Is it just me (again)?

[Johnnu2]

Well, my two car insurance policies are coming due for renewal and so is my homeowner's policy. I need to state that my cars are just plain vanilla (15 yrs old and 9 years old) Subaru and Toyota. The policy for the Subie went up 12.4% and the Toyota policy went up 13.7% (no accidents or tickets in many years, no claims of any kind; been with the company over 10 years). The insurance company said "no, you're not halucinating; things have gone up and we need to keep up".
THAT was the good news. My homeowner's policy (same company) went up 18%.... again, no claims, no problems. The house is a plain vanilla raised ranch (ugly but utilitarian).
Just wondering: is it just me...?
J.

 

[AJGUNNER]

Not just you. My homeowners went from $1100 per year to $2230 per year. Huge part of this is due to recent wild fires 2-4 years ago. After 22 years someone figured out that houses that are 6 miles from a fire department and have no hydrants within 5 miles, need to pay waaaay more than our share to help cover the claims of wildfire destruction elsewhere. The lawsuits against the power companies are being settled for NOT shutting down power lines when they should have, so now we all get higher bills for everything including an 18% bump in electricity prices.

 

[WAYNO]

No it's not just you.

 

[mr.deerstalker]

my airplane insurance on two planes went up over 2K....was $5780, now 8K....thanks Joe...

 

[Kevin]

Same here. Our insurance keeps going up. No tickets or accidents, knock on wood etc. etc.

Your agent that said everything is going up isn’t wrong. TV and internet, and cell phones included.

Don’t even get me started on why mayonnaise costs $6 per jar!

Have you looked around for different insurance companies that might offer cheaper rates? We just checked recently but the couple places we looked were higher. We use State Farm right now.

 

[cowboycopus]

Me too!

 

[contender]

It's not just you.

But,, long ago,, a retired insurance agent told me to shop around every 5 years to check our rates & benefits with competing companies. Often,, once you shop and find comparable benefits,, you can often negotiate with your current provider for a better rate.
I did it a couple of years ago,, and my agent was a bit surprised when I showed him a few quotes. He POLITELY asked me to wait a few days to allow him time to investigate it. He was able to be a bit more reasonable when I called him back as I was about to cancel & move my combined (4) policies.

Never hurts to try.

 

[arfmel]

The cost of materials and labor for repairing vehicles and homes has gone up pretty dramatically over the last few years. Regarding labor, around here we consider ourselves lucky if we can even get anybody to show up to work, much less actually get anything done.

 

[vito]

I've used USAA for almost 60 years now, but my recent cost increases for my home and car insurance policies are making me think about finding someone cheaper. Their customer service and claims service is outstanding, so that is why I am hesitating. Over the years I have been amazed at their claims service, often paying me more than I ever thought I would get. And in one case, when we suffered basement flooding from a failed sump pump, all I had to do was send them a photo taken by my phone for them to send me a check for the full $10K of coverage for that type problem. But their rates have gotten really high. Part of my hesitation to change now are the comments on this thread, making me think I might not do any better with another reliable insurer.

 

[Danjet500]

I noticed our existing home, auto and umbrella coverage had been rising every year. I called my agent and told her that we were going someplace else unless she found a better price for the same or similar coverage. After about five days she called back and said she would be emailing us a new policy to review. The difference in price was $900/year and the coverage was exactly the same. I asked her why she didn't search for better deals for us before. She said they only do that at the customer's request. I took the $900 and bought a new rifle.

 

[Johnnu2]

A couple of years ago, I actually visited a large insurance brokerage agency. They did an exhaustive analysis for me but, in the end, the rates they were able to offer me were really not much better. Certainly not enough to get me to leave my current company. I have to agree with Vito about satisfaction being an important factor. Danjet, you did well thank goodness. I'm going to hold another year. Ironically, when I opened Yahoo news this morning I found an article discussing why home and auto insurance rates are rising astronomically:
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/car-insurance-rates-2024-inflation-climate-change-bankrate-report/
J,

 

[gjgalligan]

It's not just you.

