ask an insurance expert: the insurance non-bs thread

It shouldn’t matter. But if my credit worthiness is based on the fico score. Ability to pay on a timely manner. Then using my credit worthiness is still bullshit. My credit worthiness could be fucking 0. Zero accidents, tickets, claims etc in your driving history, is what should rate auto insurance, if credit worthiness sucks tour gonna fuck me even though driving history is perfect, I call bullshit!!!

 

doesn’t work exactly like that. some companies may allow you to request to have your credit ran again. and it may lower your price. this only applies if your credit worthiness has increased since you started the policy. if you believe that is the case, then do call your insurance company and see what they’re willing to do. just don’t waste their time.

 

Still don't buy it. People who have bankruptcy on their credit can still get good, affordable insurance. I know and have known some of these people.

 

you don’t have to carry insurance with a provider. self insure yourself with an indemnity bond.

 

again, you can never compare yourself to someone else. every time you do that, you’re going to be upset.

 

One of those people WAS me. LOL. So I am not comparing myself to anyone.

 

Don’t waste their fucking time they work for me if it wasn’t for my premiums they wouldn’t have a damn job. Don’t waste their time, what should happen is they should be on the lookout to lower my rates when possible for being a client.

 

i must have misread what you typed. but like it or not, credit worthiness is a rating factor. it can also be used to determine how your policy payments are set up and what payment options are available to you.

 

you’re talking about multi-billion dollar companies. they don’t work for you and they won’t go broke without you.

 

Another big company shit hole attitude.

 

hey it’s a free market!!!! i already gave you another option to get away from insurance companies. it’s up to YOU if you want to pay.

 

Hard truth is nobody but the insurance companies have time to sift thru all the BS that has become "Insurance". People have to pay it so they do. The insurance companies push the limits as far as they legally can to suck every dime out of you. I don't lose sleep over it. And they know this, so they get away with it day after day.

 

i don’t disagree with most of this. but like i mentioned before, you can also self insure. i thought about it myself.

 

Never thought about that for auto's. I have for Health but it doesn't look any better.

 

you don’t hear rich people talking about making monthly insurance payments.

 

Wouldn't know about that. I don't run in their circles nor do they run in mine.

 

Thanks for sharing this with us.

 

now let’s talk a few things that are actually important to us.

will your truck be covered? if so, do you know what is covered?

for those of you who have an altered suspension, you need to make sure your insurance company will insure your truck. companies will have a definition as to what constitutes as an “altered suspension”. if your truck is deemed an uninsurable risk, even if you already have a policy in force, you can get dropped with little notice. and if you claim damages and your insurance company finds out your truck is an uninsurable risk, they may not only cancel your policy, but also deny any claims. that 6” lift you have? yeah, not everyone will insure that truck.

are your custom parts covered? a lot of personal auto policies come with a certain amount of coverage for custom parts and equipment. find out what your limit is and buy additional coverage if needed. make sure you keep all receipts.

whenever you ask your insurance company questions about your policy, you need to be careful about what you say. if they think you’re asking questions because you’ve had some type of damage to your vehicle, they may start a claim for you. claims can have an adverse effect on your premium. yes, even glass damage. so while i’m advising you to check your coverages, do NOT imply you are inquiring due to any damages!!! but having said that, honesty is the best policy.

here’s a great example. i call my insurance company and ask what happens if i have a broken windshield. the claims rep tells me what’s covered and what’s not covered on my policy. i say thanks and hang up. did i just “claim” i had some type of damage to a vehicle? boom..... comp claim. that goes in your clue report for all insurance companies to see. odds are if you are asking that type of question, you really did have some damage happen.

 

getting insurance quotes.

there’s a method to doing this and you can save some money by doing it correctly.

let’s talk about different ways you can buy insurance. for the most part - directly from the insurance company, through an insurance broker or through an independent agent.

direct - you are talking to someone (or online) who works directly for the insurance company.

broker - they work for you and help find you an insurance policy.

independent agent - they work for the insurance company but are their own business as well.

did you know your price can vary based on how you buy? brokers and agents run their own businesses and need to make money. they can add fees and commission to your price! when you buy directly from an agency, they can’t do that. when you have a choice, buying direct will almost always be cheaper. not all insurance companies have all options available though.

so let’s say you want to quote direct because you feel that’s going to give you the lowest price. most companies will allow you to quote online or by calling someone on the phone. pro tip - some companies give you a discount for starting the quote online, even if you end up calling them and finishing on the phone. quotes are free and can take 10 mins up to an hour depending on a lot of things.

what do you need to have ready to do a quote? this will vary slightly from company to company and from state to state.

but you could be asked a lot of questions about yourself, spouse, dependents, resident family members, everyone’s driving histories, vehicles and coverages. be honest. if you lie, your price can be higher than if you were honest upfront. i call this the “liar, liar” surcharge. yeah you read that right - i’d you lie or are not accurate when you do a quote, your price can be higher after all the reports are ran!!! huh? read on.

so let’s prepare you ahead of time

1. order a copy of your mvr going back five years. this keeps track of tickets, violations and sometimes accidents.

2. order a copy of your clue report going back five years. this report keeps track of your accidents and comp claims. remember when i said comp claims can have an adverse effect on your price? https://www.consumerdisclosure.com/

3. driving history for any resident family members, in case you’re asked about them. yeah, we’ll get real personal about your aunt who lives with you. again, be honest.

can’t insurance companies just run driving reports and find out what’s on there? of course. but some companies won’t run reports until you agree to buy. some companies won’t even run reports until after you’ve purchased and you’re off the phone. there are a few reasons why companies won’t run reports upfront - they want to see how honest you are or how good your memory is, it costs insurance companies money to run reports so they want to create an accurate quote before they spend money on reports to make sure you are going to buy the policy and, really bad companies run reports way later to at least give you a cheap price upfront to get your business any way possible.

4. vins for all vehicles. please do not call them vin numbers. there’s no such thing.

5. if you currently have an insurance policy, get a copy of your current coverages. it’s usually best to match straight across to gauge if you’re going to save money. from there you can talk about making any changes if you want. if you don’t have any current insurance then you can ask the sales rep for recommendations. but whatever you do, don’t tell them you want “full coverage”. there’s no such thing. true insurance professionals will never use that term. remember this. they will laugh at you if you say full coverage.

 

Thanks for the link @cromag27 .

I hate insurance. It’s unduly complicated and the list of factors used in determining my rate seems like a wish list of corporate America on how to screw those of us not in the top 5%.

(Your comment about rich people not complaining should be a rallying point for the masses.)

With that being said, thanks for giving it to us straight up. Your willingness to share your knowledge and experience is what makes TW the unique forum it is.

What credit ratings/factors DO the insurance companies use? (Side note- the fact they don’t use the FICO is one example when I say unduly complicated.)

Why not use the FICO?
What doesn’t it contain that makes insurance companies use their own measures?

You mentioned a “Clue Report” and provided a link above. Could you expand upon what it is and how it’s used by the insurance companies?

A previous member asked what make this an “official” thread. You didn’t respond but it seems like a tongue in cheek title... May I suggest something along the lines. in keeping with TW tradition (and subject matter)
“Ask An Insurance Expert: the Insurance BS Thread”

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