Insurance rip off?

[Bob Glenn]

"For people that choose accident protection, Liberty Mutual won't raise your rates after your first accident".

Sounds to me like they are charging you up front for your first accident!

[Jim Becker]

In general, any of these convenience features have a premium cost attached. No surprise there. For some folks opting-in might pay off but for others, not so much. It's like any insurance decision...you and only you can decide if the extra features are worth the added cost for you.

[Jerome Stanek]

There are many insurance companies that do that. I have Geico and have not had a claim for 3 years and they gave me that without raising my premium.

[Wade Lippman]

There's no such thing as a free lunch. There is always a gimmick hidden somewhere.

Jerome; you got the benefit instead of getting a reduced premium. Your cars were older and your record better; so you deserved something.

Though last year Fidelity paid me money to move stocks from my Etrade account, and Etrade paid me money to move other stocks from my Fidelity account. Beats the heck out of me why. The incentives were more than I would pay for commissions in 50 years. If there was ever a free lunch, that has to be it.

[George Bokros]

The other insurance gimmick of sending you a check every six month you are accident free. You are overpaying just to get that refund. Depending on that refund is treated you may have taxable income.

[Bruce Wrenn]

When car was new, premiums were X amount, to cover cost of replacing car. Five years later car has lost most of it's value, but have your premiums dropped? HECK NO!! Now you are paying for coverage that you aren't getting. In my business, they would charge me with theft for charging for something that I didn't plan on delivering. One side of street is in one zip code, and other side is in another zip code, premium rates are different due to zip codes, even though it's the same street. Same goes for township limits. Local town is coming toward us. When they take us in, car insurance goes up, even though we didn't move one inch. Fifty years ago, I moved closer to my work. Five mile drive, VS a 30 mile drive. Insurance on commuting vehicle went UP, even though I was driving as lot less miles per week. I was in a different zip code. Got bad credit, your premiums go up. What the heck does your credit score have to do with using your insurance? Expand this a little. Once I was taking a med that had a $75 co pay. Pharmacist told me I needed to NOT file insurance as drug only cost $54 retail. My insurance wasn't paying retail price!. Asked what happened to extra money from co pay. Store forwarded it to insurance company, which means I was being charged for using something that I had already paid for, and being over charged. I started on a new med several years back, so pharmacy. charged me retail for first fill, as they couldn't access my insurance. Later insurance company refunded difference, and paid for future prescriptions. When I get My EOB, they list as having saved me X amount on prescription by having insurance. Unfortunately prescription (first one) cost me about 1/4 of what EOB said prescription costs.

[Wade Lippman]

When car was new, premiums were X amount, to cover cost of replacing car. Five years later car has lost most of it's value, but have your premiums dropped? HECK NO!!.

Mine drop every year; if yours don't you should see about a new insurance company.

[Ed Labadie]

Mine drop every year; if yours don't you should see about a new insurance company.

You don't live in Michigan.....

We have to fund the stupid unlimited health care coverage. In principle a good thing, reality is much different.

Health care providers use it as a cash cow, with inflated charges for their services.....and the insured pays, dearly.

Ed

[Steve Eure]

Another new rip off with auto insurance. Wife and I just bought another vehicle. The older car is not being driven as a daily driver anymore. Insurance tripled on that car. This car is 14 years older than the new one. Insurance calls it an excess vehicle now. What the heck?

On the other note on the pharma companies. Wife had a prescription that was going to cost us $98 if we filed insurance. The co-pay was $24. We ended up not filing and paid out of pocket to the tune of $4. Now you know why they can build a new drug store on every corner in town. I'm in the wrong business/

[Dave Lehnert]

Another new rip off with auto insurance. Wife and I just bought another vehicle. The older car is not being driven as a daily driver anymore. Insurance tripled on that car. This car is 14 years older than the new one. Insurance calls it an excess vehicle now. What the heck?

