What were they paying before the rate increase?
- Iāve heard that rates in Florida can be higher for obvious reasons.
In 2019 it was around $1000 and in 2020 it was in the $800 range and then it start going back up. They just receive the bill last week and it show $1200 with Statefarm. Three of them is on the policy one of them is 22 in college with 3.0 gpa/higher and the other two are in there 50ās all safe drivers never had an accident or ticket.
You should have stated that in your original post. You made it sound like there was only one person on the policy.
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Word of advice, save your time and use a broker. We donāt charge (and if they do, they are a POS) and we can make sure you have adequate coverage.
The problem with doing everything yourself if most companies wonāt run the necessary reports before they give you a quote, baiting you into the āfinalizationā stages before jacking up their rates. As a broker we are able to run all consumer based insurance scores, CLUE/accident reports, and MVR reports to give you a concrete number for the 6 month or 12 month term.
Plus we can quote with a dozen+ companies in a matter of minutes. Work smarter, not harder.
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For some reason Iām under impression that not all car insurance companies work with brokers and prefer direct to consumer sales.
Broker needs to be paid and if itās not consumer paying that insurance company. But one way or the other someone does.
So, genuine question, how can consumer be sure he is getting best rate if
- he is steered to insurance company that pays most to the broker?
- he isnāt presented with all quotes that were ran?
Few brokers I dealt with I essentially had to trust it is the best quote out of all they ran and Iām not being steered to the company thatās benefiting tue broker.
I had $240 with Progressiveā¦
There are 2 main types of carriers - direct or agent distributed. Agent has 2 sub-categories - exclusive (represent only 1 brandā¦ Allstate, State Farm, Farmers are examples) or independent (they are appointed with many carriers and can shop around).
It costs the carrier money to sell insurance either way (acquisition cost). On direct carriers it is primarily marketing expensesā¦ Flo and Gecko spend $1B+ per year in advertising and that has to be paid for somehow. Agent distributed carriers pay the agents a commission to sell their product. At the end of the day there isnāt a huge difference in the acquisition cost per policy. Direct carriers are typically a little cheaper but itās misleading to think that agent carriers will always be more expensive because most people donāt realize that Flo and Gecko are two of the largest advertising buyers in the US and that $$ is rolled right into the rates they charge you.
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Thank you for the tip. I appreciate it!
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As a broker right here in your state of CT, iāll answer your question from my personal experience.
First off, commissions from carriers are almost identical. Choosing Company A over Company B might mean a cup of coffee at Starbucksā¦no broker is ever going to take commission pay into consideration because it just isnāt a factor, unless they are that desperate for that extra few bucks.
The only time I might steer a new client towards a specific company is if itās in the ballpark, theres a better relationship, and/or the overall package is better. If your auto quote comes back at $165 a month with company A, and Company B will do $170ā¦but Iāve had a stellar relationship with Company Bās underwriters/customer service and they are generally easier to work withā¦yeah I will present you both but i will āsuggestā Company B for the sake of both of us. Well worth it if there is ever and issue or during claim time.
It also comes down to coverage. I think we are all smart enough here to know that cheapest isnāt always the best. My job is to make sure your assets are protected with the best coverage possible AT the cheapest price. Doesnāt always mean itās the cheapest out there, there are alot of people who expose themselves big time just to save $10 a month. If I can get you 100k/300k for $165 but 250k/500k comes in at $174ā¦all options are presented but I always advise higher coverage.
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Spot on. Well done.
This is the part that wasnāt known for not it was openly discussed online since Iām coming from the knowledge of how mortgage brokers used to operate back in 2008 and still leave bad taste which is why I did my mortgage directly with the bank and not with a mortgage broker.
But since the commission is +/- the same that at least I wonāt have to worry about being steered into something that benefits brokers and not necessarily benefits me.
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Compensation for captive/exclusive agents is different by carrier but doesnāt influence outcome since those agents only have one carrier to sell. For independent agent/broker carriers - yes there is basically an industry standard that carriers have to pay to be relevant and they basically all pay that. Some additional $$ here and there via incentives or bonuses but not big percentage of the overall pie so wouldnāt influence decision. That matters more for agents selling large commercial lines policies where they could make thousands of dollars of commission per deal vs. personal auto/home policies where the difference in compensation might buy you a coffee at Starbucks as mentioned.
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Sorry about that but now I know there is three of them on the policy but isnāt that high for a 2019 Camry SE for 6 months? I see @Phantomcypher on this thread posted about paying $1200 for a Etron and 5 Series and those cars are worth more while insurance for a $30K Camry is $1200.
I dumped Geico here in NY last year after raising rates ~15% (no accidents or tickets either). I had joined AMAC and went through them to get Travelers which beat Geico hands down, saving about $100/month on a 6 month policy. Just renewed and no increase either.
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- As I stated before, premiums are based on quite a few factors. We have no clue what that memberās driving record is, how many people are on the policy and where they are located.
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Update: On switching to Geico they rated the Etron and 5 series @ $748 every 6 months.
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Just wondering why is your insurance cheaper while my family member pay $1200 for 6 months on a 2019 Camry SE none of them ever received a ticket or gotten into an accident. Three of them is on the policy 1 is 21 years old college student and the other 2 are in their early 50s. This is in Florida with state farm
Thereās your answer
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I drove several 2 seater coupes while in college and had a sport bike. Granted, I did play the game a bit as I had my ābeaterā on that policy as well. My rates were very reasonable. YMMV
It was basically around that price before they added the 21 year old?