insurance increase.

[yourkiddin]

im amazed at the letter i got from my mortgage company today. my monthly payment went up on my fixed rate mortgage. they said it was do to not paying enough into escrow. i called my property tax office and they never increased. call state farm ins office. my home owners insurance went up. they said due to the flooding in atlanta ga. i live 80 miles from atlanta and i dont even have flood ins. thats why those folks pay that premium every month. is this legal?

 

[Thad]

Re: insurance increase.

I think just about anything is "legal" in the insurance industry. The only thing any one can do is go to a different one. But unless you are Bill Gates, you can't self insure in this day and age.

I have Country and if they tried something like that, I would surely start calling around.

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: insurance increase.

Our insurance company tried to increase my premium.
My insurance was 580 (through Sentry Insurance), When I got my increase in the mail, the new premium was 845.
Made several phone calls. Finally after a week my agent calls me and I talk with him. He didn't budge on the price. Said with the economy, people are filing false claims and this is why the premiums went up.. "How is that my problem'?

We switched insurance companies to Allstate. gave us a rate lower then what we were paying.

If you haven't look recently, you may want to check out a few companies and see if you can get a lower premium.

 

[geeco1]

Re: insurance increase.

I used to have both my car and home insured with the same company. After a year or two, the homeowners portion went from ~600 to ~1100 per year. My agent said that particular company raised all of their homeowner rates. We checked around and was able to find homeowners insurance with another company that was back in the ~600 ballpark. However, that new company's auto rates where higher. I decided to forego the auto/home discount and I insure my home with one company and my auto with another. The rates have stayed fairly stable now for 6 years.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: insurance increase.

Yep, it happens all the time. That's why you are free to look for another company and change your insurance carrier.

 

[PGFISHER]

Re: insurance increase.

My wife needs some blood pressure tests. Doctor said the tests would run $150 but because we have insurance he has to do a $900 test. Our policy has a $1000 deductable. So we can pay $150 if we cancel our insurance, or $900 if we keep the policy that is costing us $6000 a year. Am I missing something?

 

[gonefishie]

Re: insurance increase.

I was ranting about my increase awhile back and someone said "the insurance industry is highly regulated". Highly regulated my butt. They raised your rate because of flooding but won't give you a penny because you don't have flood insurance.

 

[eaglejim]

Re: insurance increase.

My wife needs some blood pressure tests. Doctor said the tests would run $150 but because we have insurance he has to do a $900 test. Our policy has a $1000 deductable. So we can pay $150 if we cancel our insurance, or $900 if we keep the policy that is costing us $6000 a year. Am I missing something?

Here is one for you,my wife cut her finger(4 stitches) a couple of years ago so I go to pay start to give my insurance card for a 600+ bill and then I ask how much for cash the receptionist looks at me and says I will adjust it for cash to 275 like you had a high deductible,so I asked why such a big difference she says it goes straight to the bank and we don't have to pay people to get our money,Cash is King

 

[phwrd]

Re: insurance increase.

As we here in Florida have learned, insurance companies can do anything, with very little ?Government? oversight.

AllState dropped huge numbers of homeowner policies, stating that they can?t possibility keep enough reserves in case of another ?Major? hurricane.

And I just read that they are requesting a 30 % rate increase for those 250,000 that they felt were safe (for them) to insure.

They have to ask some appointed (not elected) commission for permission. That is what passes as oversight here in Florida.

I had five, five cars insurned with them. So when i stated that if they dropped the homeowners, i was taking the car insurance somewhere else, they said "go ahead", more like don't let the door hit you in the arss on the way out.

They plead poverty but don't care about keeping my business. . .

Sorry man, but you hit one of my Hot Buttons...

(hey, any insurance guys here want to explain it to me? My agent hasn't returned my calls for 2 years)...

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: insurance increase.

It's simple in Florida, the elected officials have passed such STUPID laws about what insurance is to cover and how much insurance you have to have in Florida, that the companies can't make any money. (The auto insurance laws in Florida are the worst of two systems, "regular" and "no-fault". It's neither system, and it sucks and cost a lot more money!) Then fools come down there and build HUGE, very expensive homes right on the beaches or canals, that get wiped out by hurricanes. So the companies have to pay huge claims. That's fine, that's what they are supposed to do. But then the State says, "you have to have more in reserves than you do" and just what they say, without rate increases they can't meet the state's requirements. So you see, it is the State's fault.

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: insurance increase.

30 years of having home insurance, I never had to file a claim until about a month ago. Still waiting to see if my policy will get an increase over it.

I was mowing my yard and supposedly it threw a rock and hit a girls new car passenger door. The ding was about 4 inches down from the glass and 2 feet up. What is strange is the gravel area is right next to the edge of the road. To mow that area, my mower is within about a foot an a half from the white line on the edge of the road. For the past 10 years of mowing, I have always stopped my mower when traffic would pass by me. I do this as a friend of mine did damage a guys new truck many years ago. So I learned from his experience and practiced stopping to prevent such a thing.

I'm not sure how a ding could have happened so high up on her door. Neither does my insurance agent. However my home owners will pay for the mishap.

 

[tswiczko]

Re: insurance increase.

I have no love for insurance companies.

I was in an accident 4 years ago which put 10 screws that hold 2 rods and a plate on my spine (I can still walk by gods grace) I had 180,000 dollars in surgeries and rehab. I can no longer do the trade I had done for 15+ years that paid me over 50,000 a year. I had a temporary dissabillity policy which carried me for just over a year( till I started school for a differet line of work then dropped me since I wouldnt be returning to work for the same company)

I did get policy limits after two years of fighting with them, which I was responsible for all the bills incurred from the auto accident (my medical insurance would not pay them since the injuries had resulted from an auto accident) I tried to keep up using retirement money this only went so far then that well ran dry.

