Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Sick of Insurance Companies

I'm a little more than frustrated with insurance companies these days.  Why is that rates are constantly going up? 

My company is in the process of renewing our health insurance benefits and it appears as though our rates are going to increase roughly 11% - 11%!  Nothing major happened to cause this change.  Chalk it up to general inflation???? I think not.  But I need health insurance coverage - so what can I really do about it other than accept the increased premiums? 

Remember when this happened?  Well Steven and I received our insurance renewal policy from State Farm last week and my insurance premium has increased $800 for the year.  No - you didn't read that incorrectly - $800!  Mind you, I have had a perfect driving record for the past seven years - no accidents, speeding tickets or traffic violations of any kind.  The first incident against my record in seven years and WHAM! It doesn't matter that the insurance company has been taking my money for the past seven  years and not spent a dime - oh no....I am now considered an at risk driver and therefore must pay dearly!

I'm beyond annoyed with this one.  Again - in order to drive I must have automobile insurance so what can I really do?  I will be shopping around for new car insurance.  I'm sure my insurance will be expensive with our companies as well - but maybe, just maybe I can save a couple hundred bucks. 

Has anyone recently changed insurance companies?  Any suggestions for companies that tend to have good rates?  I'm in need of help here!!!

19 comments:

ajs {of MN} said...

with joining my husbands car insurance as an added driver- i will save about $400 for the year. his company uses Progressive. Might want to check them out at and least get a quote. :)

Dave and Ashley said...

We use USAA. when we're stateside, we had a great policy and affordable prices (like less than 150ish/month for two relatively new (2007/2006) cars and both of us as drivers)... but now that we are in Germany.. that has gone out the window

Kelly said...

I am with State Farm as well, and we have not had issues with them at all. I do know that the more you have bundled the better you are. My mom switched last year from State Farm to Nationwide and save alot! When I checked on it - we were not going to save. Check them out!

Good luck with the health insurance thing. I sold health insurance for 3 years, and it ALWAYS goes up every year with your birthday (upon renewal) - Cam is only 11 (12 in August) and his runs us $175 per month! with a high dedutable and no co-pay. Wes and I have no insurance..can't afford it as a stand alone policy, neither of us is offered insurance through our jobs. :) with a group you get better rates.

Same Sweet Girl: Memoir of a Southern Belle said...

Oh Amber!!! I don't think I was following you back when that happened but I just read it and that sounds horrible! I've been in a few wrecks myself so I know exactly how you were feeling. Unfortunately I wasn't treated the way you were!! I have had some serious crap pulled with me in the past.

ANYWAY, I'm glad you were safe but I'm so sorry to hear about your insurance. I also know how that is...my car insurance was 400 per month at one point. AND we lost health insurance at work because of the economy and I had to go on my husband's and we are paying 600 per month right now!!!!!! We all need insurance...but dang! What can we do?

agalandherdog said...

I'm so sorry. That's awful. Try going with your homeowner's insurance. They sometimes give big discounts or refunds when you combine.

Mateya said...

Yikes! That is no fun!!!! This just makes me cringe thinking about insurance and all that...I am not ready to be kicked off of my parents vehicle insurance :(

Donna said...

That sucks. Similar thing happened to my boyfriend, they added well over 1,000 to his insurance after a crash! I hate insurance companies!

Jessica @ Wanting Adventure said...

Wow, that is a ridiculous jump in premiums. You should definitely shop around. I would suggest Allstate, because that's who we're with and they gave me a great price. :) Good luck with the search!

Kristin said...

Oh! What frustration! We have Allstate, and I think our rates are quite reasonable. But I've also been w/ them for 15 years, so I think they give customer loyalty discounts. What about who you get home owners ins. through? Can you combine and get a discount? Good luck! Oh, and don't get me started on the whole screwed system. One of the evils of the world.- Chin up!

Ms. Emmy N said...

Thats insane! Good luck girl - I found pretty good rates at Geico..

Ms. Emmy N said...

Thats insane! Good luck girl - I found pretty good rates at Geico..

Leslie @ A Blonde Ambition said...

$800? That is just crazy! I've been tempted to switch for a while myself. So frustrating!

Kassie said...

I use AllState. We had state farm, but then my brother got one ticket and they jacked up the price. I just don't get it!! I've (knock on wood) never had a ticket, accident, fender bender, anything, but one person on the plan does something and the plan changes, even though we've all been paying the whole time. Annoyance.

Jennifer said...

I use Erie Insurance because I work for them. I don't get an employee discount (I think it's illegal) and I know they're not available everywhere, but the rates are really reasonable.

Mary Loyal said...

Hi! I am a new follower to your blog. I work for an insurance company in SC and definitely have a few tips for you. . . the first of which is to shop your insurance. . . . The $800 increase seems a little unreasonable to me, especially if like you said you had no previous tickets or accidents for several years. Do note that all companies will run a motor vehicle report before binding coverage so they will know about your accident, but if your only incident was this one accident, you should not be considered "high risk." As far as shopping, most carriers will let you quote online or if you are not interested in going direct, contact a local agent to assist you. Also, many companies will give you "companion credits" for placing other lines of insurance with the same company (home, umbrella, personal articles). I'm not sure if you are a homeowner or not, but many offer substantial savings. I hope this helps!!!

Mary Loyal said...

Also, if your autos are really old, and in the event of a total loss you would be not be interested in filing a claim, but purchasing a new vehicle, you could also insurance your vehicle for liability only. That way, you could keep your vehicle street legal (with liability coverage), but also look to save some premium.

Jessica Jarrell Poore said...

You should definitely look into Farm Bureau - they provide a lot of little incentives as well. A lot of member benefits depending on your state. My husband and I just go married and we pay about $1400. That's full coverage on a mercedes and an suv.

Brittany said...

I had an accident in my mom's car in 2008 and did over $6000 worth of damage. At the time, I was on her insurance policy and if I didn't remove myself, they would either drop me or increase her premium like crazy. So I opted to get my own insurance. I have insurance through Travelers. I have a 2008 Mazda 3 with full coverage and pay a little over $1300 every 6 months because of this accident. The accident will come off in December and I'm hoping my insurance rate drops a lot. I would look into Travelers because I get rates from Nation Wide, State Farm, All State and Uni Trend and Travelers was the cheapest.

So sorry to hear about that rate increase. It's ridiculous

Leah @ Everyday Love said...

My husband had state farm and he was paying 180 a month for his truck. We thought that was insanely high, so we started getting quotes this past week. I already had Geico and that is who we found the best rate with. With adding him to my plan, we are paying 106 a month for BOTH of our vehicles, which are both 5 years old. There are a few discounts in that number (teacher, good driver, etc). I would totally take a look at Geico. Good luck!



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