AUTO INSURANCE

[STEELE]

I'm tired of the costs of auto insurance! No accidents, no tickets, no DUI, seldom using either vehicle due to Covid and other lack of travel, yet the costs remain the same. If I own two vehicles...a "go to the dump" pickup and a 2018 SUV, why does my 20 year old pickup cost more than the newer SUV? If I drive either vehicle and have an accident, the other vehicle is home, so why do I have the same coverage costs for liability and underinsured motorist? I get the different costs to repair each vehicle, but if my pickup is not worth fixing, why am I paying for the insurance? Insurance companies are "winning' because we let them. They have politicians in their pockets; have people like you and me who have not "rioted" about the high cost scheme and who never give back your costs when claims are not made. I'm a senior who, like many of you, deserves to stop the insurance bleeding. If any of you have any thoughts about how to start a "revolution", post here. I'd like to see some solid thoughts, not just an agreement. You can simply "agree" with a "Like" note. Thanks!

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[mtndewjustin]

I pay $150 full coverage with zero wrecks and one ticket in the last 10 years. 14' Tacoma

 

[ATCclears]

Have you done a review with your insurance agency or company, and looked for options? What are the components and cost of your current policy, and what might make sense to remove or adjust (e.g. Collision goes from a $500 deductible to a $2,000 deductible)?

 

[Mikej]

What company?

What infractions/accidents/DUIIs. If any?

How many drivers, their age/records?

How many policies/vehicles/property?

Not enough info. I've been with State Farm, on my parents plan from 16, and on my own at 18 ever since. I'm 65 but have had rate very close to the below for many years.

Three vehicles, a boat and in 2001, a house.

'05 CR-V about $280.00-$300.00/6 months.

'84GMC 1500 $$150.00/6/months. Full coverage because of the new motor i put in it some 10 years ago.

'69 Chev 3/4 t pick-up ?135.00/6 months Basic liability.

No claims other than three window breakage claims over many years.

 

[made in china]

I'm tired of the costs of auto insurance! No accidents, no tickets, no DUI, seldom using either vehicle due to Covid and other lack of travel, yet the costs remain the same. If I own two vehicles...a "go to the dump" pickup and a 2018 SUV, why does my 20 year old pickup cost more than the newer SUV? If I drive either vehicle and have an accident, the other vehicle is home, so why do I have the same coverage costs for liability and underinsured motorist? I get the different costs to repair each vehicle, but if my pickup is not worth fixing, why am I paying for the insurance? Insurance companies are "winning' because we let them. They have politicians in their pockets; have people like you and me who have not "rioted" about the high cost scheme and who never give back your costs when claims are not made. I'm a senior who, like many of you, deserves to stop the insurance bleeding. If any of you have any thoughts about how to start a "revolution", post here. I'd like to see some solid thoughts, not just an agreement. You can simply "agree" with a "Like" note. Thanks!

I hear you.

Our insurance keeps creeping up every year also. My wife is an extreme penny-pincher and has tried every trick in the book (many will be suggested to you, depending where you live it may be totally futile) to reduce our costs.
We have 2 drivers and 3 vehicles.

The REAL reason we are ALL paying so much is that new vehicles are becoming ridiculously expensive to fix.
In the 80's (for example) a minor fender-bender may break a $20-$100 headlight and crease a fender.
Today, modern cars have:
-$1500-$2500 LED motorized headlights with integrated LED turn signals. A minor fender-bender that appears to have caused minimal damage can irreparably damage this type of headlight.
-Driving assist sensors that are mounted in the bumper or grille. A minor fender bender can be very costly to replace and recalibrate these sensors.
-Driving assist sensors behind windshield AND auto wiper sensors on windshield, for those who have glass coverage, this is another significantly higher expense as anytime a windshield is replaced, those systems need recalibration even if the sensors were undamaged (they usually are undamaged)
-BLIS sensors in LED taillights (F-150 and Wrangler, for example) Fancy LED taillights with blind-spot sensors in them are VERY expensive to replace and require a trip to the dealer for programming when replaced (warning to people who may buy these vehicles and keep without warranty coverage)
-Airbags. Cars used to have 1 or 2. Now it is common to have 8+. Airbags are very expensive devices, and the ones in your seat or dash may destroy them when deployed, greatly increasing repair costs and quite often causing a total loss.

Even though YOU may own a relatively inexpensive to fix vehicle, insurance spreads the cost amongst all of it's members, which isn't just your company, but the entire industry.
Although cars are becoming SAFER, I don't think they are becoming safer faster than drivers are becoming stupid and/or irresponsible. We also need to cover those expensive damages from uninsured people.

Side note: My wife hit a mattress in her $21K 2020 Toyota Corolla, on the freeway. I had to fix the car myself because my wife didn't do a darn thing to write down license number or call cops. We thought one LED headlamp was broken (turned out it was just whacked out of alignment) and I checked Toyota, the ONE LED headlamp is $1200 to replace. On a $21K car! That means 2 headlights cost 11% of the sale price of her car!

