[Nickies]

How have been your insurance rates lately????

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Nickies

How have been your insurance rates lately????

They are...absolutely...a-okay.

Insurance rates for us oldsters who don't drive much and have never made claims are quite modest out here in my part of flyover country.

I think I mentioned elsewhere on the forum that my top-of-the-line rates in 2022 (i.e., in terms of maximum deductibles and maximum coverage) were less than what I was paying for the same coverage for a nine-year old Nissan Sentra in San Francisco in 1996.

States, their insurance laws, and zip codes (i.e., the claim rates and payouts in yours and nearby zip codes): those are the things that matter to an insurance company and therefore dominate the rates they offer to insureds in those environs.

[Nickies]

Originally Posted by dradernh

They are...absolutely...a-okay.

Insurance rates for us oldsters who don't drive much and have never made claims are quite modest out here in my part of flyover country.

I think I mentioned elsewhere on the forum that my top-of-the-line rates in 2022 (i.e., in terms of maximum deductibles and maximum coverage) were less than what I was paying for the same coverage for a nine-year old Nissan Sentra in San Francisco in 1996.

States, their insurance laws, and zip codes (i.e., the claim rates and payouts in yours and nearby zip codes): those are the things that matter to an insurance company and therefore dominate the rates they offer to insureds in those environs.

Is it for 6 months or one year? Here in WA, I have a substantial increase with an outstanding driving record and just turned 70. My deductible is $250 but I ask quotes for $500 and there is mostly no difference. They are all between $1900 - $ 3000/year for 100/300.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Nickies

Is it for 6 months or one year? Here in WA, I have a substantial increase with an outstanding driving record and just turned 70. My deductible is $250 but I ask quotes for $500 and there is mostly no difference. They are all between $1900 - $ 3000/year for 100/300.

That was the premium for a full year (2022-2023) when paid-in-full at the beginning of the term.

Shopping-around is the standard advice when looking for lower-cost insurance. I did that with Gabi (https://www.gabi.com/), and while it did find me less expensive insurance, it was with companies whose level of service rated very low in a Consumer Reports survey of the magazine's readers.

[Kernel Kurtz]

Here in my Canadian province we have public insurance, so there is no choice, but the rates are generally pretty low compared to the private insurance in some provinces. I'm retired so I have pleasure coverage. When I do contract work I switch it to all-purpose, which is about $150/yr more. The discounts for a clean driving record are substantial.

[XutvJet]

I've seen substantial increases of nearly 20% in the last year or so. This is without wrecks, tickets, etc. My friends have all experienced the same and seems to be the case nationwide per my research.

[Sharpie36]

Too much for someone almost 40 with nearly no tickets or accidents in 20 years of driving lol. About $125 a month is the breakdown for me.

[atann656]

Amica insurance gives a 10% discount for membership in a BMW CCA car club. Membership is around $65/year while the insurance discount is more than twice that amount.

[Nickies]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

I've seen substantial increases of nearly 20% in the last year or so. This is without wrecks, tickets, etc. My friends have all experienced the same and seems to be the case nationwide per my research.

This is what happening about everything. This is probably one of the reason some companies don't want to give quotes for one year but for 6 months. It seems that to keep premium reasonable you have to accept higher deductibles.

[morphomeman]

The higher costs are mainly due to the higher cost and complexity of repairs. Modern cars, even older models like ours, are very complex machines with lots of electronics. When broken in an accident, they usually cannot be repaired and must be replaced (at a high cost).
Since insurance depends by definition on shared risk, then everyone's insurance goes up, regardless of whether an individual needs the service or not. However, your individual risk factors are taken into account when setting rates. An old man like me who drives his car 7K miles per year for pleasure only and hasn't made a claim in decades gets lower rates than a 20-year-old hotshot driving the same vehicle.
The upside is that, except for accidents, these parts don't break nearly as much as they used to, so the cars need much less service, which partially outweighs the cost of insurance. But reliability has little or no effect on the insurance itself.
Across the board, insurance has gone up 15-20% everywhere in this country this year. I don't know about other markets.

[freakystyly]

Rates have crept up a bit this year in general. But they still pale in comparison to what new/young drivers have to dish out... I see random posts of people paying $4-5k/yr starting out. That's pretty steep for young people on their own struggling with other expenses like rent.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by Nickies

It seems that to keep premium reasonable you have to accept higher deductibles.

It's long been the case that maximizing deductibles has a significant impact upon premiums.

That, bundling insurance products with the same carrier (e.g., auto, home/renters, and umbrella (liability over and above that on the other policies)), and making an annual payment are the three generally recommended ways to minimize premiums.

[Kernel Kurtz]

Originally Posted by freakystyly

Rates have crept up a bit this year in general. But they still pale in comparison to what new/young drivers have to dish out... I see random posts of people paying $4-5k/yr starting out. That's pretty steep for young people on their own struggling with other expenses like rent.

