I remember not long ago some members asserted that insurance companies took advantage of long-time customers by raising rates on them regularly (often annually), assuming - mostly, accurately - they wouldn't comparison shop out of inertia.

I've been with State Farm car insurance for decades, ever since moving back to the US and added their home-owners policy about ten years ago.

First, do (most of) you agree it's well worth comparison shopping (and probably changing companies accordingly)?

Second, what's the most time-effective way to make the comparisons?

I was very satisfied with State Farm as long as our original agents were the intermediaries with the company. It seemed the (popular and honest) agents were able to get us breaks in situations where there might be different ways of assessing costs and liability.

When they finally retired (to the regret of countless clients), it took at least two agents to take over their former business. Ever since then, though, I've had two accidents the handling of which was much less than satisfactory.

I have the feeling the company was willing to go along with recommendations of the earlier agent (husband and wife ran the office) because they knew how much loyal business they were bringing in. Certainly in large part since the newbie agents aren't able/willing to argue on behalf of the consumers in the same way. Somehow, I very much doubt the rockstar agents would ever have let the company mistreat me so badly in those two accidents.

The one plus of State Farm for me, is that my policy is grandfathered "guaranteed renewable". At one time I was admittedly the perpetrator of a fair number of fender benders, parking lots being my speciality.
I was glad of that aspect of my policy.

IS it possible that different agents can manage to get advantages on behalf of their customers in settlements and how policies are priced?

In any case, I'd much appreciate advice on how to compare policy prices by companies. Of course, I figured I'd compare features and prices of both policies (car and home) across companies, but I feel somewhat daunted as I consider how to do it in a way that's remotely simple.

Likewise, how much of an advantage it is to have my "guaranteed renewable" policy with State Farm. Is it true that feature is now extinct?

Thank you!

I use an “Independent” agent who represents a number of different firms and does the comparison shopping for me every year. Some years I end up with the same company as the year before, some years not.

This service was especially valuable when I had the business and had to carry several types of insurance plus bonds of various sorts. Placing all of my business with one agent allowed me to switch carriers without having to change agents, which is an important consideration. When one of my carriers tried to deny a claim my agent stepped up and got it handled, something a single- carrier agent may not have been able to do.

I’ve had a few agents over the years and they’re not all the same. If you’re going to shop around you may want to contact several of them to see what they can offer.

[Disclaimer]. Insurance varies widely by state and YMMV.

edit: I cross-posted with Steve. He said it much better than I did.

Try to get a recommendation for a good independent agent who works with multiple insurers. They'll help you evaluate your coverage to see if it's appropriate and get quotes from multiple companies for whatever coverage you settle on. Once you have the quotes, check out the companies and see how they are rated.

The last time I dealt with a claim was when my Mom was in an accident in 2009. She had State Farm. I don't know if other agents are more active in the process, but I didn't find her agent to be particularly helpful. I don't know if the process has changed, or if she just wasn't a good agent.

We have State Farm and aren't very impressed with our current agent either; she inherited us when our previous agent retired some years ago and when we've called with questions about premiums and coverage she and her staff have been pretty much useless.

We plan to keep State Farm for now but are looking for a new agent.

double post

quote:

Originally posted by Steve Miller:
I use an “Independent” agent who represents a number of different firms and does the comparison shopping for me every year. Some years I end up with the same company as the year before, some years not.

This service was especially valuable when I had the business and had to carry several types of insurance plus bonds of various sorts. Placing all of my business with one agent allowed me to switch carriers without having to change agents, which is an important consideration. When one of my carriers tried to deny a claim my agent stepped up and got it handled, something a single- carrier agent may not have been able to do.

I’ve had a few agents over the years and they’re not all the same. If you’re going to shop around you may want to contact several of them to see what they can offer.

[Disclaimer]. Insurance varies widely by state and YMMV.

^^^
This

Many many thanks, advisers!
It certainly seems unanimously advised to go with an independent agent.

And do I also get the message that independent agents vary significantly one from the other in terms of the value of their recommendations even across companies? I.e., different agents can offer more or less advantageous benefits in the overall "deal" they can get a given client in what they offer for the same company?

Also, how differently various agents are able to negotiate for you in identical claims?

