Curious about peoples thoughts on the high cost of auto and homeowners insurance.

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efg090754

New Member
I have seen my auto and homeowners insurance skyrocket over the last year. I have had to fight for lower rates last year and to save a bit I had to increase my deductibles. No vehicle accidents and no homeowners claims and my credit score is consistently above 800. I’m in Virginia so it’s not like I’m in California or Florida. I fear it’s going to be another hike when I have to renew. Any thoughts?
 

Drive older cars to get some lower rates. You might get a very old inexpensive car for running around with only minimum coverage and then a better older vehicle in good condition for trips and essential transportation. You will then get a lower miles discount on both cars that will almost pay for the coverage on the older car. It's what we do.

Rates are high because prices and values of newer cars are so high!
 

When my homeowners insurance went up, I contacted my agent for an explanation.
He said the cost to entirely replace my home in case of a catastrophic event resulting in total loss, went up.
So my house is ensured for more value than it previously was.
 
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Michael Z said:
Drive older cars to get some lower rates. You might get a very old inexpensive car for running around with only minimum coverage and then a better older vehicle in good condition for trips and essential transportation. You will then get a lower miles discount on both cars that will almost pay for the coverage on the older car. It's what we do.

Rates are high because prices and values of newer cars are so high!
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I have a 2013 Mercedes.
 
efg090754 said:
I have seen my auto and homeowners insurance skyrocket over the last year. I have had to fight for lower rates last year and to save a bit I had to increase my deductibles. No vehicle accidents and no homeowners claims and my credit score is consistently above 800. I’m in Virginia so it’s not like I’m in California or Florida. I fear it’s going to be another hike when I have to renew. Any thoughts?
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But yet here you are complaining about the high cost of auto and homeowners insurance. Insurance in general is a ripoff, the only way to "win" is if you lose, as a sucker's game it doesn't get any better than that. However, since laws everywhere have mandated that consumers be insured for a variety of reasons, the insurance racket has gained legitimacy. Lawyers are the beneficiary, both directly and indirectly.
 
I just had to pay $762. for this year's flood insurance. There is a creek in my back yard which is usually about a foot deep with steep banks. Due to overbuilding upstream and the resulting runoff it occasionally turns into a raging river.
 
I am in California. The renters insurance has gone up.

My car insurance went up a lot. I took the actual car off. It's getting older and wouldn't take much to total it. I do carry high liability and uninsured motorist. It helped some to remove the actual car. I guess that took away comprehensive also so hopefully no one bashes a window out or I'll pay out of pocket.
 
I'm in Dallas, and yes, both my auto insurance and homeowner's insurance have increased substantially. However, my auto insurance went down during Covid because so few people were driving and it has now increased to what it might have been pre-Covid. My homeowner's insurance has increased because the value of homes in the area has skyrocketed and the replacement cost of my house has significantly increased.

I'm not surprised, but it isn't easy to stomach regardless.
 
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I just went through renewing...My homeowners increased due to a $25,000 claim last year!! They upgraded my replacement cost which increased my deductible!! Then raised my deductible to 2% of replacement cost!!
Not good in hail prone country!!

Shopped around a found another company that but me back to where I am and saved me $1300..

Agent told me insurance companies are increasing replacement costs to raise deductibles..
 
I no longer drive so I don't have to worry about auto insurance rates. But I noticed my son's was quite high and I advised him to look for better rates elsewhere. Well you know how children (even adult ones) can be...they listen to others better than their parents. A family member told him about NJM insurance and he got a much better rate. I don't know the particulars about his coverage though.

I have Allstate Renters insurance which covers the co-op unit I own. I get a discount for being a senior plus not having made any claims in decades. Between 2019 and 2023, the increase was only $53 with only a $2 increased between 2019 & 2020. The largest jump was $28 between 2022 and 2023. I paid $396 for the year in 2023 and won't know what the premium will be this year until around October.
 
I am so grateful to have a caring insurance man. I was so worried about costs going up for me since hubby died and I'm on a tight budget so I went in to his office and he sat down with me and we went over both car and homeowners insurance. We looked at everything and made a couple adjustments to homeowners that brought it down about $300/year. My car insurance needs to stay full coverage because it's new. I didn't have to change my deductible.

What really helped was our policies were "grandfathered" in when we moved here in 2022. That lowered each policy by $200/year from what the new amounts would have been. I did some shopping around at other companies and even they admitted they couldn't match what I have now for the price I'm paying.
 
Everything is up due to inflation and shortages. Cost of homes and building materials is up, real estate taxes are up due to home values rising, so it stands to reason that insurance premiums are up also.
My insurance agent is an independent and she finds me the best deals.
 
Even though my car is 16 years old the past 3 years it’s went up 20 per month each year. I don’t want to take collision off as it would save very little per month and the car is still worth 5k. I shopped around and no one is cheaper. My insurance on my little condo is 850/year.
 
Yeah, I dropped my home owners insurance it was crazy, My car insurance is nuts but I keep liability on it. It went from 50/mo to 85. Since I travel 6-9 months I now just cancel my car insurance when I leave. I have a truck in SE Asia and it costs me 300/yr for full coverage. Before anyone says I am stupid for not having home owners insurance I did a short search and decided the odds were on my side. I stopped my homeowners insurance over 15 years ago and invest the premiums. I could care less if it burns or not now.
 
Michael Z said:
Drive older cars to get some lower rates. You might get a very old inexpensive car for running around with only minimum coverage and then a better older vehicle in good condition for trips and essential transportation. You will then get a lower miles discount on both cars that will almost pay for the coverage on the older car. It's what we do.

Rates are high because prices and values of newer cars are so high!
Click to expand...
In Calif, an older car gets you a higher monthly premium, because emissions.
 

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