Why did my motor insurance rates suddenly double?

I am almost 40, have a spotless driving record, enjoy the same car, haven't changed the policy, and haven't moved. So how can my insurance agent freshly up my rates all of the sudden and not give me an answer why. He lately says that things change. Is in attendance an industry standard or can agents just screw with us at will? I own been with this WELL set insurance company for 4 years. This isn't some guy working out of his garage. Any experts out there that can shed some light on this for me. I am shopping around for spanking new insurance as i type.
Answers:
Check your rates with another broker. Some years backbone, my brother's broker retired, and he got his renewal through a new department, with a huge increase in rates. My brother phoned and blasted them, and they said his rate go up because of his claims record. What claims, he demanded to know. Well, there be the glass claim on one car, the pilfering loss, the at-fault accident his wife had, and the coincidence his son had. This floored my brother needless to read out, because he hadn't had a claim, ever. He demanded they adjust his rates immediately, or he be not only moving but calling his lawyer and starting a lawsuit.
It turned out his feeble broker kept poor records, which was the grounds he "retired", he had his licence suspended. Nobody ever told my brother whose claims those really were, but they did thieve them off his record.
It wouldn't be the agent that sets the rates. I would call the company and ask them what gives. Maybe they be one of the many that have taken big hits from the disasters approaching the recent fires in California and such. They do tend to raise rates to serve offset the huge losses.
"Things change" is a crappy answer. You need a contemporary agent.

There are a few things that could have happened:

1. the company took a rate trudge
2. your territory (garaging area) took a rate hike
3. your company have implemented credit scoring for existing customers, and your credit score isn't tremendously good
4. you have a 16 year outdated kid that just got licensed? But I imagine you would have mentioned that.

In any case, when you call for to ask about a rate increase, "things change" is NOT a good answer. It's a LAZY answer, from an agent that any doesn't care, doesn't KNOW, or doesn't want to discuss it with you. ANY of these reason is a good reason to fire your agent. Source(s): agent, 21+ years
OK.. the agents don't set your rates. They hold no control over your rates. Therefore, stop blaming your agent.

Rates are set up the underwriting department. They have a set standard and your rates are base on how you fit in the standard. They don't know you - it's not personal.

Has your credit rating changed - gone down? If so, this can cause your policy to be moved from a preferred policy to a non-standard. Did you enjoy a homeowners policy that you concealed causing a multi-policy discount to be lost? Did you purchase a new vehicle?

Sometimes, insurance companies file for a rate increase and it takes affect. This could hold happened.

About the only item you can do is shop around and see if you can get a better rate somewhere else. Source(s): Claims Adjuster 12+ years
1. They are lazy and not looking for the best rates for you and are of late following the industries guidelines.

2. Rates are based on statistics involving a person's experience and situations. For instance, some vehicles cost more to repair than others, some are more possible to be stolen and, according to statistics, some are more likely to be involved in accident.

Some people drive many more miles than the average, increasing the odds that they'll be involved in an accident. Other drivers hold very little annual mileage, decreasing the likelihood of an quirk.

The more you are on the road, the higher your probability of being involved in an happenstance. The same principle applies to commuting.

If the majority of your driving is spent in commuter conditions (increased congestion, people rushing to take to work, inattention due to familiarity with roads) you're more possible to be involved in an accident than someone who is traveling surrounded by off peak traffic hours.

3. But mileage is not the solitary factor in determining rates. Rates are also based on age groups and the statistics which show the odds of accidents within these groups. Statistics show an increase contained by the number of accidents per miles driven for those over age 75, which results in a complex rate. However, some companies do offer a discount to older policyholders who hinder their driving.

4. Statistics show that those who have a number of not-at-fault accident are more likely to continue to enjoy accidents. Also, at some point consideration must be given to whether the driver involved in the not-at-fault accident is contributing to the cause of the accidents.

HOPE THAT THIS HELP YOU AND GOOD LUCK Source(s): 923
Some (read a LOT) of insurance companies are running a CREDIT SCORE and own started doing this on renewals. It could be that your prior policy years "slid thru" and now, you are being "re-underwritten".

If your agent can't come up beside a better answer for you than "things happen", I'd change to a different agent. Find you a local independent agent that has several different companies and permit them check for you.

Good luck and hope this helps! Source(s): insurance agent for 25+ years
There are a few reasons for rate changes:
You may enjoy had some glass losses, towing losses or vandalism losses within the last 3 years that changed your tiering. These do not affect your driving history but are claims on your record.
The company took a rate increase because they hold had a lot of claims contained by the last year or two. The agent doesn't change the rates, the company does & they own to file the new rates near the state and get them approved before they can be changed.
The company may own started insurance scoring - which means they look at credit as one of about 100 different factor to rate the policy. No one knows exactly what all of the factor are & different companies use different models so one company's factors are different than another one. They may have not be able to do the insurance score because they probably want your permission to do so. You may have be rated with a "no hit" or a "declined" insurance mark which probably not as good as a "good" insurance score. Your agent should at most minuscule be able to tell you this cog. If he does not, get another agent that understands this - capably, none of us REALLY understand it, we can sort of explain it. I know of someone that got an excellent insurance gain that has had a ruin on her record in the later 7 yrs & I know of people that have dutiful or average insurance scores that have have perfect credit, so you really never know.
When you shop for insurance, call an independent agent, they can really advocate you on coverages, what you need, etc & quote with masses different companies to compare for you. They will compare apples to apples. If you quote different companies online, unless you are pretty insurance savvy (most people are not, even some lawyers & accountants I know!), you may be quoting different coverages.
Good luck to you & I would specifically shop as you are doing. Source(s): Insurance agent


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