Absolutely.
In the other recent insurance thread, I posted about an experience I had with my in laws.
They are both pushing their eighties, and have never been what one would call thrifty with their money.
So now after several concerns with money, coupled with some issues about my MIL's health (she has always handled the financials in their household) the three children became actively involved.
Of the three children's spouses, I am known as the one with the best business sense. Thus, I was recruited by Mrs. Tdbo and her sister.
Spent five hours going through everything, and found beaucoup issues. The one that was most glaring was their home/auto policies.
They were married in the early 60's, and had always been with the same companies and even the same agent.
I told the FIL he needed to shop his insurance, and even who to call. He argued about that, however agreed to (I think in an attempt to prove me wrong.)
So he did, and even he was stunned. His homeowners went from $2750./year to $1170., with better coverage. Auto went from $1100. year, to $570.
So definitely, premium creep is a real thing. Yes, many companies benefit from it.
However, the one thing that always fascinates me about these threads is that people generally give their business to the worst offenders of premium creep. Yes Flo's and Gekko's and their stupendously dumb commercials create real overhead, and provide no value.
In many venues there are regional companies that provide real value with competitive rates, with minimal or no premium creep. These companies can be uncovered with a quality independent agent or broker. I have been with my company 29 years, and I shop insurance every two years. After 20, I did a particularly deep dive into shopping rates. The best that I could find (through a "Deal" that they had at the time with my college alum association) would have saved me $50./year combined on both my home/auto. This was with a company that is well known for jacking rates upon renewal. I might add, their initial quote was substantially higher than what I was paying with my company. After they asked who I was with and put me on hold for 15 minutes, they came back with the $50. less. Why would I want to change from a company that was extremely competitive, to one that would stick it to me upon renewal?
I'm all for shopping the rates, but do the deep dive and find a true array of companies. Why keep bouncing back and forth between the Jake's and the Flo's and the Gekko's, when there may be a quality company out there that does not spend tons of money on advertising, jingles, and mascots. The best way to shop is with an independent agent, agents, or broker(s) that know who these companies are, and can present a wide array of quotes.