GEICO raised my premium 15% over 6 months ago; it’s gone up 50% over the last 2 years. I’ve never had a claim (but I’ve only been driving 48 years). I’ve only driven once in the last 6 months. What’s the deal? Should I shop?
Well they’re going to get more money out of you no matter what, after all they are in business to make a profit.
I don’t mean to get too personal but 15% higher (or 50% over 2 years) from what? I mean to say that a 15% hike for an old truck like yours may only amount to a few dollars a month. For example, my rates from Allstate also went up recently. But my monthly premium is still only $123 for full coverage on a 2018 Cadillac, reduced coverage on a 13 year old Trailblazer, and liability only on a 30 year old Chevy pickup. A 15% increase would cost $18–a drop in the bucket.
But yes, I would compare rates using a local agent.
I ask my agent to “shop the market” at each renewal and to show me the three lowest rates he’s gotten.
Apparently your neighbors there in New Mexico are very poor drivers and the victims of their crashes are winning lawsuits against them. Your insurance commissioner is apparently in agreement and has allowed GEICO to increase their rates as a result.
A fine little example of collectivism. Take one for the New Mexican Driving Team, Random! Embrace your neighbors and pay your fair share.
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The things that control insurance rates for vehicles and homes : Storm damage - Wildfires - Flood damage - cost of rebuilding material for vehicles and homes ( Thanks to Tariffs ) .
I had a homeowners policy price increase and was not surprised at all .
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GEICO is a rip-off, especially if you have blemishes on your credit. I remember when my credit tanked as a result of the economic collapse. I had GEICO and my rates went up over 50%, and I didn’t have any accidents or violations other than an expired registration on a company truck which the company never renewed (and I was laid off from that job by the time of my court date anyways). I called them to complain, and was told that the rate was based on my credit score and “other factors”.
I ended up getting basic liability from a no-name insurance company, but I wasn’t too concerned about the insurance other than to avoid being harassed by police and possibly having my car towed if I didn’t have insurance. Even if the insurance itself was worthless, if I was in an accident and got sued, I would have just declared bankruptcy, which I ended up doing several years later after a lawsuit and judgment from one of my creditors that I stopped paying several years earlier due to no money.
ALL insurance companies will adjust rates on your credit rating.
I posted an article several months ago that explained insurance increases can be blamed on distracted drivers. Cars are getting safer, but drivers, distracted ones, are becoming more dangerous.
Traffic deaths were falling until fairly recently and the change is clearly attributable to people who consider driving a car a multi-tasking endeavor.
Those jerks are costing all of us… lives, injuries, money, and damage!
CSA
Here it is. I guess it’s been years, rather than months, ago.
CSA
Start shopping. I feel like some insurance companies give you a good rate to get you started, then creep or jump it up at every renewal. Lots of people are too lazy to bother switching, and others just don’t know because they put it on auto-pay on a card and don’t ever look at the bill.
Yeah, you have to love insurance companies… If you have driven your vehicle once in the last 6 months you should certainly be on a " minimum useage or infrequent driver " type of policy, which in my experience do exist. If you tell them the vehicle is used 2x a year or thereabouts…they should have a policy that caters to those needs.
As far as rates going up? You can thank the legions of Moron Zombie Drivers on cell phones that you see on the roads these days. More insurance claims even if they aren’t yours equate to higher rates for all. The insurance companies pay close attention to the odds or likelihood of an accident taking place…those odds are changing so…the rates change. In this case its for the worse.
A possible solution is to seek coverage from an insurance company that is of the “mutual” type. My insurance company (which only serves NJ & PA) is of that type, and in addition to having very low rates, they send every customer a dividend check once each year, further reducing the cost of coverage.
Surely there must be at least one mutual insurance company in the OP’s home state.
Along with the distracted drivers causing more accidents, there are the constant advertisements from contingency lawyers touting the millions of dollars they have won for their clients.
So we have:
Distracted Drivers
Cars more expensive to repair with sensors in and under the bumper covers that may make a 2MPH bump expensive.
Greedy contingency lawyers.
All drive up liability coverage.
Kinda hate to say this, but my car insurance (full coverage on 6 cars) continues to be less expensive, rather than more.
CSA
“Lookit this. He’s out of practice. I bet he’s a sucky driver now. Let’s raise his rates before he hits a Lexus.”
You should always shop, whether they’ve raised your rates or not. If I didn’t shop around until they raised rates, then I might get stuck paying more than I should if I reach an age or marital status that gets lower premiums, and the ins. co neglects to apply them.
Every lawyer’s a greedy shyster until you need a lawyer.
If people don’t like paying damages when they slam into a $50,000 car while playing with their phones, then they shouldn’t crash into stuff. And since people tend to run away from responsibility when money’s on the line, lawyers are necessary.
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+1 to ALL of this!
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Check and make sure you don’t have any claims.
When I had GEICO, they tried to ding me for 2 windhsields repairs that I had done- even though they shouldn’t count as claims.i had to argue with the rep on the phone to get them removed.
Ever not driven for 3-4 months and get in the car again? It’s like needing to re-learn the process a little.
EVERY insurance company raises rates for the same reasons. When I consulted to the insurance industry many years ago I worked designing and implementing a system insurance companies use to determine rates. Almost every insurance in the US bought that software from the company I was consulting at the time. Some of the smaller one didn’t, but all the large ones did.
Any beneficial easter eggs implanted?
If MikeInNH then rate /= 2
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