auto insurance jumped a lot? (Boston: how much, buying, contractors)

[newenglandgal123]

Originally Posted by massnative71

14% increase for 2023. MAPFRE. Agent told me it was due to skyrocketing repair costs and high number of crashes. I believe both.

Many thanks to all the uninsured,under-insured and reckless drivers ! That's why I won't hesitate one bit to take someone to court if their recklessness or negligence ever causes me to be involved in an accident. I don't care if they don't have a pot to pi** in...I'll still make them go through the motion of having to get an attorney/go to court.

[Louisville Slugger]

I have Geico:

• Current annual premium is $685 which is good from 11-01-22 until 11-01-23.
• Last year it was $625 from 11-01-21 until 11-01-22.

Not that big of a jump.

I would shop around. The master insurance policy for the condo building I live in went up almost $700 this year. They increased the building replacement value from a little over $900,000 to $1,400,000. They also increased the annual percentage increase from 4% to 8%. My agent explained they bake this into the policy to combat inflation.

We were with that carrier for 4 years and my agent shopped around. He was able to get the same policy for almost $700 less per year through a new carrier.

It is common to shop around every 4-5 years. I would see what other auto insurance companies are offering.

[matrix5k]

Everything is skyrocketing what else is new?

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by Louisville Slugger

I have Geico:

• Current annual premium is $685 which is good from 11-01-22 until 11-01-23.
• Last year it was $625 from 11-01-21 until 11-01-22.

Not that big of a jump.

I would shop around. The master insurance policy for the condo building I live in went up almost $700 this year. They increased the building replacement value from a little over $900,000 to $1,400,000. They also increased the annual percentage increase from 4% to 8%. My agent explained they bake this into the policy to combat inflation.

We were with that carrier for 4 years and my agent shopped around. He was able to get the same policy for almost $700 less per year through a new carrier.

It is common to shop around every 4-5 years. I would see what other auto insurance companies are offering.

I just purchased a new (well, CPO - 2021) car in the past week and noticed a few things:

• Used car prices appear to be coming down to earth a bit. I don't know if it's a seasonal blip or a larger trend, but it was pleasantly surprising.
• Not only were prices better, but I had more haggle room than I have had in years. I was prepared to pay the listed price (which was competitive, especially compared to the past year or so), but was able to bring it down by an additional ~8%. New car "haggling" seemed (to me, anyway) be a thing of the past as most online prices were about what you could expect to pay at the dealership (giver or take a $500-1000 or so rebate/discount, etc.). So being able to talk it down as much as I did was a surprise.
• I was dreading insurance, but was also pleasantly surprised. After my car was totaled in a hit/run last month and the insurance paid out about 30% more than I paid for the car a little over 2 years prior, I expected the premium on my new car to be brutal. It wasn't. It's nearly identical to what I was paying on my 2017 (different make/model, but same type/class of vehicle and similar trim) at the time of the accident (which had gradually decreased YOY).
• I've been insured with USAA for as long as I've been able to drive and generally find that they beat competition in terms of price and the quality of coverage and service. I've had several autobody shops concur. But out of curiosity, I shop for quotes every few years and when I'm buying a car. Some rates (Geico, Safety) were comparable or even slightly cheaper.
• FWIW, USAA returns a share of dividends to auto policy holders at the end of every calendar year, they did acknowledge inflation and repair cost increases have impacted the amount of that dividend this year.

I spoke with my friend who owns a body shop this past weekend and he said it wouldn't surprise him if insurance companies were jacking up premiums even though he hasn't heard a ton about it. But he has noticed that some insurance companies are making more of a push for shops to use aftermarket parts vs. OEM. This represents a major savings for insurers, especially on premium vehicles. But it also greatly impacts the value (and, in some cases, the quality) of the vehicle. He said it has bordered on unscrupulous with some companies. It would make sense that some companies could double dip by raising premiums and also being more accepting of cheaper aftermarket parts.

[wolfgang239]

I just had a minor accident put a vehicle out of comission for nearly 3 months. I specifically chose a body shop that adhered to the OEM collision repair manuals as a manufacturer certified shop. This means no aftermarket parts.

