Didn’t Save a Bunch of Money on My Car Insurance

With all the commercials on tv these days about how I could be saving a ton of money on my car insurance, I’ve had this little bug in the back of my head chastising me for not having checked my insurance rates in many years. I have been with the same insurance company for about 15 years and they have made a TON of money off of me in those years. The rates have felt reasonable but the idea of saving hundreds of dollars each year for comparable service finally spurred me in to action last week.

I figured that I’d have some pretty significant discounts headed my way since I’m insuring two houses, two cars and a boat. It turns out that isn’t the case. I built a simple spreadsheet that listed the prices I am paying for my current insurance and then proceeded to check Geico and Hartford to see what their rates would be (I specifically chose those companies based on my personal experiences and friend’s recommendations). Each company varied a little bit but it ended up being almost a “wash” when all the numbers finally came in.

I have to admit that I was pretty disappointed that I wouldn’t be interrupting my friends and family in the middle of their stories to tell them that I had just saved a ton of money on my car insurance but the other part of me felt satisfied that I’ve been getting the best rate that I could over the years. Even if another company had come in $10 a month cheaper, I don’t think I would have switched. I believe longevity with an insurance company can be beneficial. As an example, due to the many years without a claim, I won’t see our rates increase when we do get in an accident. If I was to switch to a new company and then have an accident, that wouldn’t be the case. I would end up having higher rates than I have now.

Anyway, I feel better now that I’ve actually checked on other company’s rates. I just need to be sure that I don’t wait this long to check again.