You're not locked in, but there's likely earned premium. Just call and ask " if I cancelled my policy today would i owe anything?"

Amica is good - rates and company. We have a hard time beating them w Progressive and Travelers.

Red Cashion used to be on a billboard on Texas Ave just past Sonic for Amica, and on their radio ads. I think.

First Doooooowwwwwwwnnnn!

EDIT - Removed as a tirade on my agent wasn't called for. My problem is with Farmer's; not her.

I doubt the commissions have improved that much for agents - I'd think that extra money is going back to the mother ship to cover increasing costs for vehicle replacements, repairs, etc.

I'd suspect your agent is good at signing up new customers though.

Just did the online quote from Amica and for vehicle and home bundle they are 45% Higher than what I am paying State Farm I think I will stick with what I have.

If you work from home change your vehicle status from commuter to pleasure.

Make sure your deductible isn't too low.

Take defensive driving.

My agent is from Italy. She used to work for the US Defense Department. She's smart as hell, and a knockout... she could be a model. I told her this the first time that I met her. I'd have asked her out already if I was in a better place myself. As it is, I go over there about once or twice a year and shoot the sh** for an hour or so with her.

All of that having been said, my car + renter's insurance is now over $300 per month. I've been driving for 35 years and have a perfect driving record. Amica quoted me $149, and the only difference I can find is that my collision and comprehensive deductibles go from $500 to $1,000.

I'm going to go see my agent Monday with the Amica quote, but I can't imagine she'll be able to match it.

Post pics of agent. Sometimes paying a little more is worth it.

Can't be too many Farmer's agents in Columbia, Missouri. Take some initiative, man!

maroon barchetta said:

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Red Cashion used to be on a billboard on Texas Ave just past Sonic for Amica, and on their radio ads. I think.

First Doooooowwwwwwwnnnn!

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Anco. He was one of the owners.

halibut sinclair said:

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maroon barchetta said:

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Red Cashion used to be on a billboard on Texas Ave just past Sonic for Amica, and on their radio ads. I think.

First Doooooowwwwwwwnnnn!

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Anco. He was one of the owners.

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Glad I added the "I think" to let in that I wasn't sure.

So close.

I would have to see how good of an Italian cook she was to make a final decision on if the price increase was worth it.

Ragoo said:

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strbrst777 said:

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Ragoo said:

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Keep minimum coverage and self insure the rest.

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. ___Good luck with the state mandated minimum liability policy limit if you get hit with a claim many times that limit. I would not drive across town without my $300,000 limit plus an umbrella of $1,000,000 or more. Any ins agents care to comment on this?

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I was just providing an alternative to the supposed outrageous cost of insurance

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They won't even sell you an umbrella policy without a 200k+ auto policy first so this really isn't that great of an option for someone with enough money to self insure unless they are willing to risk being financially ruined in a car accident. I'll just pay the extra 41% on the auto policy.

Thanks to OP I'm going to save $85 a month in car insurance switching from USAA to Progressive!

I looked into Amica a little more, and the nearest agent that they had to me was in Chicago; a little more than 300 miles away. I wound up going with Progressive. I'm going to save over $150 per month with the change. I suspect I'll get a nasty rate hike after my 12 months are up, but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

And many thanks to the OP for starting this thread as reading it served as the kick in the butt I needed to finally do something about my insurance rates!!

This thread has proven to be more useful than I had intended in my initial rant. I've jotted down several companies from suggestions and will be getting new quotes from at least 4 of them. My current policy doesn't expire for another month.

Side note - unless your former agent was named Tanya, a quick GIS didn't reveal any "model" quality agents in the Columbia area.

nm

Hello and Happy Valentine's day to everyone!
I was looped in this thread by a friend and thought I'd chime in...

We are going through peculiar times, no doubt.
More than ever, a creditable carrier and an insurance agent who will consistantly look after your best interest, is a must.
While there are industry factor that affect premium rates, individual factors should be taken in consideration as well, when shopping for insurance or when looking for a "lower" premium policy.
- number of claims and claims amount paid by the insurance carrier, often are higher than the policy premium paid by the insured. I hear this statement very often "I have a clean record, why did my insurance go up".
- are claims handled in timely manner by the agent and claims adjuster and no hidden expenses occurred. This is the hidden cost of lower premium policies. This is a differentiator between a top tier carrier versus an online carrier.
- how many times have your agent reached out to you and advised of the best course of action, either increase coverage, lower premium, etc. This is a big differentiator between a local agent and an online agent.
Industry changes will affect every carrier. Some carriers will handle the increases better than others.
- jumping from carrier to carrier in hopes to take advantage of the "lower" premium, will only exhaust your options of securing the best rate.