But,, long ago,, a retired insurance agent told me to shop around every 5 years to check our rates & benefits with competing companies. Often,, once you shop and find comparable benefits,, you can often negotiate with your current provider for a better rate.
I did it a couple of years ago,, and my agent was a bit surprised when I showed him a few quotes. He POLITELY asked me to wait a few days to allow him time to investigate it. He was able to be a bit more reasonable when I called him back as I was about to cancel & move my combined (4) policies.

Never hurts to try.

We shop around every 2 years for the bundled price on car & home, currently with Farm Bureau.

Don't trust and independent agent to get the best price, many of them only look at a small group of companies that give them the best commission.

 

[crow#2]

Not just you John they are hitting all of us.

 

[Chief 101]

My homeownwers and auto rose 50% with the woke Farmers Ins. last year so I just changed and now it's down to pre 2023 levels. The agent says theirs went up dramatically...but it's still way lower than where I was with the Woke company.

 

[Deer Hunter]

Mine went up about 50% also. Agent said it was a state mandated increase. No need to change provider as my current premiums are still among the best/cheapest. We are all subsidizing insurance companies disaster payouts.

 

[MaxMan]

Well, my two car insurance policies are coming due for renewal and so is my homeowner's policy. I need to state that my cars are just plain vanilla (15 yrs old and 9 years old) Subaru and Toyota. The policy for the Subie went up 12.4% and the Toyota policy went up 13.7% (no accidents or tickets in many years, no claims of any kind; been with the company over 10 years). The insurance company said "no, you're not halucinating; things have gone up and we need to keep up".
THAT was the good news. My homeowner's policy (same company) went up 18%.... again, no claims, no problems. The house is a plain vanilla raised ranch (ugly but utilitarian).
Just wondering: is it just me...?
J.

I your homeowners writes in Florida too you are paying for all the hurricane damage down here. Thank you. Auto insurance here is brutal if you want a halfway decent company.

 

[JPGLSG1234]

My Auto-Owners Ins. 4 policies went up 26% each last June 23. When I received the renewals late December of 23 I thought some one had made an error. Called my agent and he informed me this happen in June but neglected to tell his customers that an increase was coming. Didn't have time to shop them around, bend over.......

 

[woodsy]

It's not you; it's your insurance company. We used to use a mutual insurance company, for a good long while. And they responded immediately to any small claims we had, with no premium increases more than the current cost of living increases. Then one year (12 years ago?) they suddenly increased the premium more than 30%. Called them and got no joy or explanation. Later that same year they "went national" and began advertising everywhere, including TV. So we dropped them. By the way, that company is called Liberty Mutual, mutual my butt. So no more mutual companies for us.

 

[Huskerguy72]

Things are getting out of control, which is really the plan overall anyway.

We have not seen the end of the inflation mess by a long shot. We have a personal home, certainly modest, two vehicles of 2017 Vintage a Ram and an Outback, and 2 paid for rental properties. When you saw building materials skyrocket and then the scramble was on to pay employees more which means raising prices. In our little town of 50K they are giving bigger than normal raises to city and county workers due to inflationary costs. UPS settled their strike and the drivers got a huge pay increase and now they laid of like 85,000 workers, GM laid workers off as well. All of this is to say, no one wants to get left out in the cold in wages and wants a big raise. Where does that money come from? It has to come from you and I.

The fact is we are not even close to seeing the inflation getting under control. It is a contrived proposition. The feds want it down to around 2% overall. Good luck with that. No one now cares about 2% inflation, they just want a big raise so they can get more money. I marvel that we all seem to have forgotten that everything averaged was 12% higher a few years ago so the 3% now is just on top of the 12%. It is compounding daily on all of us.

Cars will now cost more as they settled the UAW strike, manufacturers already said prices will have to go up. As I said, you city, state and county workers want raises to feed their families as well. When my wife and I meet with Insurance agents each year to go over our insurance, it is joke. The insurance companies price replacement costs based on inflated materials certainly but also IF there is a major catastrophe like a tornado then labor prices will go through the roof so they price that into your policy.

As a landlord we have two main costs - insurance and taxes with some maintenance but our homes are very well taken care of. Then people have nerve to blame landlords for being "greedy" on rent prices. No wonder when you look at all of it.