And of course, an ever-increasingly litigious society.

 

[HaveGun]

The cost of an individual's insurance policy is influenced by many, many factors.

The biggest factors are your driving/accident history, your zip code, and the cost of your vehicle.

There are several insurance companies that reduced their customer's insurance bill significantly over the past few months due to Covid. They figured everyone was driving less, so they reduced costs. Mine went down 20%, even though I was still working and commuting every day to work.

If you've been with an insurance carrier for more than a few years, you could probably save some money by going online and getting quotes. I was with USAA for a few years, then went to Geico for a few years, and am now with Progressive.

I'm about due to start shopping around again and just yesterday got a notice from Progressive that my policy renewed and they gave me more discounts.

When I moved to Arizona, my insurance costs went way up. Why? Because I moved from an area with little crime to an area with lots of immigrants that like to steal cars and usually don't have insurance. Even though I was little risk, I had moved to an area with much more risk. When I moved back up here, my costs went down.

The reason some older vehicles cost more to insure is because they are now at higher risk of being totalled. If you have an SUV worth $30k, and an older pickup worth $7k, the chance that the pickup will suffer damage beyond 70% or more of it's value is greater than the SUV suffering the same amount of damage. Instead of just paying for the repair on the SUV, they would be more likely to have to pay out for the entire value of the vehicle for the pickup.

Welcome to the wonderful world of underwriting and their black magic tactics based entirely on math and probability.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I pay $150 full coverage with zero wrecks and one ticket in the last 10 years. 14' Tacoma

$12/month is pretty good.

 

[bigbearbear]

The REAL reason we are ALL paying so much is that new vehicles are becoming ridiculously expensive to fix.

Even though YOU may own a relatively inexpensive to fix vehicle, insurance spreads the cost amongst all of it's members, which isn't just your company, but the entire industry.

Yup, this. Cars are getting much more expensive to purchase and to fix. Many cars are now basically giant computers with wheels and equipped with more sensors and radar than a WWII cruiser. The SUV I just bought for example, has almost the same LCD display surface area as my work laptop !

The SUV is also equipped with a series of high definition cameras that provides 360 degrees view that makes parking this big vehicle a very simple task. On the other hand, if you hit this SUV, your insurance is going to have to cough up A LOT of money as it is going to need body panel, cameras, new data bus connections, replacement microprocessors and radar sensors. So yeeeaahhh.....a simply ding and your insurance have to pay big time so what they do is to increase the cost for everybody.

I think the most likely reason why your insurance is charging you more for your old pickup compared to the newer SUV, is that they believe you are more likely to hit someone else with the older pickup which does not have the newer tech of the SUV. So if you plow into a Porsche Taycan Turbo S with that old workhorse or even just bump it gently but cracked its charging port, we're talking about the kind of cost that involves a 2nd mortgage or you having to sell your kidney to China in the black market.

 

[Certaindeaf]

And then half the buggers on the road have zero insurance. Watch out for the crazies.

 

[HaveGun]

$12/month is pretty good.

Pretty sure he mean't per month. I have a 2019 Toyota 4Runner with Liability/Collision/Comprehensive plus roadside assistance and $40 per day rental coverage; what non-insurance people call "full" coverage. I pay $72 a month. For my 2018 Honda Pioneer UTV, I pay $25 a month, and I drive it on the street, so it has good coverage.

Under $100 a month for "full" coverage on two nearly-new vehicles was unheard of in Arizona. When I was there, I had two teen drivers at home, an ex-wife that was a State Farm agent, multiple toys for the dirt, and 5 vehicles. Our insurance was over $400 a month.

 

[bigbearbear]

And then half the buggers on the road have zero insurance. Watch out for the crazies.

Oh yeah....when I as living in CA (recently moved to WA in early 2020), I was hit TWICE by cholos who were driving without insurance.

 

[Cavedweller]

If I drive either vehicle and have an accident, the other vehicle is home, so why do I have the same coverage costs for liability and underinsured motorist? I get the different costs to repair each vehicle, but if my pickup is not worth fixing, why am I paying for the insurance?

You are required by law to have liability. That compensates others for accidents that are your fault. It has nothing to do with the cost of repairing your vehicle. If your pickup is not worth fixing, don't carry collision and comprehensive coverage. That's entirely up to you.

 

[made in china]

I think the most likely reason why your insurance is charging you more for your old pickup compared to the newer SUV, is that they believe you are more likely to hit someone else with the older pickup which does not have the newer tech of the SUV. So if you plow into a Porsche Taycan Turbo S with that old workhorse or even just bump it gently but cracked its charging port, we're talking about the kind of cost that involves a 2nd mortgage or you having to sell your kidney to China in the black market.