On the other note on the pharma companies. Wife had a prescription that was going to cost us $98 if we filed insurance. The co-pay was $24. We ended up not filing and paid out of pocket to the tune of $4. Now you know why they can build a new drug store on every corner in town. I'm in the wrong business/



My Pharmacy gives one RX I have for FREE .
Received a letter from my Insurance saying I can no longer get my med there. In order to SAVE MONEY I would have to go through their mail order process. :confused:
You know I just had to call and ask how I was going to save money mail order when the RX was free at my Pharmacy. I was off the phone very quick.

I was with my old auto/home insurance for I bet 30 years. Rates kept creeping up. so for fun I got a quote from another insurance company. I was getting ripped off so bad the new agent stayed past closing time to make sure her quote was correct. She could not believe what I was paying. We saved around $1,200 a year.

[Tom Stenzel]

I haven't changed insurance companies since... later today.

Our car insurance is really pricey. Not only are we in Michigan but I also have my daughter, who seems unable to keep the sheetmetal of the car she's driving from finding the sheetmetal of other cars.

It also went up when I had to replace my 14 year old minivan, totaled by someone that decided their phone was more important that traffic lights. It's been a rough two years for the fleet at the house.

-Tom

[Rich Engelhardt]

I was with my old auto/home insurance for I bet 30 years. Rates kept creeping up. so for fun I got a quote from another insurance company.Yep....
Cable & satellite TV companies aren't the only ones that body slam "loyal customers".
Everybody these days does it.

[Jason Roehl]

With 5 vehicles and 5 drivers on our policy, we recently discovered that we SAVED money by ADDING an umbrella policy--the premium reduction on our auto insurance more than covered the cost of the umbrella policy by quite a bit.

[Curt Harms]

.......................................
I was with my old auto/home insurance for I bet 30 years. Rates kept creeping up. so for fun I got a quote from another insurance company. I was getting ripped off so bad the new agent stayed past closing time to make sure her quote was correct. She could not believe what I was paying. We saved around $1,200 a year.
We ran into your same situation a few years ago. Had been with the same insurance carrier for 10+ years and the rates just kept going up. Shopped around a little bit and halved the premium. I think the original carrier was charging big city rates but we don't live that close to big city and haven't gone there is many years. Perhaps their assumption is that if you live near Big City, you drive there regularly.

[Pat Barry]

All these folks grumbling about insurance rates? Don't you realize they are in business to MAKE MONEY? Also, you are free at any time to find better rates?

[Bob Glenn]

I understand about making money, Pat, however, go to any big city and most of the big buildings are insurance companies and banks.

Another rip off: We received the renewal from our homeowners insurance company, Cincinnati Insurance, and it had increased about 12 percent! We have never filed a claim and our credit ratings remain in the high 700's to low 800's. "Yes insurance companies charge more if you have a low credit rating" When I asked my insurance agent about the big increase, she said that rate would be "locked in" for the next three years. My replied was that I didn't want to pay the full three year increase beginning the first year. She didn't have a reply and claimed ignorance at my explanation. We shopped for new insurance and actually got the same coverage for 15 percent less than what we were paying.

A golfing friend told me he used to sell insurance. I asked him why he quit and he said he didn't feel right about taking advantage of people. I have read that insurance companies will raise your rates until you no longer have a tolerance for it. Just sayin.........

[Art Mann]

I am with Pat. Most companies are not trying to be deceitful or rip anyone off. They are making money for the stockholders. That is why they exist. If anyone is ripped off by insurance premiums, it is because they didn't do their homework before making their choice. The facts are all there. As far as rewarding safe drivers goes, it just makes sense for the insurance companies to do that. They are trying to motivate people to be better drivers to minimize their payouts. What is wrong with that?

[Wade Lippman]

On the other note on the pharma companies. Wife had a prescription that was going to cost us $98 if we filed insurance. The co-pay was $24. We ended up not filing and paid out of pocket to the tune of $4. Now you know why they can build a new drug store on every corner in town. I'm in the wrong business/

In NY there is actually a law that prevents the pharmacy from tell you that. Yeah, the pharma companies.