For sure. A new driver here would pay the base premium in my post #5 without the driver safety rating discount. It is almost 50% more.

Our rates here are tightly regulated. We've actually had rebates several times in the last few years as claims dropped due to COVID and the insurer's reserves were over the mandated requirement.

[Rocky58]

I called Amica to ask about the BMW CCA discount. I received a total of $420 discount on my policies! We have 4 cars insured on this policy, but it was still a hefty discount. Thanks to a forum member here, I saved $380 today, after paying for the BMW CCA membership!

[marksandygill]

Definitely gone up, insuring both my wife and myself on our M240i was about £450 ($560) for the year, up about 10% on last year!

[Nickies]

I think I found a part of my answer why insurance rates are going crazy here in WA.

In my zip code, the population is mostly retired people and they still drive at a very old age. I experienced many times they are a hazard on the roads and they are not courteous. The way they park their car at a shopping mall is a good indicator how they may behave behind the wheel.

As I said in a previous post, I believe we come to a threshold at 70 where the risk is higher because of an aging community where you live in. Those who cannot afford adequate coverage don't care but they still drive. For those of us who are still healthy with clean records and can afford decent coverage, we have to foot the bill.

I don't expect to increase my deductible or lower my actual protection but I am pretty close to have as the reality a 27% increase.

I also have to ask how I am covered if my car is totaled. Actual value at time of crash I suppose.

[MarcoZandrini]

I'm wondering if insurance companies use cell phone tower data to determine if you are exceeding the speed limit. Any ideas?

[leftoverture]

Originally Posted by Nickies

I think I found a part of my answer why insurance rates are going crazy here in WA.

In my zip code, the population is mostly retired people and they still drive at a very old age. I experienced many times they are a hazard on the roads and they are not courteous. The way they park their car at a shopping mall is a good indicator how they may behave behind the wheel.

As I said in a previous post, I believe we come to a threshold at 70 where the risk is higher because of an aging community where you live in. Those who cannot afford adequate coverage don't care but they still drive. For those of us who are still healthy with clean records and can afford decent coverage, we have to foot the bill.

I don't expect to increase my deductible or lower my actual protection but I am pretty close to have as the reality a 27% increase.

I also have to ask how I am covered if my car is totaled. Actual value at time of crash I suppose.

Just remember, with any luck, you will be one of those older drivers some day!

Insurance rates dropped significantly during Covid for whatever reason. My rates dropped to half what they were (I had to switch companies to realize that savings). Now they are trending back upward. It's something we all will have to live with.

[Kernel Kurtz]

Originally Posted by MarcoZandrini

I'm wondering if insurance companies use cell phone tower data to determine if you are exceeding the speed limit. Any ideas?

I know some insurance companies will give you an ostensible discount if you use their app which is specifically designed to track your driving behaviour, but you obviously have to consent to this. I believe some of them used to provide dongles that plug into the OBDII port for the same purpose as well. And of course in a rental car you are always being watched.

Outside of that surreptitious tracking would be questionably legal and hugely detrimental from a PR standpoint if it were to become public, so I would guess no. In the event of a serious accident insurance companies (and law enforcement) may subpoena data from the car itself, which maintains some history much like the black box in a plane.

[leftoverture]

Originally Posted by Kernel Kurtz

I know some insurance companies will give you an ostensible discount if you use their app which is specifically designed to track your driving behaviour, but you obviously have to consent to this. I believe some of them used to provide dongles that plug into the OBDII port for the same purpose as well. And of course in a rental car you are always being watched.

Outside of that surreptitious tracking would be questionably legal and hugely detrimental from a PR standpoint if it were to become public, so I would guess no. In the event of a serious accident insurance companies (and law enforcement) may subpoena data from the car itself, which maintains some history much like the black box in a plane.

I would never, ever, allow their tracking devices in my car no matter how much the discount might be. People need to just say no to these privacy invasion devices.

[Kernel Kurtz]

Originally Posted by leftoverture

I would never, ever, allow their tracking devices in my car no matter how much the discount might be. People need to just say no to these privacy invasion devices.

I would not voluntarily agree to it either. I do carry a cell phone with me though, and I do understand that in the real world it is a compromise of my privacy in many ways.

Informed consent should be key, and lax privacy regulations mean it is often lacking.

[leftoverture]

Originally Posted by Kernel Kurtz

I would not voluntarily agree to it either. I do carry a cell phone with me though, and I do understand that in the real world it is a compromise of my privacy in many ways.

Informed consent should be key, and lax privacy regulations mean it is often lacking.

Good point. Even on our cell phones, the privacy consent statements they require us to sign are so long winded and legally complicated, none of us read them through. I love the convenience of my cell phone but hate the compromise on my privacy.