insurance premeium negotiation?

Question

Can insurance premium negotatiated (car or homeowner's policy) with companies like State Farm, All State, Liberty Mutual and etc? What strategies have you used?

Do these companies keep increasing premium even in the abscence of you causing car accidents or Acts of God during the ploicy period? I am finding mine do. Is this normal to be paying hiher premium year after year even if you have no accident?

Answer 1

Companies will not negotiate rates with you.

However, I have heard of companies who match competitor's rate offers for business they already have. Since state insurance regulators have to approve each company's rates, I'm not sure how insurers get away with that but they do.

In terms of why your rates keep going up.....it is totally dependent on the claims experience of your company. If your company faces higher and higher claims costs.....you will pay more in higher premiums, even if you've had no accidents.

Answer 2

Insurance premiums are non- negotiable and the premiums are based on a lot of factors including, age, sex, driving history,occupation and even credit.Losses in your area also dictate rate changes because insurance is rated for many not just for one it is called the law of large numbers.So if your neighbor one block away falls into a different territory than you he may a much higher or lower insurance rate than you do.some insurers rate customers in tiers so the only thing you may be able to try is to check with the company if they have a special tier or company they can place you with which usually has lower rates. Ie Allstate has Allstate Indemnity and Allstate, the Indemnity Company has higher premiums and with Allstate unless you leave them for a six month period they will never move you from Indemnity if you start there or have been demoted there.If you have been with your insurer a long time sometimes it does not pay to leave even if you have had some increases most other companies are not able to compete with tenured customers rates unless that customer has had accidents.As far as it being normal to pay a higher premium I don't believe so, you may want to talk to your agent or simply shop around you may find better rates with direct insurers like GEICO, Progressive or AIG.

Answer 3

Not for car and house insurance, but they CAN for large commercial policies, if they're "good" aka desirable risks.

Large meaning, premiums over $25,000 a year. Desirable meaning, easy to write - no claims, no high risk. High risk are usually public vehicles, dump trucks, snow plows, apartment/rental properties, hotels/motels, restaurants. Or anything with a loss ratio over the past five years, of over 25%.

For auto and homeowners policies, most of the time the rates are filed with your state. EVERYONE in a particular group gets the rates that are filed for that group. Group means, males 30-45, vehicle symbol 10-12, city of Boston, etc. When the group as a whole puts in more losses than expected, or when a company's costs of operating go up, the entire group gets a rate increase.

Example: After September 11th, reinsurance companies raised their rates, sometimes as much as 75%. The insurance companies who use reinsurance companies pass those costs along to the insureds directly.

So yes, generally even though you don't have an at-fault accident, or even any claim at all, you will see rates go up. This is because usually repair costs don't go down, for accidents - body shops don't lower their rates. Hospitals don't lower their rates, for medical bills. Insurance companies can't keep employees by cutting their pay, etc. I bet even you bring home more $$ now, than you did 5 years ago! Everything goes up. Sorry!

Answer 4

Rates are filed with each state, and cannot be negotiated. However, an underwriter has the authority on accounts to debit or credit the risk from base filed rates based on the specifics. For example, a new building that is fire resistant and has sprinklers may get the best discount that can be applied, but a building that is 30 years old and needs new wiring and has roof problems (if accepted) will most likely be debited the full amount. In OK, liability has a 25% debit/credit amount, and property can have a 40% debit or credit amount applied off of the filed base rates.

Answer 5

each state regulates the premiums which are filed for by the carriers, so you cannot negotiate. you can only shop around. your premiums can rise based on claims of a group to which you belong, such as male under 30; your garaging address, your vehicle, etc. this is in addition to your personal driving record, good or bad.

Answer 6

you can't negotiate price but you can for discounts
all the insurance companies premiums are affected
by their claims/loss records for your area, even if you
have a good record the area in which you live could
make your rates higher, also population levels affect
rates and we are all paying for the losses due to the
hurricane, flooding and 9/11

Answer 7

You can negotiate with them. You can find out that you have a good drving record and your premium is still going up. This is due to your insurance company using your credit score to determine your insurance rates. Yes, they can do that.