Topic: Rates go up at every renewal

[rrocket]

So now we are weighing the pros and cons.  I already told my wife one of the major pros for switching is that I'll be able to call our current insurance, ask to speak to a manager, chew the guy out for jacking up our premiums and taking away my wife's accident forgiveness, and then telling him to suck a whale dick because we are cancelling all coverage and going with another company.

You would really do that 

Jesus man it’s business not personal

But insurance companies are about as loathsome as it gets as far as companies go.

They do BS like he mentioned knowing full well there isn't much you can do about it.

Exactly, of course I am exaggerating but I will express my feelings on the subject.  I put insurance companies right with cable providers as industries that I hate, they are the scum of the earth, praying on the weak, using their power to squeeze every last dollar from their "clients".

Your mistake is in assuming this guy has any control over the situation or really gives a sh!t about your thoughts.   But feel free to waste your time.

I also loathe insurance and cable providers but never assume anyone I get on the phone can really make a difference.

Maybe, maybe not.

I've had to remind my agent who "forgot" to make sure a discount was added to my policy before.

But I'm sure they'll tell you it's really out of their control.

[ArticSteve]

3 different departments in retail Insurance:

1.  Sales desk if direct insurer or a "Broker".  These ppl are just putting the policy together with pricing options as in Johnny's case.  Zero authority.

2.  Claims.  It can get pretty heated with them.  They always low ball and after much pressure will go OEM on certain replacement parts like vehicle hoods, condensers, etc.  Then there is always the rental car battle.  Drive a newish $55K vehicle and they'll attempt to start you off in a $30K vehicle.  And finally the depreciated value if the vehicle is written off.  That's good for a week of terse back and forth.

3.  The Underwriters.  No customers gets access to those ppl. 

[JohnnyMac]

I should state that the last time I talked to my current insurance I asked if they would refund me any of my premiums from last year as my wife worked from home in the entirety.  We have all heard the stories of insurance companies giving refunds, some without even prompted by a call to them.  The call centre person said that he would talk to his supervisor to see what they could do.  When he got back on the phone he told me they won't do anything for me.  So I explained how we have been a customer for 15 years and have always paid our premiums on time, also this was our first time asking for a reduction.  He just passed it on as there was nothing he could do, had no explanation for increase but asked if I would like to talk to a manager.  I said yes and he told me I would get a call.  Never got a call back. 

They do not care.  As I've stated previously their customer reviews are all negative and they are rated 1 star out of 5, likely because you can't give them less than 1 star.

Oh and every time I call I am on hold for a minimum of an hour.  So you will excuse me if I want to vent to them even if they have no control over my situation.  If I had the number to the person's who come up with the policies and how to screw customers out of their money I would gladly call them instead.

[rrocket]

I’ll be sure to tell the person at the drive through window to suck my dick the next time they forget to add cream to my americano. assholes   

I'd say you're on to something if the cream add on is worth a few hundred! 

[JohnnyMac]

I’ll be sure to tell the person at the drive through window to suck my dick the next time they forget to add cream to my americano. assholes   

Ha, you won't be the first to have done that.  But I don't mess with the people who prepare my food, which includes my wife  .

[JohnnyMac]

So we are for sure switching insurance companies.  We give up a couple of things on both our car and house insurance but they are pretty minimal and chances are will not happen anyway.

So my wife got a chip in her windshield of the Rav4 back in September.  With our current insurance it's a zero deductible for those repairs, so I told her to get it looked at.  She dragged her feet and never got around to doing that.  Our new insurance plan will take into affect next tuesday and it'll have a deduction of $250 for windshield replacements.  So I asked the broker if we got it repaired on our old insurance if it would affect our new quote and she assured me it wouldn't as we haven't had a claim for that in the last 10 years.  So made the appointment to have it fixed tomorrow.  If they can't fill the chip, it'll be just over $1,200 for them to replace it, mainly because of the sensors/camera for the safety stuff, but also the heating element, and the rain sensor.  One last parting gift for our old insurance company.

[ktm525]

I switched insurance companies after my association moved from my old insurer. Two cage vehicles with full coverage, two motorcycles, my house for $3800/year. Not bad considering I have teenage drivers on the policy too. Waay less than the old place. Shop around.

[ArticSteve]

That is insanely cheap referenced to Ontario.

Those motorcycles insured for street use?  Regardless, amazing rate with teenage drivers.

However, when it comes to liability limits comparisons start to get fuzzy.  IMO, if you're paying for liability insurance, albeit rarely utilized, you might as well get properly insured.  2 million is peanuts today.  The most I can get is 5 Million on the vehicles and properties.  I don't even understand why there is a limit because 5 Million is not what it used to be.

My son is with Intact and he can't get 5 Million coverage where I can with them on the auto side.  Same Broker. hmm ?  Insurance .... such a racket.

[PJungnitsch]

Dropped the insurance for my Vibe almost in half yesterday, from $619 every 6 months to $724 for the year. Plus saved almost $300 on the RX insurance as there was a multi vehicle discount

Very happy

Didn't think there was much room for improvement as Alberta insurance rates had been going up for everyone the last while, but this was a pleasant surprise

[Ex-airbalancer]

Dropped the insurance for my Vibe almost in half yesterday, from $619 every 6 months to $724 for the year. Plus saved almost $300 on the RX insurance as there was a multi vehicle discount

Very happy

Didn't think there was much room for improvement as Alberta insurance rates had been going up for everyone the last while, but this was a pleasant surprise

Who did you go with ?
Also what did you change ?
Higher Deductible?