The long and short of it is 200,000 from auto insurance,- 180,000 medical bills, attorney fee 30%(-60,000) used up 80,000 savings acrued thousands in penalties, late fees, house was foreclosed on,sold almost everything we had I am getting vocational rehab grants from the state for being displaced from my job but there was no funding for last semester(bad economy=govt. spending cuts) so I have to take student loans to suplement my education.

I will never get out of debt or have good credit again because I had insurance but at least I can still walk

Sorry just venting

 

[jtmarten]

Re: insurance increase.

What I don't get, and my insurance agent has never been able to adequately answer, is why I'm paying the liability portion of my insurance on 4 vehicles, when I can only drive 1 at a time?
He told me that liability covered the policy holder, not the vehicle. I can drive any one of your cars and be covered by my liability policy, so why not if I'm driving one of my other **** cars????? No real answer from him.

They were forced, at least in Colo, to inform policy holders that only 1 vehicle per policy needed to have un/under-insured coverage if elected, which would cover all vehicles on the policy.

I was at his office the day after getting the notification to drop it from the other 3 vehicles. Then it took them several months, and several escalating phone calls from me to get them finally removed.

Auto Insurance - should be defined as a completely legal scam.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: insurance increase.

What I don't get, and my insurance agent has never been able to adequately answer, is why I'm paying the liability portion of my insurance on 4 vehicles, when I can only drive 1 at a time? ...

Because they have to have some way to show the total liability. So they break it down by car. And some cars are more liable to be involved in accidents, or cause more severe/costly accidents than others. So don't think of it as being charged for 4 vehicles when only one is driven, think of it as an itemized description of your overall risk.
Another reason is, you can loan out all three cars to friends, and drive the 4th yourself and you're still covered.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: insurance increase.

..............she says it goes straight to the bank and we don't have to pay people to get our money.....

She's right on the money. We all pay more for many things simply because insurance exists. Medical clinics and hospital have staff on hand to administer insurance claims. Lots of staff, and supporting hardware, etc.... There are an awful lot of insurance companies and health plans- from employer/employee provided to private.
Each with their own levels of coverage, copays, deductibles, and so on.
So that cost has to be passed along to each of us, just like every other business expense is.
That's why you can often negotiate a discount if you offer to pay on the spot. They don't have the overhead in billing insurance, collecting co-pays from you, and waiting around for the recievable. Some businesses will offer a cash paying customer a small discount simply becuase they won't incurr a fee for accepting plastic. That can be several percent of the transaction.
There is a general practice doctor in this area trying an experiment- he's not accepting any insurance plans. I'm not sure if he's even accepting plastic.
He has a standard exam fee that is much cheaper (by almost half) of what my clinic charges, and the fees for his services beyond simple office visits are negotiable. Sounds like he's doing okay, too.

 

[Thad]

Re: insurance increase.

I wonder how much life this thread has left in it. I see bad things on the horizon.

 

[jtmarten]

Re: insurance increase.

Because they have to have some way to show the total liability. So they break it down by car. And some cars are more liable to be involved in accidents, or cause more severe/costly accidents than others. So don't think of it as being charged for 4 vehicles when only one is driven, think of it as an itemized description of your overall risk.

I absolutely should feel like I'm getting charged for four vehicles when only one is driven - 'cause thats the situation.

If it was based on cumulative risk, it would still only total the liability cost of the most expensive vehicle to insure, since MY cumulative risk driving at any given moment can only be calculated using one vehicle.

How is a car more likely to be in an accident? Some DRIVERS are more likely to get in accidents, not the car, therefore they should pay a higher premium, ie DUI history, etc.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: insurance increase.

...

How is a car more likely to be in an accident? Some DRIVERS are more likely to get in accidents, not the car, therefore they should pay a higher premium, ie DUI history, etc.

Because many people adjust their driving habits according to the type of vehicle they are driving. You should have known what I meant. I didn't mean certain cars cause accidents. Well, unless of course it's a Toyota, or a Corvair, or a Suzuki Samari...

All I'm saying is, I "know" you would be peeved if you asked for a quote and they said, "your bill will be $1500/yr." You would say, "well, how did you come to that number?" If they responded, "we don't have to show you, that's just what the number is," you'd go elsewhere. Right?

KLinda of like when you call the marina and say, "How much to replace the gimbal bearing in my Mercruiser Bravo?" and they respond "$700" with no explanation. It doesn't sit well, does it? Sorry you feel charged 4 times, but you aren't being charge 4 times.

 

[tswiczko]

Re: insurance increase.

Not to mention that if you have a low credit rating you will be charged more.

which many Americans are finding out. Explanation from my agent-

"If you have had a bill more than 30 days over due in the past 5years you are elligible for a maximum rate increase regardless of driving record"

Next thing you know they will want to run a credit check on you before you get a job on the grounds that most criminals have poor credit ratings so if you have bad credit you are more likely to steal from the company

 

[Brewman61]

Re: insurance increase.

Next thing you know they will want to run a credit check on you before you get a job on the grounds that most criminals have poor credit ratings so if you have bad credit you are more likely to steal from the company

That's already happening. Lots of companies run credit checks on job applicants. Yeah, a bad credit report might count against someone there, too. Insurance companies have been using them for years now as a factor in premium calculations. Like it or not.