Insurance is very difficult to figure out. We have 3 vehicles, a big, heavy 14 y/o Nissan Titan, a Q60 coupe and a 2020 Corolla Hatchback.

The Titan is heavy and hits other cars hard, and doesn't have expensive lights and sensors hanging all over.
The Corolla has all of the newest safety doo-dads, can even drive itself. If you check the crash test ratings, which now grade the active safety ability to avoid accidents, it gets the highest score possible.
The Q60 has twice the power of the Corolla and half the doors and sensors, no active safety tech at all. It is also our most expensive vehicle.

The deductible and coverages are exactly the same for all 3 vehicles,

The Corolla is more expensive to insure of all 3, and the truck is the cheapest.

Our insurance agent explained that our truck is cheaper to insure for 3 reasons:
Not easily damaged
Occupants not likely to get hurt
Not worth very much if totaled, payout would be low.

And the Corolla is more expensive because:
Very expensive parts exposed to even minor incidents
More likely to die or suffer expensive injury
Doesn't matter about it's safety features. I thought this was odd, because I thought companies offered discounts for active safety. I guess since active safety is so common now it is already considered in the basis of the risk assessment.

I didn't dare ask him why the Q60 is cheaper than the Corolla! Don't want push my luck. I would have guessed the Q60 to be the most expensive of our 3 vehicles to insure.

 

[made in china]

Oh yeah....when I as living in CA (recently moved to WA in early 2020), I was hit TWICE by cholos who were driving without insurance.

I lived in AZ before moving to WA.

My insurance was 2x more than WA. And it was very common to see many illegals driving with a beer and no insurance.
When traffic cams were installed at intersections in Mesa, the police would share the accident pics with the news. It was ALWAYS a Mexican in a G-body GM with a beer in his hand running a light and t-boning some poor fool.

 

[Tony617]

I drive my car so little except the the grocery store and Costco that I to put the battery charger on my car battery a few times. Since I park in the driveway I have to set the car alarm which uses the battery and slowly drains after 3 weeks or so.

 

[ma96782]

I lived in AZ before moving to WA.

My insurance was 2x more than WA. And it was very common to see many illegals driving with a beer and no insurance.
When traffic cams were installed at intersections in Mesa, the police would share the accident pics with the news. It was ALWAYS a Mexican in a G-body GM with a beer in his hand running a light and t-boning some poor fool.

I had a GF that got rear-ended by an "Illegal Mex" with NO INSURANCE here in WA. The WA state government wasn't interested in seeing that he got deported and neither was the Fed Govt. (OBAMA was the President back then).

"JUSTICE?"

Rrrrrrright.......

"No Habla Ingles"

Deal with it. Buy full coverage or suffer the loss on your own. Because it's not like he'll be paying any civil judgments.

Aloha, Mark

 

[ChiefPaul53]

I'm tired of the costs of auto insurance! No accidents, no tickets, no DUI, seldom using either vehicle due to Covid and other lack of travel, yet the costs remain the same. If I own two vehicles...a "go to the dump" pickup and a 2018 SUV, why does my 20 year old pickup cost more than the newer SUV? If I drive either vehicle and have an accident, the other vehicle is home, so why do I have the same coverage costs for liability and underinsured motorist? I get the different costs to repair each vehicle, but if my pickup is not worth fixing, why am I paying for the insurance? Insurance companies are "winning' because we let them. They have politicians in their pockets; have people like you and me who have not "rioted" about the high cost scheme and who never give back your costs when claims are not made. I'm a senior who, like many of you, deserves to stop the insurance bleeding. If any of you have any thoughts about how to start a "revolution", post here. I'd like to see some solid thoughts, not just an agreement. You can simply "agree" with a "Like" note. Thanks!

The wife and I have been with Metro Mile now for a few years with four cars 2004 through 2009 and pay on average 2.4 cents a mile when driving and a small monthly fee. For full coverage on all we average $100.00 a month for the bunch. Check them out.
Safe Driving,
ChiefPaul53

 

[cigars]

Check out Amica. I was with Safeco but when my first kid got her license they decided to raise my premium by almost three grand, and we are with no violations, squeaky clean across the board, etc. We also had our homeowners with them so we had all of the discounts. Amica did us way better, saved us a ton of money and you get to select the options that you want in the coverage. So they got all of our business and I have been extremely happy with them. They send me a calendar every year also so there's that too. I'm In Like Flint.

 

[HaveGun]

My girlfriend just told me she pays $110 a month for a 2018 Nissan Rogue with no tickets or accidents. If I marry her, I'll add her to my policy. Girl has no concept of saving money or fiscal responsibility. It's the main reason I haven't popped the question in 2 years of dating.

 

[Wayne]

When I was in my 20's I had a Porsche 911 and paid almost 600 a year, when I complained I was told as I got older it would go down. Well, I am a lot older now, a year away fro 70 and guees what, they lied, I pay 750.00 a wear now