But I’m A Good Customer

Have you ever heard that in the world of automobile insurance, being a customer in good standing for a long period of time can work against you? I’d been told a few times, but actually didn’t believe it. No tickets, no accidents, no claims, should make me the kind of customer an insurance company wants to keep. For years, I’d been paying in, without taking out. I should be a golden child of my insurance company, instead, I realized I was the cash cow being milked, while new customers got the good rates.

Repeatedly, I had ignored the advice to shop around for auto insurance before renewals. I refused to believe that I was paying more as a “good customer.” When, as part of New Years resolutions, I performed a financial inventory of accounts, services, and subscriptions, I finally decided to take a closer look at my automobile insurance policy. What I discovered was a shock to the system!

How to Comparison Shop

But first, how to tackle such a job? No one has time to call multiple companies, and besides, that is so 90’s. Who wants to basically call a telemarketer and initiate a conversation? That’s what cold calling for quotes feels like to me.  And consider how much time and research would need to go into making a list of suggested companies, finding contact information, dialing, and waiting and asking the same few questions, then hoping the quote received is accurate. No one has that kind of time or energy these days.

 That’s where an online site with comparison options was a perfect means to perform the task. Now don’t be fooled. Several insurance companies have sites that appear to offer comparisions, but are actually leading you toward their own product. Here’s an example of a site that pops up when I Googled automobile insurance rate comparisons. It’s really a site for one brand, but mentions other companies only because they claim to be lower. Liberty Mutual  Not really a comparison site, so move right along and don’t get bogged down. There are plenty of these that show up in the first page of search returns, so let’s skip to the chase.

 Apples to Apples Comparison

After a few rabbit trails and diversions into sponsored sites that really weren’t helpful, I found this link: Automobile.com Finally, a resource page that not only provided comparisons but explained how to do an apples to apples comparison and what to consider. For example, don’t start shopping from scratch without considering the coverage you currently carry. Is it too much? Is it not enough? Are you going to maintain that level or do you need to reduce or add? I shopped for exactly the same coverage (get your current coverage document to be able to do a direct comparison) to test the theory that I had been over paying. Also, make sure your coverage is adequate for the laws of your state. Yep, they do vary, so factor that in while shopping. Lastly, review if your current coverage is still what you need. For example, I went from a long commute to a four block commute, so the number of miles I drive yearly dropped significantly. I’m a low miles driver now, which brought about some discounts I wasn’t using to my advantage.

After reviewing my current plan compared to several new options, guess what? I was basically paying a penalty for sticking with the same company for years. AND I hand’t updated my plan to reflect my changes in driving habits, which reduced my costs even more. Time to put money back in my pocket and sign up for a new plan! Bottom line, I kept my coverage levels, got a low miles discount, AND got an overall rate reduction. Win, Win, Win, all thanks to using Automobile.com to evaluate my automobile insurance plan.

Now on to evaluating my savings account rates….