[Kev Williams]

All I can say is, I got no insurance complaints-- I'm insuring a house, the business in it, 3 cars, a pickup truck, 2 motorcycles, 3 boats and a motorhome for under $500 a month...

My 20 year old granddaughter was just quoted $440 a month full coverage for ONE car... yeesh...

gettin' old without many claims over the years pays off I guess... :)

[Pat Barry]

I understand about making money, Pat, however, go to any big city and most of the big buildings are insurance companies and banks.

Another rip off: We received the renewal from our homeowners insurance company, Cincinnati Insurance, and it had increased about 12 percent! We have never filed a claim and our credit ratings remain in the high 700's to low 800's. "Yes insurance companies charge more if you have a low credit rating" When I asked my insurance agent about the big increase, she said that rate would be "locked in" for the next three years. My replied was that I didn't want to pay the full three year increase beginning the first year. She didn't have a reply and claimed ignorance at my explanation. We shopped for new insurance and actually got the same coverage for 15 percent less than what we were paying.

A golfing friend told me he used to sell insurance. I asked him why he quit and he said he didn't feel right about taking advantage of people. I have read that insurance companies will raise your rates until you no longer have a tolerance for it. Just sayin.........
Yes, they are very good at making money.

[Stan Calow]

Shared risk means sharing the cost. If there are hurricanes in Florida, floods in Texas, or wildfires in California, the insurance companies raise your rates all over the country to pay those claims. Doesnt matter how good a customer you are. The only thing that keeps cost down is competition.

[Rollie Meyers]

In NY there is actually a law that prevents the pharmacy from tell you that. Yeah, the pharma companies.
A lot of insurance companies have a gag rule, that prevents the pharmacy from telling you that you can save money by just paying for the meds yourself unless you ask, some drugs have a cost lower then the copay, and the insurance companies claw back some of that money from the pharmacies.

[Doug Garson]

Shared risk means sharing the cost. If there are hurricanes in Florida, floods in Texas, or wildfires in California, the insurance companies raise your rates all over the country to pay those claims. Doesnt matter how good a customer you are. The only thing that keeps cost down is competition.
All the disasters you mention have one common link, climate change, so competition isn't the only thing that keeps cost down, fighting climate change will probably have a greater impact than competition.

[Scott Donley]

All the disasters you mention have one common link, climate change, so competition isn't the only thing that keeps cost down, fighting climate change will probably have a greater impact than competition.Now don't let facts get in the way, we shall just have to agree to disagree.

[Pat Barry]

Now don't let facts get in the way, we shall just have to agree to disagree.
What facts do you have to dispute the previous comments? Dont let some facts keep you from a faulty, but apparently happy, illusion.

[Scott Donley]

What facts do you have to dispute the previous comments? Dont let some facts keep you from a faulty, but apparently happy, illusion.Dont let some facts keep you from a faulty, but apparently happy, illusion.

[Andrew Joiner]

"For people that choose accident protection, Liberty Mutual won't raise your rates after your first accident".

Sounds to me like they are charging you up front for your first accident!
The company I was with 20 years ago told me my rate wouldn't go up if I reported a minor accident, so I filed the claim. In a month my yearly renewal bill came in the mail and it went up 20%. I called and said you told me it wouldn't go up! She said "oh, your RATE is the same but you lost your accident free discount". That was my small local office where I knew everyone. I trusted insurance even less after that.

[Doug Garson]

Now don't let facts get in the way, we shall just have to agree to disagree.
Have a look at the attached article, I think you will find one or two facts to support my comment.https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/dec/07/climate-change-threatens-ability-insurers-manage-risk

[Art Mann]

Maybe I'm just a cynic, but I don't believe everything I read on the internet. If their banner claims that they have no bias, I am even more suspect.