Is it wise to shop around in todays economy? I've been with the same company for 11 years and lately the service has been less then spectacular. With coverage on two vehicles( one vehicle is commercial), homeowners, 1 business (soon to be two) that I'm thinking it's time to shop around.

Sarge

Yes it is a good idea to shop around. I looked over a few options on my house and trucks and saved a bunch.

A local broker will give you the most options for your needs. Not always the cheapest route but usually the best route.

Yup, always wise to shop around even if satisfied. Just make sure you're comparing apples to apples.

The longer you're with an insurance company, the more expensive it is. Sort of like boiling a frog...

My rule is: shop around every 3 years. But, I've gotten lax lately. Definitely time to get some prices.

I have been with the same company for over 45 years, always fair. I have had two windshield repairs and a racoon that hit the side of the new car plus one deer hit. No tickets ever in my life and I am 73 years young. No claims on my house ever as well as my rental home which will be sold in a couple weeks. (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) thing just does not blow away. We insure two vehicles, a 2020 and 2021 chev and for all our policies which also includes a umbrella and two homes plus a polaris atv it cost me about $300.00 a month. I am with Farmers Insurance. My other choice would be ST Farm if I needed to chg.

I thought it was the other way around if you don’t have any wrecks or infractions that it became cheaper if you spend a number of years with the same company.

nope-- legalized extortion companies are greedy.

First deal with an independent agent. Not a wholly one company agent. Second a good agent should be shopping your policy every 3 years and informing you the customer.

I've paid in over 250,000 in 25 years for my business, have had a total of 7,000 in claims. If I had put it in mutual funds from the beginning, yup, i'd been a millionaire several times over.

Insurance is one of the biggest rackets in the country

Agreed, it’s a legalized protection racket. You pay for protection or you cannot function in this country.

Insurance used to be a pool in which you pay a very small amount to be covered in event of a very unlikely catastrophe.

For the most part, what we now call insurance is something completely different.

The insurance agent get paid very little for the service he or she provides. The insurance companies just over pay in my is my concern when it comes to homeowners. My daughter had her roof damaged in the storm in Cedar Rapids. The contractor charged around $500.00 per square to replace the roof. My son is a contractor and said he would have been in the $300.00 per square but lives 15 hours away. There were so many claims in Cedar Rapids that they had to pay. My concern is people expect so much from the insurance company, matching compared to not matching, off by a little color and they scream this is not fair. So when the insurance company then pays up you know what will happen next. The insurance premiums go up 40% or more, I seen it happen in 1998 when MN had storms May 15th and May 28th. The next year we saw 80% increases in premiums, try to sell that to a client who did not have a claim. We saw hail baseball to softball size in some area's.

Insurance is not a racket. These companies compete with about 2000 other companies, for a piece of the market. In times of disaster, they eat a lot of losses. They must invest premiums in ultra conservative instruments, and they answer to 50 different state commissioners.

There are many large insurance companies you can buy shares of, thus you can share in their riches. With hundreds of millions in your pocket, you can start your own insurance company and provide coverage against product and employee liabilities, earth quakes, forest fires, arsonist, vehicle thefts and accidents, hurricane winds, and damage and theft caused by drug users who will steal from your policyholders to fund a drug habit. Does this sound like a risk you would like to assume? You must also purchase large computers. programmers and software, hire skilled underwriters to evaluate those who wish to be insured by you, have specialized lawyers to defend you, pay commissions to agents, purchase office buildings, and pay for advertising. I am sure I left out a lot of significant expenses such as stationery and postage and clerical support. Many years you will not make a profit. If you increase prices, customers will leave. If you lower your prices to attract customers, you may not be profitable anymore and have to close your business. You must always have reserves and claims paying abilities to satisfy rating agencies and state commissioners.

It is a misunderstood business, but it is not a scam. It serves a vital need. All home and business borrowing would cease if lenders were unable to insure the collateral behind their loans.

You should shop around with insurance companies and garbage companies. Called garbage company the other day and told them we were going to switch and they cut our bill in half. Did the same with the insurance company a couple of years ago. We shopped around and went with a different insurance company and saved several hundred dollars.

Tried to shop around with propane companies at my former home. I owned my underground tank. Every company wanted to charge me a fee to inspect my equipment before filling my tank. As a residential customer, I didn't have enough volume to effectively negotiate.

Now I have natural gas and a utility commission to regulate prices on behalf of consumers.

I used to be with a captive insurance company. Captive means the agent can only write for that company. I went independent and now write insurance for 16 different companies.

It's hard to know if an insured's price goes up because most companies don't inform the agent that an insured's rates went up. Every person we insure, are told if their rates ever go up or they have an issue with the company, please let us know so we can look into it. We strive to give the best price we can find for the best coverage.

Every accident reported to us by an insured, I follow up to make sure they are being helped after two days from when we reported it. Or, if they have any problems or questions with the claim. Let me know and I will look into it for them. Sometimes it's just a misunderstanding between the insured and the adjuster that is easily worked out.

Mine just went up two hundred dollars and I have not filed any claims. I called and asked about it and was told because of the price of lumber to rebuild and covid. I'm going to go to an insurance broker. I've never used one before but my parents and my oldest son use one and they tell me how good it is

I had a guy whose home burned to the ground because he admitted he fell asleep smoking a cigarette. He escaped with bad burns. His house was a total loss. The insurance company paid $350,000 for his home, $160,000 for personal property, and $20,000 in additional living expenses which included food, temporary housing, clothing, etc. Tell him insurance is a racket.