And any suggestions (apart from asking something like the "Nextdoor" site), on how to compare independent brokers? (I certainly saw this in spades recently when changing my Medicare Part D. plan. Brokers for the same company differed radically in how informed and honest they were in their policy recommendations - almost shocking!
(It sure was clear by the recommendations of some, which policies were most profitable for the brokers in terms of their commissions. I think they should be upfront about how they get remunerated - like fiduciaries.)

No one here commented on my question, though, about whether and if so how much, that "guaranteed renewable feature" is worth (and IS it indeed defunct except for those for whom it's grandfathered as it is with my current State Farm policy?).

Hmm, one other thing. Should I wait until I've passed the third year after my most recent accident before comparison shopping? My current agent claims she has no idea how premiums are set after accidents, among other allegations of personal ignorance about consumers' "scoring". I've learned customers are given rather complex scores, but maddeningly, my present agent claims she has no idea what the components in those scorings are. The more I think about it, the more I conclude that's unlikely.

My long-time State Farm agent really WAS a "good neighbor", far from the present one.

More gripes as I run up my own scoring for State Farm.

Her assistant inconvenienced me quite a lot by sloppy handling. Don't think he came to her well-trained, saving her considerable money in his salary while leaving customers like me in the lurch.

Worse perhaps, nationally-based claims handlers have been extremely rude to me, also costing me extra $$ in how they handled accidents, one in particular (Anyone remember the blowing garbage bin that cost me a totaled car and nearly my life?).

It was especially maddening considering I was a loyal three decades-long customer - who had brought along with me, not only my own business but that of both my sons too.

What Steve says.

(Apropos of the totaled car, how DO companies arrive at blue book value when reimbursing consumers? My car was an oldish CAMRY but in perfect condition with less than half the average mileage AND four brand new tires. State Farm only valued it at the average for its age. Is there any way to argue for a better settlement value in such an instance?)

All these and other issues (again only AFTER the super-star agents retired) have I been left wondering about how differently one can be treated by State Farm as a function of the specific agent.

Until you all raised my suspicions, I'd thought premium costs (before and after accidents - and other aspects of a given consumer's profile) were all standard. Likewise, how one was treated in an accident, at fault or not. Count me now a cynic. My former agents clearly went to bat for me countless times, besides being empathetic with me after accidents. (Maybe the newbie agent they were replaced by, just had no clout to wield on behalf of their clients.)

One thing is sure, you certainly don't pay a fixed sticker price from a given company for various features and benefits. (Wondering if State Farm itself hasn't just gone downhill...Thoughts?)

quote:

And do I also get the message that independent agents vary significantly one from the other in terms of the value of their recommendations even across companies? I.e., different agents can offer more or less advantageous benefits in the overall "deal" they can get a given client in what they offer for the same company?

From what I can tell, insurance companies run promotions when they are looking to expand their portfolios in various directions. Agents learn about these promotions and they often offer a more competitive rate than rates offered by other companies. Some of these are from spinoffs of larger companies looking to gain market share.

The idea is that they can get you in with a promotion and you’ll stay with them forever while they gradually up the rates. (I call this the “State Farm” model).

quote:

Also, how differently various agents are able to negotiate for you in identical claims?

I don’t know this specifically, but it seems that if a company wants to keep a particular agent they may make concessions to help that agent keep the business. Unlike online insurance companies a lot of this business is conducted on an individual and personal basis, with relationships being very important. My agent actually told me this but then added that there is a lot more to It than that.

quote:

And any suggestions (apart from asking something like the "Nextdoor" site), on how to compare independent brokers?

I try to avoid sites like that and prefer personal recommendations. Ask around – if someone loves their insurance agent they’ll be happy to refer you. Find people you find respectable and ask them – maybe your doctor or someone in your synagogue. Ask your hairdresser if you have one – those people know everyone in town and everything about them. Ask your banker – a lot of them do business with insurance agents on a regular basis and like to “keep their nose in the customer’s face”. If you know a personal injury lawyer you can generally get a good referral there – they know who goes to bat for their customers and who doesn’t.

Get two or three names and send them all the same info. The one you want will likely shake out fairly quickly. Extra points if they own the brokerage.

quote:

(I certainly saw this in spades recently when changing my Medicare Part D. plan. Brokers for the same company differed radically in how informed and honest they were in their policy recommendations - almost shocking!

