Here are several more stories of people saving money by shopping around for car insurance. They were left as comments on my post titled Real-Life Money Saving Example. The first:
I'd been meaning to comment on our car insurance switch as well. We had been with Nationwide for ages (basically since I got my license 18 years ago!). I plugged in my information at one of those insurance quote websites (be prepared for the onslaught of phone calls, I used GrandCentral to screen them), and after reviewing a couple of them, I went with AIG as well. Two cars on Nationwide: $1440.20. Same coverage on AIG: $660.66. Yearly savings: $779.54.
Almost $800 savings for a bit of shopping. Not bad at all!
The next example:
I just switched my car insurance as well. I had been with Farm Bureau since I turned 16. My parents have been with them for all eternity as well. My monthly premium for a 2003 Toyota and a 2006 Kia was $140! Granted, I had a minor, weather-related accident (single car) a couple of years ago so I can understand that it has gone up.
I did the online quote thing too (and got inundated with calls!) and heard from Liberty Mutual. Turns out I got a discount based on where I went to college in addition to them not holding the accident against me. My annual premium is now $1024, down from $1680. The only down side is that I will lose my multi-policy discount with my FB homeowner's insurance, but I have already paid through June 09 so it is no big deal right now. Even without that discount, FB is still cheaper on the home front, and I am still saving $45+ per month!
Over $500 savings per year! And there's more:
I too was with State Farm forever. I have nothing against them other than the high rates. Other than that, I loved them. However, being just out of college, I need to save money.
So I went on JD Powers to read their reviews of insurance companies and found Erie Insurance (I think they only service a few states around Lake Erie of course). They were extremely highly rated (better than State Farm). I called them up and got a quote which was way less.
Now, I just bought a 2009 Toyota Corolla and my wife has a 2003 Mazda 6, both relatively new cars I guess. For both of us, we pay $540/6 months total... Less than half of what State Farm was charging. Not to mention, they consider you an adult at age 24 and can add on other discounts (employer for example).
I also get renter's insurance for $11/month which is pretty much standard.
I haven't had to use them yet in an accident, but so far they've been good. Also, they sell through independent agents which drastically cuts down on costs cause they don't have to pay as much commission as State Farm does.
Saving over 50% is good, right? ;-)
Here's one more comment:
A similar thing happened to me and in my case it was GEICO (yes GEICO) that gave me a SUPERB deal on Auto and American Family who gave me a fabulous deal on Home insurance. Between these two new policies (3 cars and 1 house), I save $600 per year with better coverage (went to $1M liability coverage since I have contractors at my home all the time for additions/improvement/maintenance).
Bottom line is that I hired the BEST companies for their 'sweet spot' and got myself a 'honey pot worth $600 per year' for better coverage. HOW CAN YOU BEAT THAT?
Is there any doubt that shopping around for car insurance can often save you a bundle of money?
In Canada they have a couple of good companies where you can compare the quotes from different car insurance brokers, choosing the ones which offer the best rates.
I am not sure how many Canadian readers you have, but if any are, checkout: http://getinsurancequotes.ca
Posted by: DavidD | July 25, 2008 at 09:36 AM
I always hear stories about people switching insurance companies all the time. I'm always curious as to how much people research the new company before switching. Do they only look at money? My question I would like to find out more about is this...is having a local agent available 24/7 necessary anymore?
Posted by: Jon | July 29, 2008 at 09:57 AM