate bump as well as normal changes in my annual rate increases.

I think you as agent have gone far beyond normal ethical requirements and have become an annoying pest, probably for commission reasons. You really don't deserve my business, but for reasons I can't discuss here, I am not in a position to change agencies.

That is the conceptual experiential background to my post. The years I mentioned will not be correct. And YOU are not the you, the agent.

Wow. That is a frustrating tale. And I now see what you mean by "aggressive" remarketing. But having been through all that, and knowing what you now know, are you still hesitant to change carriers and/or agencies? I mean the process is typically painless, and (AFIK) there are no fees or penalties for switching, even mid-term. So, barring any potential concerns with the new underwriting, I don't get the reluctance.

 

[ehall2]

I talk to people all the time and when I give a quote with better coverage than they have now and at a lower rate some will say, "but I have been with Snake Farm for 20 years so I hate to move. My answer is, "you know what this means..... not a cotton picking thing"? "If you have a claim, the claims rep isn't going to know how long you have been with the company and doesn't care". "If the company should pay they will and if not they won't".