How often should you shop your personal home and auto insurance? If you have seen any insurance commercial, online advertisement, or googled for home and auto insurance rates, you might be told “as often as possible!” However, understanding the right time to remarket your insurance coverage with other carriers is important. These tips can help.
All Insurance is Not Created Equal
Contrary to popular belief, all insurance is not created equal. Understanding the liability limits, deductibles and coverage options is the first step to determining whether there are premium relief options for you. If you are concerned about your insurance premium or a recent premium increase, discuss your concerns with your trusted insurance advisor. They can look for ways to reduce your premium and be sure that you are receiving all of the credits available to you.
Many insurance carriers offer extra features and benefits that are often overlooked. Insurance carriers like Cincinnati offer broadened coverage for rental cars. Safeco offers Claims-Free Cash Back Rewards. Travelers offers Minor Violation and Accident Forgiveness. Progressive offers discounts for car rentals, fuel discounts, car care, and more. A trusted insurance advisor can help you compare these benefits and features and understand what you could be leaving behind by leaving your insurance carrier to save $25.
Significant Life Events
Has there been a significant change in your lifestyle? Are you planning on downsizing soon, or are your children leaving the nest? Are you planning on doubling your living space by purchasing a new home for your twins on the way? Are you getting married? Are you retiring? These life events can trigger a significant change in your risks and insurance exposures and make a great time to review not only whether your insurance coverage meets your needs, but whether there are cost effective options to help save you money, too.
It Doesn’t Always Pay to be a “Shopper”
If you are continually shopping your insurance coverage, you could be doing more bad than good. Most insurance carriers consider your insurance history, length of time you have been insured with your auto insurance company, and your liability limits a rating factor for your auto insurance coverage.
We compared real auto insurance rates in Northeast Ohio between six different carriers with a different insurance history and lower liability limits. If you just switched to a new company 6 months ago and carried the state minimum limits, you could pay over $100 more a year for auto insurance.
| Auto Insurance Companies | 5 Years Continuous Coverage 100/300/100 Liability Limits |
6 Months Continuous Coverage State Minimum Limits |
Premium Difference |
| Company A | $ 901.00 | $ 970.00 | $ 69.00 |
| Company B | $ 938.00 | $ 1,023.00 | $ 85.00 |
| Company C | $ 721.00 | $ 821.00 | $ 100.00 |
| Company D | $ 964.00 | $ 1,152.00 | $ 188.00 |
| Company E | $ 1,075.24 | $ 1,374.52 | $ 299.28 |
| Company F | $ 891.48 | $ 3,802.76 | $ 2,911.28 |
The Right Time
When is the right time to remarket your insurance coverage with other carriers? Insurance companies generally consider a claim on your insurance history for 5 years. If you have a home or auto claim that is nearing that 5-year mark, it may make sense to review your coverage at your next renewal. Additionally, if you have been with your current carrier over 5 years, have a clean claim history and accident history, it may be a good time to take a look at some other carriers.
Insurance doesn’t have to be complicated. If you are interested in reviewing your insurance coverage with a trusted insurance advisor, call our office at 800-725-4484 or send us an email and we would be happy to help.
