Car insurance, what am I missing?

My wife and I have car insurance with Allstate. We have 2 vehicles: 2012 Honda Civic HF, 2012 Honda CR-V EX. Both vehicles are around 150-160K miles. Neither have had any claims or accidents. No tickets in the last 10 years, we’re both in our 40s. Only have liability coverage and it is still around $1,450 for 6 months of coverage. What am I missing?? Is this normal or high? I contacted an independent insurance broker and they said that was the best deal they could find. 1 more question, can I shop insurance when my credit is frozen?

1 Like

I too have Allstate. They jacked my rate up to almost $1,400 from $1,100 so I shopped around. I went with Progressive and got the same coverage for $850.

I shop around for home and car insurance almost every year. If you stay with any one company they just keep jacking up your rates.

1 Like

UniversalSam, For anybody to answer your question we need to know where you live.

I live in N.E. NC. I have an 8 year old Chevy Volt and I keep full coverage on it. My premium for 6 months is around $450. I’m with State Farm.

1 Like

We are in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

How to Shop for Lower Car Insurance

https://clark.com/insurance/car-insurance/how-to-shop-for-auto-insurance/

1 Like

There are several issues here. Your location is a big factor, your credit rating is also a big factor, so yes, unfreeze it while you shop. Inflation is a big issue for all companies, and staying with one care doesn’t make your rates go up. That’s just silliness! Companies change their underwriting goals a lot. This year they only really want new cars and older drivers, next year they may want younger drivers. Or, high income people or lower income people. Their plans change just as yours do. That’s why you shop it and preferably with an independent insurance agency that does a lot of personal lines business. Many are primarily commercial business and write personal lines as a support to their business customers. Ask that question. I’m in GA and we’ve had high rates forever. Rates are a function of claims, everyone’s claims. Your claim history may cost you more, or cause you to not get insurance. The limits you carry makes a difference. Many top carriers won’t insure people who carry <$100k liability limit. If they do you don’t get their best rates. There is a correlation with claims. Allstate, State Farm and a few others are captive companies, which means that they only quote their one company. That in itself doesn’t make them good or bad, but it may not be the best deal and they won’t tell you. Ever carrier out there has people who’ve had a bad experience with them. It’s insurance, virtually no one like them or having to buy it, so recommendations from those people are pretty much worthless. Recommendations of agents have value. And, you get what you pay for. Cheap could be very costly. If you are cancelled by one company that could hurt you for a long time. You may wind up in an assigned risk pool or a secondary. They are expensive. Companies like State Farm, Travelers, Hartford, USAA and AMICA are top notch companies. There are hundreds of cheap ones. The cheap ones may cost you way more in the long run. Shop it and don’t just go with the lowest price!

1 Like

Oh no! Have you shopped around? I’m in expensive CA. I got auto with CSAA, very highly rated. I had an acicdent on my record and a brand new loaded BMW lease, yet I got coverage for about 1440/year with full coverage at 100/300k and 1000 deductible with OEM parts add on. I do have a stellar credit rating but State Farm couldn’t even come close even though I tried to bundle it with my HO. I think you should keep trying! My credit is also frozen. I think you could warn them it is frozen and offer to temporarily thaw it if you like their offer.

1 Like

California is not reality. Neither is NC. In truth, California pushes costs to other states (like me in Georgia). All insurance companies have the overall risk pool then it gets segmented by region, risk level, etc. These days, your credit score has a huge impact on your rates - but hold on that.

1 Like

I’m with Allstate. They DESTROYED USAA for the same coverage. I’m on year 3, their rates have been creeping up - especially homeowners. Auto went up about 3%. Some notes:

  • as other’s have said, location is critical. There is a huge problem with illegals and no insurance. It’s well documented, and if you want to argue it start a new post.
  • credit score is a big impact. Unfreeze your credit.
  • I
  • I’m an old fart and live north of Atlanta, Ga. Since I “retired” I drive less than 7k a year for a 2018 RAV4. My wife retired and might drive less than me in her new CX5. Full coverage and very high uninsured/underinsured drivers coverage. Like 500K. I’m right at 2k/six months.

If all you have is liability, this seems high. How much liability? You might drop it on the autos and add an umbrella policy for less, but in general the insurance market sucks.

One other thought - every year you need to shop around. EVERY YEAR. You need to understand that these big companies use a lot of data analytics to farm customers. Most of us really don’t want to change companies, it’s not in our nature (most of us want to trust). Companies take advantage of this. My FIL is saving 4k/year switching from USAA to State Farm.

Make this part of your financial plan. Of course factor in claims support and what have you, but shop. Trust but verify.

2 Likes