Here are some industry factors and why is important to be covered by a top tier carrier, especially during these time:
- Driving behavior
- Driving peaked pre-pandemic and again in August 2021
- Traffic fatalities are the highest since 2006
- Medical costs continue to increase
- Mechanic labor cost continues to increase
- Material cost continues to increase.
- Amount paid in rental reimbursement increased
- Vehicle loss remains very high
- A car is stolen every 34 seconds
- Catalytic converters stolen continues to increase daily...

A top tier carrier not only will assure to have best strategies in place to afford the cost of covered claims for the customers, will also be able to control and smooth extreme peaks such as these.

Not sure if this information helps anyone, but my two cents...

Ragoo said:

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Keep minimum coverage and self insure the rest.

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Interested on how you self insure. How do you do that?

strbrst777 said:

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Ragoo said:

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Keep minimum coverage and self insure the rest.

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. ___Good luck with the state mandated minimum liability policy limit if you get hit with a claim many times that limit. I would not drive across town without my $300,000 limit plus an umbrella of $1,000,000 or more. Any ins agents care to comment on this?

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I agree. If you're not carrying enough coverage to protect ALL of your assets then you are dangerously exposed to having someone else owning those assets.

This. Ours actually went down twice before going up 5 bucks this renewal.

So now that I'm a Progressive customer, I'm thinking I should throw my weight around and see if I can't get rid of Flo. She was annoying 15 years ago; unbearable at this point.

I think "we" should copy the Aflac Duck. Maybe the Progressive Pelican?!?

What are ya'll paying? just got hit with an increase to $172/mo for a 2019 Silverado. I had one claim about 3 years ago and haven't have a ticket in at least 8-10 years.

I drive a 2022 Hyundai Kona
My Farmer's rate was $302 per month
My Progressive is $138 per month

It's enough of a difference that I'm concerned, but my new agent assures me that this coverage matches what I had with Farmer's. I'd been with them since 1995, and they had always taken care of me. It just got to the point that I couldn't afford it.

dabo man said:

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I drive a 2022 Hyundai Kona
My Farmer's rate was $302 per month
My Progressive is $138 per month

It's enough of a difference that I'm concerned, but my new agent assures me that this coverage matches what I had with Farmer's. I'd been with them since 1995, and they had always taken care of me. It just got to the point that I couldn't afford it.

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I've only had one claim with Progressive over the years, aside from windshield chips that is. My son totaled his 2007 Miata his first year of college. They cut a check within a week to us and the other party, it was my son's fault (pulled out in front of the other guy), and my rates didn't go up.

dabo man said:

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My agent is from Italy. She used to work for the US Defense Department. She's smart as hell, and a knockout... she could be a model. I told her this the first time that I met her. I'd have asked her out already if I was in a better place myself. As it is, I go over there about once or twice a year and shoot the sh** for an hour or so with her.

All of that having been said, my car + renter's insurance is now over $300 per month. I've been driving for 35 years and have a perfect driving record. Amica quoted me $149, and the only difference I can find is that my collision and comprehensive deductibles go from $500 to $1,000.

I'm going to go see my agent Monday with the Amica quote, but I can't imagine she'll be able to match it.

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Dear Penthouse,
My beautiful Italian insurance agent ask me if there was anything she could do to "convince" me to stay…

Finally had enough and got around to shopping. Used a referral from a friend at Goosehead.

Saving me $700/yr for home. And more than HALF of what I was paying for auto. It's a good day.

TecRecAg said:

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Finally had enough and got around to shopping. Used a referral from a friend at Goosehead.

Saving me $700/yr for home. And more than HALF of what I was paying for auto. It's a good day.

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what company did they place you with?

Nationwide. Was with Allstate for many, many years.

That's weird. We have all our stuff with USAA except for my boat and ranch trucks. I was getting those through a good friend with Germania. He retired so we shopped and USAA beat everyone and because we have it all with them they lowered our homeowners that was already very competitive.

I got a refund check in the mail today from Farmer's in the amount of $362.62. That's one month's premium, and I'm thinking that it would pay for most of a three day weekend in Little Rock (nearest Southern city to me).

YMMV, but I have had insurance through Costco for a few years via Connect Insurance(owned by American Family), auto and homeowners combined are cheaper than anyone in Utah where I live.

As I posted earlier, my auto insurance with Travelers increased 40% this year with no change in driver profiles or vehicles. Just got quoted Progressive at $1000 less (than Travelers) with a little better coverage. Less cost than even my 2022 coverage.