California Insurance rate hikes

"Shamoononon drives like a farmer" (shamoononon) 01/12/2018 at 00:54 • Filed to: insuranceopnik

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So my insurance for two cars (including a brand new vehicle and a 98 vehicle) at full coverage (maxed out) doubled. It’s almost another 100 a month. I had a ticket last year around February but hadn’t had a ticket previous for 20 years. I’ve gone around and questioned others about the rate hike and even people without a ticket have seen a drastic change.

What’s going on? Anybody know? I went from 112$ a month to 198$. The ticket was 11 months ago. I thought it was all for my one ticket but others are telling me their rate went up drastically too.

smobgirl > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 01/12/2018 at 01:12

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Natural disasters? We had a relatively concentrated but very bad hail storm in May and everyone’s rates here went through the roof. My house wasn’t even hit but all of our home insurance rates have also increased. They share the love with everyone regardless, it seems.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 01/12/2018 at 01:14

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Hmm 200 a month for two fully insured vehicles is not bad.

facw > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 01/12/2018 at 01:28

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Haven’t heard anything specific. Did read something saying that profits have been low for insurers and so especially with all the natural disaster losses this year, they’re getting desperate to raise rates. Might be even worse in CA due to the wildfires. That said, my rate post-Harvey only went up around $12/Month, and I lost my car in the flood (honestly not sure if my new car is more or less valuable, it’s newer, and was more expensive new, but it has a lot more miles as well). 

Gerry197 > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 01/12/2018 at 01:34

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Nope, did you call your agent and find out what’s going on? My insurance actually went down, but then again I’m 43 years old with no recent issues or tickets.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/12/2018 at 01:40

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That’s what I was thinking. I pay about that much for two cars and one is liability only. I haven’t observed a sudden change on my California policy, but I imagine it will only change when renewing.

Svend > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 01/12/2018 at 01:41

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It always pays to shop around when it comes time for insurance renewals.

Try some other places, get some quotes and then either try to haggle a lower renewal price or go elsewhere.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 01/12/2018 at 06:52

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sadly, what you are quoted for one month is what i pay for 12 months

shop-teacher > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 01/12/2018 at 07:16

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I once had my rates jacked up on me afternoon tickets or claims. I called my agent, and he told me the company had taken big loses because of hurricane damage, so rates went up company wide. I then switched companies.

I seem to end up switching every few years, because rates always creep up when you stay at company. My theory is they’ll give competitive rates to earn your business, but then they jack them up over time, because they’re relying on people being too lazy to switch.

Try shopping around, you might save a some nice cheddar that way.

E92M3 > shop-teacher 01/12/2018 at 08:30

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Your theory is correct. Insurance companies call it “price optimization”. Unlike most other companies where customers are rewarded for loyalty, you actually get punished for it here. They’ve spent millions on software and data to index each customer. They even know how long you’ve been with your cable/satellite provider, and that plays a factor in your scoring. You could have a twin brother in the same zip code, with the same cars, same coverage, both could have a clean record, and be priced differently because of your “other” habits. They have figured out some people don’t like change, or won’t shop around, and have a computer model that suggests how much they can go up without changing that behavior.

shop-teacher > E92M3 01/12/2018 at 09:39

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They should pay more attention to me then. I just switched internet providers for the 5th time in seven years :)

I keep switching back and forth between AT&T and Comcast. Comcast’s service is better, but I’m not paying double what AT&T will charge me. It’s not THAT much better. I’m sure I’ll be back when they decide to give me a proper promotional rate.

Milky > pip bip - choose Corrour 01/12/2018 at 09:49

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What you pay for 12 months is less than I pay for 1 month, for 1 car.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/12/2018 at 10:18

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Rates in the PNW are ridiculous. Mine nearly doubled when I moved here from CA.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 01/12/2018 at 10:21

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Yeah, I pay quite a bit. And that’s with all my“you didn’t kill anyone in the last five years!” discounts. If ever get another ticket, I’m just going to throw my wallet the problem to get it dropped.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 01/12/2018 at 10:58

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It’s always worth doing that if you can. WA has the shittiest form of that I’ve ever seen, too. CA only has you on the hook for 1 year and you can do it as soon as long as you don’t have any already deferred. It’s once in 7 years here.

It’s insane and clearly designed to increase insurance company profits.

His Stigness > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 01/12/2018 at 11:57

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Check with the Department of Insurance to see who asked for a rate hike. I’ve got Mercury and my rate didn’t change. It actually went down, but I’m pretty sure I lowered the mileage on one of my cars.

merged-5876237249235911857-hrw8uc > Shamoononon drives like a farmer 01/12/2018 at 12:11

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Is it tied into medical expenses? I know here in Michigan, the land of no fault, my medical insurance affects my vehicle insurance costs. It’s pretty screwed up, but that’s the way it works here. I assume similar for you, even if it’s no fault, the insurance companies have to cover themselves. Have you tried shopping around for coverage? Or look at raising your deductible? That can affect the cost quite a bit.