I just read today in a financial article that many small banks are about to go under and the feds are OK with that. You better know your bank and where their money is invested because it is going to get rough. They (feds) want fiscal consolidation and here it comes. None of this happens by accident.

 

[GypsmJim]

It must be just you. The TV news reports say that the economy is in good shape and everything it getting better.

My 2 insurances just went up about 15%. The agent told me that I was lucky.

My hunting camp property just got reassessed. The taxes went up 300%. (no kidding)

My plan is to go to Mexico and cross back over the Rio Grande. Then, I'll get free housing and food, pay no taxes and live happy.

 

[jimbo1096]

Anyone who doesn’t shop around for insurance rates every 2 to 3 years is just throwing money away. It doesn’t mean that you’ll find someone with a lower rate, but it doesn’t mean that they all charge the same for the same basic coverage. Go to an independent insurance broker and have him compare different companies for you. Mine went up last year and so I asked for comparative pricing from other companies, and got it back down below what I was paying before it went up.

 

[blume357]

That is the problem with our economy and system..."We just need to keep up". it is just assumed that prices will rise and everyone thinks it's just normal.
I just got an email from my insurance agent with an attachment for my work van insurance that I have yet to open... I'm afraid to do it.

 

[Johnnu2]

Thanks everyone......... I feel a lot better now

 

[Actnbill]

I switch insurance companies every 5 years or so...... I always stay with one of the big names.... it's amazing how they ratchet up rates on faithful customers with clean driving records and no home claims.....

I find that for a new customer....insurance companies will bend over backwards to get a new client with fresh low rates....
( till they bend the other way in a few years and stick it to ya )

 

[Jimbo357mag]

According to the experts the economy /inflation in this country is doing much better than in other countries because of good management by the FED. Hard to believe but what else are you going to do, blame Biden? A search on the internet should prove it but I don't post stuff like that anymore.

 

[rotor]

It's not just the rates, it's the service and do they actually pay off. Will stick with USAA. Remember if you have an agent their fee is part of your rate. Stay away company for me has always been Allstate.

 

[Jimbo357mag]

...But let's not forget the benefits we might be enjoying. Most of us own property, house, land, guns, etc. and they have gone way up in value over the last few years. A friend of my wife sold her house for about 4 times what I thought it was worth.

 

[GypsmJim]

Anyone who doesn't shop around for insurance rates every 2 to 3 years is just throwing money away. It doesn't mean that you'll find someone with a lower rate, but it doesn't mean that they all charge the same for the same basic coverage. Go to an independent insurance broker and have him compare different companies for you. Mine went up last year and so I asked for comparative pricing from other companies, and got it back down below what I was paying before it went up.

That's what I do. I DO have an independent agent. Nevertheless, I check the majors as well.

I have had the same company for about 12 years now. I haven't been able to beat the price.

I checked USAA as well (I'm qualified), but their prices were higher.

 

[NC FNS]

Had Geico for 26 years. They were good, but you always dealt with someone on the other end of the 800 number. Switched to Farm Bureau and have been very pleased. Saved a significant amount vs. Geico, get a personal agent to call, and they’ve paid 2 pretty big claims with no trouble.

 

[Pathfinder36]

I've used USAA for almost 60 years now, but my recent cost increases for my home and car insurance policies are making me think about finding someone cheaper. Their customer service and claims service is outstanding, so that is why I am hesitating. Over the years I have been amazed at their claims service, often paying me more than I ever thought I would get. And in one case, when we suffered basement flooding from a failed sump pump, all I had to do was send them a photo taken by my phone for them to send me a check for the full $10K of coverage for that type problem. But their rates have gotten really high. Part of my hesitation to change now are the comments on this thread, making me think I might not do any better with another reliable insurer.

I've been a USAA member since 1960, a few years longer than you. I have the same appreciation for the company - excellent service, always responsive. My kids and grandkids are also members. But like you, the cost increases are at the overwhelming level and I'm considering looking elsewhere. No accidents or claims and my wife gave up driving a RAV4. I'm looking at $4,300 annually. This $10K car insurance now costs more annually than my $600K home in Florida. I'm planning to replace the old car in favor of a leased compact SUV. I will probably leave USAA then.