My guy has me on a “Medicare Advantage” plan where part D is free. He checked to see what prescriptions I use were included on the plan and the one I have covers all of them – at least at present. I understand there are disadvantages to the “Advantage” plans but for my purpose you can’t beat the coverage at the price. YMMV.

quote:

(It sure was clear by the recommendations of some, which policies were most profitable for the brokers in terms of their commissions. I think they should be upfront about how they get remunerated - like fiduciaries.)

They get renumerated by the companies they represent. The trick is to make your business more profitable than whatever bonus they might get from selling one particular plan at a particular time.

quote:

No one here commented on my question, though, about whether and if so how much, that "guaranteed renewable feature" is worth (and IS it indeed defunct except for those for whom it's grandfathered as it is with my current State Farm policy?).

If State Farm will renew you then other companies should want your business as well. There are exceptions to this – a lot of companies stopped writing fire policies in woodland areas following the recent round of wildfires in CA. If one accident makes your business unattractive an independent will tell you that and you don’t have to quit your old carrier first.

quote:

Should I wait until I've passed the third year after my most recent accident before comparison shopping?

Why would you do that? Having your business re quoted costs nothing and if you don’t like what you find you can keep your old carrier.

quote:

(Apropos of the totaled car, how DO companies arrive at blue book value when reimbursing consumers? My car was an oldish CAMRY but in perfect condition with less than half the average mileage AND four brand new tires. State Farm only valued it at the average for its age. Is there any way to argue for a better settlement value in such an instance?)

Yes. Go to KBB.com and run the value yourself. If you find the valuation varies substantially from what the insurance company is offering you can raise hell with your agent.

There are some fuzzy criteria like "average condition" and such that I have used to get a better settlement in the past. It helps to have pictures of your car if you are gong to do this.

quote:

All these and other issues (again only AFTER the super-star agents retired) have I been left wondering about how differently one can be treated by State Farm as a function of the specific agent.

The problem with State Farm agents is they work for State Farm - not necessarily you. My guy in CA is actually a Farmer's agent but being as he has is own brokerage he can sell for any company he likes. In 10 years he has yet to offer me a policy written by Farmers. Not a slam on Farmers - they have certain categories of business where they are competitive and certain categories where they are not. My business, for whatever reason, is not a good fit for what they offer.

quote:

Until you all raised my suspicions, I'd thought premium costs (before and after accidents - and other aspects of a given consumer's profile) were all standard. Likewise, how one was treated in an accident, at fault or not. Count me now a cynic.

Before I opened the business I had all of my insurance with State Farm. I liked the agent - he was my parent's agent for decades. There weren't many claims but they were handled satisfactorily, the rates rose steadily but not substantially over the years over the years and I was OK with that.

But State Farm doesn't write business insurance policies so I went shopping and included requests quotes for my personal insurance. I was shocked by how much lower the quotes were.

When I called the SF guy and told him what I had found, his formerly sunny disposition changed and the told me "There is no Santa Claus" and that I'd be back in 6 months.

That was 30 years ago.

Steve, you ARE an angel!
Thank you ever so much for your detailed (all dotted eyes and crossed tees) info.

And based on your extensive experience too.
As with so many things, I'm learning too many things too old to take maximal advantage of them, but it still feels good to feel vindicated in suspicions as I'm able to compare experiences.

Pfui on State Farm. I feel like a real sucker as I look back on my unjustified loyalty to them. I should have suspected sticking with the company as a matter of course after my great agent retired (without comparing) was naive. I should have fled when the new agent I was plonked down with automatically, messed up in several little ways within mere months of the switch.

Now I'm really wondering about my home-owners' policy. I've been a sucker with that too. I've always tended to be over cautious with insurance, feeling protected (and somehow forgetting they're not really my friends).

Remembering with resentment how I wasn't cautioned by my agents that for decades I was wasting money big-time by sticking with a $100 deductible policy.

Yeah, right...When you can be dropped for a single claim entirely at their whim! (Once I made an inquiry about an ice dam after a Winter storm - feared it might jam the window. They counted it as a claim, even when I called back in the Spring to say the window was fine.)

(Lesson learned after a few very bad claim handlings - never make a H.O. claim unless it's huge, and don't pay for anything below $1000 deductible.

(Benjamin Franklin, “Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late.”)

OTOH you may shop around and find out State Farm is giving you a great deal. Could happen….

That is what I found. I could have saved maybe $100 a year, but it wasn't worth switching when I've always gotten good service.