There is this misconception among motorists that may be costing them money year after year. People get a few quotes when they buy a new car or move to a new state and settle with one carrier for a while. They simply think that they found the cheapest forever and there is no need to compare car insurance rates again. Could they be wrong about this?
What May Change to Require Shopping Again
Some take this so far that they don’t check if their renewal price is any competitive at all for years. In that time, they get married, divorced, add youngsters on policies, move addresses, change jobs and cars and yet they think that the same auto insurance company would still be the best for their circumstances.
Also, carriers change in many ways, not only yours but the others as well. Technology moves so fast that gives some companies an advantage while the others are still clinging on to the past successes. For example, there are new policies now like pay as you drive or pay per mile and they are much more suitable for young drivers or families with new drivers.
By not looking at alternative options available you are foregoing all the savings you could have. There have been many surveys and studies in this field. The common finding is that people who didn’t shop around for the lowest prices for several years are likely to save a large amount of money. The problem is that you could have saved that money all this time. Whatever you paid in the past is gone and never coming back into your pocket.
Do Automobile Insurers Offer the Best Rates to Loyal Customers?
If you have such an assumption, you would naturally think that you are doing the right thing not to change your provider so that you can get the largest discounts. You probably think that there is a special discount for 3 – 5 – 7 and 10 years. Sorry to burst your bubble, not only is there no such thing but also, they actually don’t like to look into reducing your premium. They would rather use that for enticing new customers.
Who could blame them? They have been studying customer behaviors for years and know very well that most people don’t like to keep checking if their renewals are competitive or not. That means that they don’t need to try hard to be so for no reason since there is only a little chance that their customers will find out and switch.
Would Loyal Customers Get Any Better Claim Treatment?
Again, you may think that they will be extra helping if they know that you have been with them for a long time. The problem is many companies are actually using automated systems to handle vehicle insurance claims. So, the machine has no idea who you are and surely it isn’t programmed to cut you a slack for paying premiums for a long time without asking any question.
So, every motorist needs to look after himself/herself before anything else and make sure that they pay as little as possible at these tough times. It doesn’t mean that you need to compromise on anything. You can still get good coverage from a decent company while saving money.