To keep it short, they had to really fight for a supplement and that process dragged things out for almost a month. lrfox's experience lines right up with what I had to deal with. All to save like $600, but instead paid an extra month of rental car charges at $45/day and all the background work/inspections. Even if things went perfectly the parts were still hard to get. Definitely can see why rates have been going up.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by wolfgang239

I just had a minor accident put a vehicle out of comission for nearly 3 months. I specifically chose a body shop that adhered to the OEM collision repair manuals as a manufacturer certified shop. This means no aftermarket parts.

To keep it short, they had to really fight for a supplement and that process dragged things out for almost a month. lrfox's experience lines right up with what I had to deal with. All to save like $600, but instead paid an extra month of rental car charges at $45/day and all the background work/inspections. Even if things went perfectly the parts were still hard to get. Definitely can see why rates have been going up.

This sounds about right, and I'd highly recommend anyone that cares about this sort of thing to seek out an OEM/Manufacturer recommended shop for that reason. It seems like many insurers are getting stingier with supplements. My friend said he's had to get creative to get some parts - for example, calling around to dealerships and paying retail for a part they have in stock (then driving to pick it up) vs. waiting on a wholesale shipment which can take a month or longer depending on the brand/part when it used to take a few business days.

Good on you for the rental coverage. I've had to go to war over that before. I have 30 days on my policy, but when my car was determined to be totaled, they wanted it back within a week. I fought to get an extra week (total of 2) by saying "I pay for 30 days of coverage" and I may have been able to negotiate more, but I just gave up after the 2nd week and returned the car (I really didn't need it). I get that they don't want to pay, but it's not easy to go from having your car totaled to having a brand new car in your driveway within a week. Not for me, anyway.

One thing that I've learned over the years is that after an accident, drive your vehicle (if possible) or have your vehicle transferred directly to the autobody shop right away. Have your insurer send the appraiser to the shop to conduct the appraisal rather than at your home. Take as many photos of the scene and damage as you want/need, but don't submit them to the insurance company until after the appraisal has been completed and an estimate generated. The reason why is that your insurance company will do their own "preliminary" estimate based on your photos and when it inevitably varies greatly from the actual estimate, it's a battle. Having the appraisal done at the shop also means your mechanic and appraiser can go over the vehicle together and be on the same page when the estimate is submitted to the insurance company. If you have it done at home, the autobody shop and the appraiser will have different numbers which also drags out the repair process. Most body shops have relationships with the local appraisers, so there's a good chance the numbers will be right without a fight if you just get it taken care of at the shop. After the estimate is all set, then submit your photos for the liability portion of the claim. Many shops can coordinate the rental coverage with your insurance company and the rental company so that you can pick up/drop off the rental at the shop.

[robr2]

Some thoughts:

yes, used car prices are dropping as availability of new cars is increasing. I've read that dealers are now letting used cars that are aging (90 days or more) close to break even simply to get out from under inventory they overpaid for and/or paying higher interest rates their floorplan

most insurance companies require used of "like quality" or "recycled" parts for vehicles beyond a certain age or mileage - even at dealer owned body shops. It's in the fine print of your policy. You can pay extra for OEM parts unless the body shop can show the adjustor that the cost of replacement (part, labor to modify/install, paint) is more than what it would cost with the OEM part.

[wolfgang239]

The shop I went to had to go through a performance of buying aftermarket parts and rejecting them based on quality concerns. At that point they could proceed with ordering and installing oem partswhich are definitely better in most cases. That chews up time and additional money for them when they could just approve it right out the gate.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by wolfgang239

The shop I went to had to go through a performance of buying aftermarket parts and rejecting them based on quality concerns. At that point they could proceed with ordering and installing oem partswhich are definitely better in most cases. That chews up time and additional money for them when they could just approve it right out the gate.

What a mess. Margins are tight enough already for independent body shops when it comes to claims (insurance labor rates make it borderline impossible to make these repairs profitable) without making them jump through more hoops. Glad you and the shop were able to get it sorted.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by massnative71

14% increase for 2023. MAPFRE. Agent told me it was due to skyrocketing repair costs and high number of crashes. I believe both.

That’s odd, as I have MAPFRE and both my wife and I went down for 2023