[PJungnitsch]

Just PL/PD on such an old car, 2 million. Have been with Wawanesa for over 20 years, but they've doubled their rates the last few renewals

Switched to TD Insurance, which my wife has. Dropped the commuting part, which helped a bit, and rental coverage, which helped a tiny amount, but gained accident forgiveness

Bundling with the RX helped drop its rates, and home insurance is in there too
 

[KD]

Got pissed at my recent renewal notice so I went shopping.  In the spring I was pricing out boat insurance and found a local agent was able to offer me a much better price than the company i deal with for home and auto.  After seeing  the new rate for home/auto, I called the lady I dealt with for the boat and she quote me a price that was $700 cheaper.  Combined with the boat it's a saving of over $900/yr.  Crazy how high insurance is now!  We both have a super clean driving record and have never put in a claim for home related stuff. 

[rrocket]

I did a quote on lowestrate website and it was $200+ a month cheaper. That's $2400 a year! 4 cars+ house.

That's no joke....I'll be changing it for sure.

[blur911]

Insurance companies are adding a $500 surcharge to vehicles that are regularly tageted by thieves, in an effort to recoup losses that amount to roughly $700 million in Ontario and a total of $1 billion across the country in 2022, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

The IBC says a car is stolen every six minutes by organized crime.

Commonly stolen vehicles include the Honda CR-V, Lexus RX series and Ford F150 series, according to a recent Rates.ca report.

https://rates.ca/resources/insurance-premiums-increase-for-most-stolen-vehicles

[draghon]

And if the next few years reflects the pattern set by the last few, that rate is expected to keep increasing — unless all hands, from the government to insurance companies to drivers, hit the deck and find a solution out of it.

This line from the article irked me. What about the manufacturer's? Shouldn't they also be held accountable for making vehicles that are so easy to steal?

CAA, for example, have asked their customers to purchase a vehicle lock device such as a steering wheel lock (known as the club) and show proof of purchase to remove the surcharge.

“If we can better educate drivers on how to protect their vehicles, and have vehicles secure, then you've eliminated much more of the problem,” says Elliott Silverstein, director of government relations of CAA Insurance Company. “People can see that there’s a steering wheel lock on that car that’s going to require [them] to spend 10 or 20 minutes trying to break that open.”

This also made me chucke. A battery operated grinder or reciprocating saw will make quick work of steering wheel locks. Hardly 10-20 minutes unless they are filming a youtube "how-to" video at the same time lol!

[ktm525]

And if the next few years reflects the pattern set by the last few, that rate is expected to keep increasing — unless all hands, from the government to insurance companies to drivers, hit the deck and find a solution out of it.

This line from the article irked me. What about the manufacturer's? Shouldn't they also be held accountable for making vehicles that are so easy to steal?

CAA, for example, have asked their customers to purchase a vehicle lock device such as a steering wheel lock (known as the club) and show proof of purchase to remove the surcharge.

“If we can better educate drivers on how to protect their vehicles, and have vehicles secure, then you've eliminated much more of the problem,” says Elliott Silverstein, director of government relations of CAA Insurance Company. “People can see that there’s a steering wheel lock on that car that’s going to require [them] to spend 10 or 20 minutes trying to break that open.”

This also made me chucke. A battery operated grinder or reciprocating saw will make quick work of steering wheel locks. Hardly 10-20 minutes unless they are filming a youtube "how-to" video at the same time lol!

You can go through a steering wheel with a hand sized manual saw in about 10 seconds...

[ArticSteve]

Insurance companies are adding a $500 surcharge to vehicles that are regularly tageted by thieves, in an effort to recoup losses that amount to roughly $700 million in Ontario and a total of $1 billion across the country in 2022, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

The IBC says a car is stolen every six minutes by organized crime.

Commonly stolen vehicles include the Honda CR-V, Lexus RX series and Ford F150 series, according to a recent Rates.ca report.

https://rates.ca/resources/insurance-premiums-increase-for-most-stolen-vehicles

Rates are still assessed via Postal Code.  However, I'm getting off my ^ss soon and either buying a dummy OBD Port or buying an OBD locking devise.  Maybe both for the Tremor.  It would be a major off if it was stolen when I travel outside my domain.

[me_2]

Last June car insurance was up almost 20%, I increase my deductible to keep same overall cost as last year contract.
Just received snow plow contractor quote, a tad over 20% increase... is 20% avg the new normal inflation rate? 

[Firm]

Shopping insurance in the US now....

Home insurance feels like a big barrel of snakes down there, moreso than here I think. It's WAY more expensive (which I knew), coverage seems lesser, and agents are very secretive around sharing specific policy documents up front.

Car insurance is a lot cheaper, least in my area, the two Cadillacs will be about half of what I pay here. Not enough savings to offset the home insurance hike, but it does help take the sting out of it. Fortunately, all the toys are with Hagerty, and it sounds like they're able to transfer my policy to the US.

Currently I am onto Tennessee Farm Bureau, you join the agricultural association for $30/year and in exchange get to insure through the organization...Saves about $1000/yr, so seems worth while, but waiting for all the policy details so I can research.

Fun times....

[ktm525]

Curiously my new 300 motorcycle was more than my 501. Still OK though at $200/year.