Independent Insurance Agent no help.

[AZjeff]

I'm trying to be more diligent with insurance costs and hope to check prices once a year. I've never tried an independent agent so found one locally, got in touch and gave her our info. They have around 2 dozen companies so I was hopeful they might save us some money. Surprised when the auto/property quote came back $300/year higher than we pay State Farm now. She was unapologetic and made no effort to explain why.

I see Dave Ramsey has some sort of referral service for insurance agents, has anyone used it?

 

[Brian123]

I'm trying to be more diligent with insurance costs and hope to check prices once a year. I've never tried an independent agent so found one locally, got in touch and gave her our info. They have around 2 dozen companies so I was hopeful they might save us some money. Surprised when the auto/property quote came back $300/year higher than we pay State Farm now. She was unapologetic and made no effort to explain why.

I see Dave Ramsey has some sort of referral service for insurance agents, has anyone used it?

Is there a problem with State Farm, I have them, and Patrick Mahomes and that guy from Green Bay seem to like them!

 

[JMJNet]

Of course, it may or may not give you any saving.
You can always try to find another independent agent, there are a lot of them.
Some agent can find that extra savings with the company that they represent.
In some cases, you may need to get the exact quote and compare it with what you have to see if there are advantages that cause it to cost a little more.
The independent agent I dealt with here has been good.

 

[Hall]

She was unapologetic and made no effort to explain why.

Direct agents or independent agents simply input your data and the insurance company supercomputers do their calculations and spit out rates. They have no say-so or leeway with the rates. Just have to make sure the coverages are equal to get an apples-to-apples comparison. My independent agent has a minimum coverage that he'll write policies for ($300k +) and if someone doesn't like that, he will suggest they shop elsewhere. He says he has limit "to protect my clients" and the reality is, the premium difference between that coverage vs $100k or $25k is not that much. Some will believe it's greed on his part though to collect higher commissions....

 

[Bud]

I would give another agency a try. Doesn't cost a penny.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Yep good advice. “Independant” Agents aren’t always that independent. They just represent more than one company.

You can also try online with Geico, progressive, and e-surance. That will give you three Quotes to compare to.

Might be possible you already have a great rate.

 

[Warstud]

You may not even need to go thru an agent . Check sites like Nerdwallet , Insurify or Google .... "insurance price comparison sites"

 

[Dave Hess]

Maybe an insurance broker can shop for same coverage with lower premiums ?

 

[PWMDMD]

I have USAA and have for 20 years. Every few years I ask the independent agent I use for work-related insurance to see what's out there and USAA comes back lowest for auto, homeowners, and umbrella so I stay with them.

 

[RhondaHonda]

I did the comparison thing earlier this year but couldn’t beat Farmers/MetLife with the 7 or 8 I looked into. Either they wouldn’t insure over a certain home value or if they did (State Farm), it was exclusively a percentage deductible and was still more expensive.

 

[Eddie]

I did a review and found that I could save$18 a year by switching from State Farm (35+ years) to an insurance company that I didn't even recognize the name. No thank you. My philosophy is to stick with a nationally known A1 company even if you spent a few % more. Just me based on my personal experience. Ed

 

[AZjeff]

Maybe an insurance broker can shop for same coverage with lower premiums ?

I thought that was what an independent agent was? Reps multiple companies instead of just one...

 

[Warstud]

I have USAA and have for 20 years. Every few years I ask the independent agent I use for work-related insurance to see what's out there and USAA comes back lowest for auto, homeowners, and umbrella so I stay with them.

Have you ever had a Claim ? I've heard of some of these insurance companies looking good on paper but when it comes to settling a claim.....they dont want to come up with the money .

 

[JHZR2]

I did a review and found that I could save$18 a year by switching from State Farm (35+ years) to an insurance company that I didn't even recognize the name. No thank you. My philosophy is to stick with a nationally known A1 company even if you spent a few % more. Just me based on my personal experience. Ed

The national chains are more likely to steer you (despite it being an illegal practice) into a direct referral shop that does subpar work at pre negotiated lower rates. They’re holding all the cars on what they’ll pay for your car. That’s an issue. I’d want to find the company with best financial strength and security, regardless of what I’ve heard of them or not. Frankly I’d prefer to not pay for ads on TV stations I boycott.

Have you ever had a Claim ? I've heard of some of these insurance companies looking good on paper but when it comes to settling a claim.....they dont want to come up with the money .

Very true. I’ve had to take insureds and insurance companies to court (and have won) due to their semi-illegal practices and “trade secret” pricing.

 

[PWMDMD]

Have you ever had a Claim ? I've heard of some of these insurance companies looking good on paper but when it comes to settling a claim.....they dont want to come up with the money .

Nope.

 

[gathermewool]

Have you ever had a Claim ? I've heard of some of these insurance companies looking good on paper but when it comes to settling a claim.....they dont want to come up with the money .

I haven‘t had any recent claims with USAA at all and only one at-fault claim ever (going on 7 years now), but never had a problem. For the few other NOT at-fault claims I’ve had over the last 17+ years with USAA I’ve had only a few complaints, none of which warranted paying hundreds more elsewhere.

I haven‘t actually checked in the last couple of years, but just over $700/6 mo for mid-high coverage seems OK.

 

[Jetronic]

Yep good advice. “Independant” Agents aren’t always that independent. They just represent more than one company.

You can also try online with Geico, progressive, and e-surance. That will give you three Quotes to compare to.

Might be possible you already have a great rate.

and sometimes they pretend to represent more than 1....

 

[CKN]

I did a review and found that I could save$18 a year by switching from State Farm (35+ years) to an insurance company that I didn't even recognize the name. No thank you. My philosophy is to stick with a nationally known A1 company even if you spent a few % more. Just me based on my personal experience. Ed

That IS NOT the prevailing attitude on here if you follow insurance threads at all. I do agree with you however.

 

[Chris142]

Is there a problem with State Farm, I have them, and Patrick Mahomes and that guy from Green Bay seem to like them!

Their prices are out of this world high

 

[CKN]

The national chains are more likely to steer you (despite it being an illegal practice) into a direct referral shop that does subpar work at pre negotiated lower rates. They’re holding all the cars on what they’ll pay for your car. That’s an issue. I’d want to find the company with best financial strength and security, regardless of what I’ve heard of them or not. Frankly I’d prefer to not pay for ads on TV stations I boycott.


Very true. I’ve had to take insureds and insurance companies to court (and have won) due to their semi-illegal practices and “trade secret” pricing.

If this true for people you know-they should educate themselves on how to deal with Insurance Companies. I have found the "proper wording" to the "proper people" avoids court. And most states have laws that allow you to take your car to the shop of your choice.